Every professional has their own set of tricks and techniques in order to improve the quality of the work they do.
Plumbers have their own tricks and software engineers also have their own and that is also the case when it comes to a profession like ghostwriting.
As professional ghostwriters, we tend to utilise some techniques and tricks in order to make sure the work we do for you is not only better in quality but also done much more efficiently.
Some of these techniques are very common in our industry as some of them have been discovered by us and just came about through experience and working in this industry for years.
Understanding these tricks will be an amazing yardstick to measure the competence of your ghostwriter and understand their level of skill set. The reason why you need to know these techniques is simply to make sure your ghostwriter is experienced enough to utilise them.
At the same time, we would also like to tell you that this is not a definite measurement of skill or experience and there might be professional writers out there who do not even use a single one of these tricks but still get the job done very well.
So, let us look at some of these tricks that professional ghostwriters utilise for productivity and efficiency.
Tricks Professional Ghostwriters Use
Outlines and Roadmaps
While this is not something you are going to find out on your own because this is not something you can see out in the open but this is something that separates the beginners from the professionals.
We are talking about the utilisation of outlines and roadmaps before the start of any kind of ghostwriting project.
A true ghostwriting professional will always have outlines ready before the start of the project and they are going to take up a little bit of extra time to create an entire plan on how to conclude the project.
This little bit of time consumption is not only going to save you a lot of time later but it is you’re a much better outcome of ghostwriting.
When it comes to our agency, we do things a little bit differently because we have preset lists we follow when it comes to project outlines.
We have formats and layouts in place which we utilise to create the roadmap of the project before any kind of writing starts.
In addition to that we make sure the client is informed about the outline and they are sent a copy so that they can approve all the points mentioned.
This also provides us with the critical update of making any kind of changes to the roadmap so that we can proceed with the project.
This helps us that we can move at incredible speeds without the worry of disapproval by the client.
Writing Tools
While writing tools are not everything but writing tools are definitely one of the best techniques to improve efficiency and productivity.
That is why if your ghostwriter is doing everything manually then it is probably time to change your ghostwriter simply because we are living at a time where you do not have to do certain things manually.
For example, when it comes to grammar, you simply do not have to manually check everything out on your own or even rely on a basic spelling checker that’s available in any word processing software.
You can have access to excellent AI-powered spelling checkers that will help you with immaculate grammar.
Along with that if you are planning on organising and drafting very long documents and manuscripts then you can utilise something like Scrivener which we usually do.
We highly encourage you to check out if your ghostwriter is utilising tools because if they are not doing it then they are just going to take up more time for simple tasks.
As for us, we are a professional ghostwriting agency and we utilise a combination of proprietary tools custom-developed by and for us as well as industry-trusted commercial tools in order to execute our content needs.
Research Goals
A professional ghostwriter is nothing without research skills and this is something that takes up a lot of time and that is why one of the most important tricks is actually a skill that needs to be developed over time.
We are talking about the skill of mastering the art of proper research.
Not every material you find on the internet is going to be accurate and not every material out there is going to be accessible and not everything is worth accessing.
Finding a balance between all three of them is the key to proper content. This is because understanding how to research is important but understanding what to research is even more important when it comes to productivity.
Newcomers in the industry make the very common mistake of pursuing a research strand that is insignificant and that takes a hit on the project deadlines.
That is why professionals are always going to have research goals and techniques to fulfil these goals.
When it comes to professional agencies like ours, we have the privilege of allocating the research goals to specific dedicated research departments that are only concerned with research with experienced research specialists in place.
Batch Processing
While this is not a trick but it is definitely a technique that is very underrated but always utilised by professionals in this industry.
We are talking about batch processing. Batch processing is when you do similar tasks together and in chronological order.
This means if you are conducting research and you have a lot of projects pending then you should do all the research and complete the aspect of research.
If you plan on editing the content then you should not keep other projects open where you have to conduct research or write drafts.
The reason why this is so effective is simply because our minds are programmed to have a better focus on things if those things are similar in nature.
This means that if you are doing something like editing then you can have an extreme level of focus in editing no matter in the project.
But if you decide to include research for another project along with the editing then that can mess things up and that can even lead to reduced efficiency.
Voice-to-Text Tools
Speaking of efficiency, if you really want to separate the amateurs from the professionals in the ghostwriting industry then you need to look at how they type.
If someone is just starting out in the industry then they are definitely going to use a traditional keyboard in order to type out drafts.
We are not saying that is a bad way to do it but if you are looking for high-quality content delivered at the fastest rate then there is another way of doing it and this is one of the most useful tricks in the industry.
We are talking about voice typing.
Voice typing is usually done with the help of professional dictation and narration tools used by ghostwriters but sometimes when they are doing work on-site or on short notice, they also utilise their smartphones and simple plugins in order to utilise voice typing.
This is also an excellent technique in order to document client interviews which is especially important in the case of memoirs and autobiographies.
Excellent Communication
If you wish to then you can call this a trick but we will call this a technique the most important and the most valued skill you can take up as a ghostwriter is client communication.
Client communication is everything because they are the primary source of input regarding project specifics is going to come from the client and in some cases the client is going to be the project specifics in the case of autobiographies.
That is why before you pick up any kind of talent or skill the first and most important skill you need to take up is understanding the client.
This means trying to understand the client’s style of communication because some clients are going to prefer phone calls and Zoom calls and others are going to prefer texts or emails.
When it comes to the style of communication, you also need to understand the kind of updates you need to provide the client and also understand the type of management preference the client has.
Some clients are going to be willing to micro-manage the project which means they are going to be actively involved in the project looking at all the smallest details with great attention. Other times there are going to be clients who will simply communicate with you before the project and after the project has been delivered.
Understanding styles of communication and client preferences is definitely a skill and technique that ghostwriters need to master.
Client Questionnaire
Questioning the client is never a bad thing but this is something amateurs tend to avoid simply because they do not want to offend the client or irritate them.
But this is going to be the trick that separates good ghostwriters from the best ghostwriters because the best people in the industry are going to ask thousands of questions.
While it is important to care about not irritating the client but it is even more important to provide value for the investment of the client and the best way to honour that investment is to understand everything you can about the project.
The only way ghostwriters are able to do that is to ask questions.
It is not really practical or possible to physically sit down and ask questions and expect answers and record them.
That is why industry professionals usually have a questionnaire prepared in advance which they send out to the clients and request them to fill up even before the project has started and when project specifics are being discussed.
Time-Blocking Techniques
Professional ghostwriters utilise time blogging techniques for projects where deadlines are very tight and this is something quite interesting.
When it comes to very critical projects where we ghostwriters do not have the time to comfortably write something but we need to produce excellent high-quality content as results within a matter of hours, as professionals we utilise time-blocking techniques.
These are special techniques where we allocate specific hours for different kinds of tasks.
We usually have specific time breakdown calculations for the type of project we take in and this helps us determine the specific time reservations needed for the project so that we can break down the project into different hours.
For example, if we accept a speech writing project from a business leader where we have to deliver results within a matter of 6 hours, we will break up that time into segments. For example, 1 hour for conducting all research and 4 hours for writing and editing and the last hour for approval.
Breaking down time in advance is an amazing way to ensure we get work done with the best levels of efficiency.
We also utilise different productivity-focused techniques such as the Pomodoro technique in order to ensure the best speeds.
We hope this blog has been helpful for you in understanding all the important tricks used by ghostwriters for better writing efficiency and how you can separate a professional from an amateur.
If you are looking to hire some of the best professionals in the industry with the best levels of understanding and record for efficiency then we are here for you.
We are Ghostwriting India and we are the fastest-growing as well as most popular ghostwriter for hire agency in India. We ensure some of the finest ghostwriting talent all under a single roof.
We do everything from web content writing to traditional ghostwriting in the form of fiction and nonfiction novels and books as well as scripts and children’s book writing and much more. We are also experts at academic ghostwriting as well as speech writing and a whole lot more.
We welcome you to visit our website and check out everything we do.
