The Daily Writer

As a ghostwriter (or someone who wants to be), it's easy to worry about whether you have the right credentials to be perceived as a pro. However, there's a far more important question you must ask first.

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Thanks to today's sponsor! Vellum is the go-to book formatting software for indie authors who care about creating beautiful ebooks and print books. Use the link to download Vellum for FREE. 

We talk a lot about income streams here on the show because there are countless ways to take your book or message and make money from it. A book is only the starting point.

Many authors write a book, publish it, and then ask, “Now what?” My guest today is going to help us think about various ways to take your book or message and turn it into dollars.

Thomas Umstattd, Jr. is the CEO of Author Media, a professional speaker and nonfiction author, and host of the Novel Marketing Podcast and the Christian Publishing Show. He is a wealth of knowledge on all things related to book marketing, media for authors, author branding, and much more. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and children.

You can connect with Thomas at https://authormedia.com and his personal website. https://www.thomasumstattd.com.

In this conversation, Thomas and I discuss:

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Today’s episode is sponsored by Karen Hunsanger, an incredible editor known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.

The #1 topic people ask me about is ghostwriting. On this episode, we'll dive into ten reasons ghostwriting is a great business for writers.

1. You can work on your own time.

2. Books are pretty straightforward to write. 

3. You only need a few projects per year to make a good income.

4. “Ghostwriter” is a compelling term that makes people curious. 

5. Ghostwriting is easy to explain to people.   

6. Everybody wants a book!

7. You can set your own income.  

8. Ghostwriting is not a commodity-based business.

9. You become a trusted confidante to your clients. 

10. As a ghostwriter, you can explore your curiosity.

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Thanks to today's sponsor! Vellum is the go-to book formatting software for indie authors who care about creating beautiful ebooks and print books. Use the link to download Vellum for FREE. 

Much of what we do as writers is focused on the here and now. There’s that blog post to write, that client chapter, those emails to answer, that marketing plan to think about, that cover design to approve. All good things, to be sure!

It’s easy to lose sight of the forest because we’re so focused on the tree, isn’t it?

On today’s episode, I had the honor of sitting down (on Zoom, of course) with two good friends, Ariel Curry and Liz Morrow, to reflect on the long-term journey of building our careers as authors.

Ariel Curry is a writer, editor, & book coach at Ariel Curry Editorial with over 10 years of experience in traditional publishing. She lives in Chattanooga, TN, with her husband, foster children, two rescue dogs, a kitten, and a beehive. You can connect with her at https://www.arielcurry.com.

Liz Morrow is a traditionally-published ghostwriter for entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and business experts. She specializes in personal and professional development and memoir. When she’s not writing, you can find Liz listening to long-form podcasts, rewatching “The Office” and drinking margaritas with friends. She lives in Greenville, SC with her husband, two children, and goldendoodle. You can connect with her at https://www.wellwrittenco.com.

Ariel and Liz have teamed up to create the Hungry Authors brand, which includes an excellent podcast by the same name as well as their upcoming book, Hungry Authors: The Indispensable Guide to Planning, Writing, and Publishing a Nonfiction Book. You can find out more visiting https://hungryauthors.com, and I encourage you to pre-order the Hungry Authors book via the link above, which goes to Bookshop.org. By doing so, you’ll help support indie bookstores.

Ariel, Liz, and I wanted to explore the long-term journey of building an author career in this conversation. Some of the topics include:

We actually used this episode on both of our podcasts, so if you’re a listener of Hungry Authors, this conversation might sound familiar!

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Today’s episode is sponsored by Karen Hunsanger, an incredible editor known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.

Hey friends! I've been wrestling with a crazy case of bronchitis the last few weeks and am now on the mend. The podcast will return next Tuesday, Feb. 20 with new episodes. We have some awesome guests and material coming up!

As a writer, your primary job is to communicate. Most of us feel very comfortable communicating our ideas, stories, and other content in a variety of forms. If you write for clients, you probably feel right at home when you write in their style or voice.

For some reason, though, many writers struggle when it comes to communicating about themselves!

It’s critical that we feel confident and assertive when it comes to talking about our work, our services, our value, and how we can help and serve others with our writing. That’s why I’m excited to bring you this conversation with Lindsey Hughes.

Known as the Pitchmaster, Lindsey loves helping people discover their superpower, create compelling content, and feel excited about pitching and networking. She teaches how to pitch like a boss, network like a VIP, and write like an Oscar winner. 

In her wide-ranging career as a Hollywood development executive, Lindsey has worked in everything from feature films, television movies, and TV series, to animation and live action. She began her career reading scripts for Robert Zemeckis and Kathryn Bigelow, worked under Michael Eisner at Walt Disney Feature Animation, and developed projects for John H. Williams, producer of the billion-dollar Shrek franchise. 

You can connect with Lindsey at her site, https://thepitchmaster.com, where you can also subscribe to her weekly newsletter for actionable creativity and career tips.

In this conversation, Lindsey and I talk about ways we can improve our author bio, our branding, and various other means we use to communicate to people how we can serve them. This episode is going to be super valuable to every writer who wants to create more value for their ideas and services—that includes you as well!

Lindsey is full of energy and insights, and you’ll come away with lots of great ideas to boost your business profile. 

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Today’s episode is sponsored by Karen Hunsanger, an incredible editor known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.

Today’s episode is bittersweet because I’m re-running a conversation I had with Dan Miller back in August of 2021. Dan was the founder of 48 Days, a company dedicated to helping you find or create work you love. He was also the author of the highly influential book, 48 Days to the Work You Love.

Dan discovered he had pancreatic cancer in December of last year, and in just a few short weeks, he was gone. It was a shock to the many thousands of people who knew, loved, and respected Dan.

In the early years of my journey in building a writing business, no one was more influential and helpful to my thinking than Dan Miller. I remember going to his “Write to the Bank” conference in 2012, feeling so intimidated by being around highly successful authors and business leaders that I barely spoke to anyone the whole time.

Yet I immediately found that Dan and his wife, Joanne, along with other conference attendees, were incredibly gracious and kind.

It’s no exaggeration to say that I would absolutely not have a writing business today if it weren’t for Dan. He impacted countless people, and some of those in turn had a big impact on me as well. I will forever be grateful for what Dan did for my life through his writing, podcast, events, and simply caring about me as an individual.

Here’s a quick story that was so typical of Dan. A few weeks before he discovered he had pancreatic cancer, he sent me an email totally out of the blue. Back in 2018, I had sent in a question to him to answer on his podcast. At the time, I was a college professor and was looking to transition away from teaching. I asked him if it would be possible to do it within five years, and how I would go about that.

Wouldn’t you know it … five years later, Dan emailed me to see how things were going. Of course, we had interacted in the years between then, but I was absolutely amazed that he remembered to check on how I was doing five years after I’d sent that message. Of course, he knew that I’d gone on to build a business, but he was curious about my thoughts on my transition.

That was pretty typical of Dan—always an encourager who helped you become something better than you’d be on your own.

On this episode, you’ll hear some amazing stories from Dan’s adventures as an author, including how he developed the first edition of the 48 Days book, why a book is like a business card, what it means to have SWISS dollars (you’ll see what he means by that), and how his podcast helped grow his business.

Although Dan is gone, you can still access his books, podcast, and all things 48 Days-related at https://48days.com.

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Today’s episode is sponsored by Karen Hunsanger, an incredible editor known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.

You can have all the talent in the world as a writer, but if you don’t have good systems to operate and grow your business, it will be tough to be successful over the long haul.

That’s why I’m excited to bring you this conversation with Mike Abramowitz. He is a speaker, author, and transformational coach who helps turn your greatest insecurities into your superpowers.

Mike Abramowitz has twenty years of direct sales experience training 5000+ sales reps for $17M sold, has nine books in the self-help space (including G.R.A.B. TOMORROW: Your Best Year Ever), and founded PB&J for Tampa Bay (which has provided over 80,000 meals to the homeless). He has scaled his several six-figure businesses and nonprofits to be run without him so he can experience time freedom that he desires.

Mike is a busy father and husband who helps other busy entrepreneurs implement systems in their businesses by leveraging automation and delegation to help business operators become business owners and truly experience the financial and time freedom that drew them to entrepreneurship in the first place.

He is also the co-host of the Better Than Rich podcast, and he leads a community called Automate, Delegate, Systemize. You can check out his site at https://mikeabramowitz.com.

In this conversation, Mike helps us sort out issues we all face as writers who are also business owners and entrepreneurs. We talk about:

You can visit https://va.betterthanrich.com and click “schedule free consultation.” When you do, you’ll receive a free 25-page workbook.

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Today’s episode is sponsored by Karen Hunsanger, an incredible editor known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.

As the host of this podcast, I have the privilege of talking to lots of extraordinary writers, business leaders, and creative minds. Today I’m honored to bring you this conversation with a truly legendary writer, for one of best episodes ever! Let me tell you a bit about him.

Dave Pelzer is a man who represents overcoming adversity, and he has dedicated his life to helping others so they can help themselves.

As a former Air Force Combat Air Crew Member, Dave’s job entailed midair refueling of the once highly secretive SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Stealth Fighter. While on active duty, Dave was selected as California Volunteer of the Year.

Dave has received personal commendations from four U. S. Presidents. He was honored as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans, and later, was the only American to be honored as The Outstanding Young Person of the World.

Dave is also the recipient of the National Jefferson Award which is considered the Pulitzer Prize for public service. Other recipients include Sandra Day O’Connor and Colin Powell.

Dave is the author of nine inspirational books. His books have been on bestseller lists for well over thirteen years combined. His most famous book, A Child Called “It”: One Child’s Courage to Survive has been on the New York Times bestseller list for well over six years. In fact, Dave is the first author to have four #1 International bestsellers and to have four books simultaneously on the New York Times Bestseller List.

For nearly the last ten years, Dave has served as a California Fire Captain in two separate districts. During that time, he’s been deployed to the state’s most horrendous fires. You can find out more about Dave at https://davepelzer.com.

In this conversation, Dave shares how he came to write A Child Called “It” and how that led to an extraordinary writing career. We discuss:

I’ve never interviewed anyone quite like Dave! I know you’ll enjoy this conversation just as much as I did.

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Today’s episode is sponsored by Karen Hunsanger, an incredible editor known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.

If you’re a podcaster who has dreamed of having your own book, you’ll love today’s episode!

Last Fall, my good friend Jody Maberry and I co-led a webinar called “Podcast to Published.” The goal of the webinar was to test-drive some material we may later use to help podcasters use their podcast material as the basis for a book.

I’ve been podcasting since 2013, and I’m a huge fan of repurposing your podcast content into books.

Let me tell you a bit about Jody. He’s a former Park Ranger who is now a sought-after podcast producer, speaker, and consultant. He’s been featured in Inc., Entrepreneur, The Business Journals, at Podcast Movement, and many other places.

Jody works closely with business leaders such as David Hancock, Lee Cockerell, Dan Cockerell, and others to bring their podcasts to life. In addition, he hosts three of his own podcasts: The Jody Maberry Show, The Park Leaders Show (for Park Rangers), and In the Front Row, a show he created for his son.

Jody is not only one of the most brilliant minds in podcasting, but a kind and generous human being as well. I encourage you to check out Jody’s site at https://jodymaberry.com to find out more.

In this webinar, you’ll learn all about the benefits of turning your podcast into a book, including what kind of book you should write based on your podcast, how to outline a great nonfiction book, and the steps to move from podcast to published book.

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Today’s episode is sponsored by Karen Hunsanger, an incredible editor known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.