The Ghostwriter's Guide to the ASJA Conference

The ASJA Annual Writers Conference meets at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City April 23 to 25. Lots for ghostwriters at this year’s gathering.

Friday:
It’s All In The Packaging.
This panel pulls together an impressive panel of book packaging professionals. Lots of packaged books use ghostwriters. Go, listen to what the industry needs, think about how you can tailor your skills to that market.
Looking at Lives: Memoirs and Biographies.
Who says memoir is dead? Every time that pronouncement is made, another great true life story hits the stands. A great memoir often needs a ghostwriter.
Personal Pitch.
It’s not just for bylines. Every year, I make the rounds of agents and book publishers with my boilerplate pitch: “Hi, I’m Ellen Neuborne. I’m a ghostwriter. My specialty is business and within that marketing, advertising and sales. If you’ve ever got a client in need of a ghostwriter, I’d be delighted to work with you.” Then I drop off my resume and move on. Every year, that’s turned up some kind of paying gig. Twice I was hired to write book proposals, once I snagged an actual book gig. And all those other book professionals have my resume on file. You never know.

Saturday:
Posting for Dollars.
The latest new market for ghostwriters is ghost blogging. Hit this panel and listen for ways to market your skills to experts who want to post and tweet but don’t have the time.

Sunday:
Go Team: Collaborations.
The other word for ghostwriting is collaborating. The difference is often the amount of credit and prominence the writer receives. Collaborations make good work for ghostwriters and many of the big names in the industry will be at this panel, including Madeleine Morel, a literary agent who specializes in matching experts and ghostwriters.