Always perform your due diligence when searching for a ghostwriter.
I've already described in detail how most ghostwriting companies are really vanity publishers attempting to get POD clients by offering to ghostwrite books for prospective customers. And then there are clearinghouses such as odesk and elance, claiming to have thousands of professional ghostwriters and editors to choose from, writers and editors who are moonlighters and can't write a single sentence without a grammatical mistake.
Now, however, there is a new scam. Individuals advertise themselves as independent ghostwriters--accomplished men and women who will work for you personally--but when one examines their websites carefully, it becomes evident that these individuals are just "front men." Scroll down far enough or click on enough pages, and the site visitor is suddenly reading about "our staff of talented writers" or "our creative team."
One site now up on Google for "ghost writing services" ("ghostwriter" and "ghostwriting" are one word, folks) has a picture of a handsome man on its home page, and the text beneath talks of published books and how "I can help you turn your ideas into books, novels, and plays." There is no name associated with the picture. Read further, and the "I" suddenly becomes "We can also help you publish your book and give it the marketing muscle it deserves." We? Publish? Market? No wonder the man in the pic has no name.
The individual who is really a company--that's the newest scam. Ironically, these sites warn against the unethical and deceptive practices of companies, such as subcontracting books to writers across the country.
I was the first ghostwriter to alert people to the fact that ghostwriting (online) was becoming a scam industry. Each time I place a new warning on my site or blogs, my competition (which studies me carefully) finds a new business model to try to get around their misleading advertising, poor writing, and unethical business practices. Or they echo my own warnings to mask that they themselves are the offenders. It appears they've done it again.
~William Hammett
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Contact: wmhammett@aol.com
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