For the past few years, I have worked as a ghostwriter. My work has been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, Dwell and other well known online publications. I write a lot, and I mean about 35-40k words per week.

Stealing My Thunder

A week ago, I was reviewing one of the pieces I wrote for Forbes while on the phone with a friend. I told him that it listed some man’s name as the author with a little accompanying bio. My friend got instantly angry at this man for taking credit for my work. His loyalty touched me, but his thinking was unfounded. I signed on as a ghostwriter; I knew what I was getting into, and credit is not part of the agreement.

The people that write speeches for the president and other big names never get the credit for their great writing. They sit in the shadows and write their words and then the charismatic speaker brings them to life. That is just how ghostwriting works. So why doesn’t it bother me?

It’s All Relative

Life is all about relativity. There was a time not that long ago when I couldn’t even call myself a writer without feeling like a fraud. I was working at a job I hated and desperately wanted to write professionally but didn’t know how to get there. Now, here I am making a great living at writing, and my work is featured in respected online magazines. I couldn’t ask for much more than that.

I have never been a fan of the limelight. I like to be the “man behind the curtain,” or the person in the shadows toiling away while someone else is the front person. That is my comfort zone. I like ghostwriting. It keeps me where I want to be which is writing good, quality content without having to put my face or name on it. I am happy just to be able to write and earn a living at it and don’t need any pats on the back too. I get that through a nice paycheck every week.

Additionally, I have finally gotten confident enough to give myself that pat on the back for a job well done. I don’t need it to come from anyone else. I know when my writing is good and when it needs some work.

We All Have Choices

Everyone has a choice. I could pitch articles myself for these big name papers. I could write them, get them published and see my name and bio on there if I wanted. The truth is, I have no desire to, it’s just not that important to me. What is important to me is getting my message out in my More Positive Outcomes blog, writing about what I want to, in my own way. This place is where my voice matters and I want to be known.

My future goal is to get the books I am writing published and spend the rest of my life doing that. These are the stepping stones to get me from here to there. Ghostwriting has given me the foundation I need to proceed along the path towards my goal, and I am grateful for it.

My True Joy and Wish for 2019

I am very glad that the people who read these online publications enjoy my work and that it gets as much exposure as it does. But my passion, my real joy is speaking to my audience through this blog and helping them live better lives with less suffering. Nothing brings me more joy than hearing how my words positively affected someone else’s life. I hope through my books; that I can bring that message in an even bigger way to more people.

Please let me know what I can do to serve you better in the coming months. I love hearing from you in emails and messages. I wish you all the best for the new year. Let 2019 be your BEST year ever!