Q&A on Digital Writing, Ghostwriting, and Self-Publishing

Summary

En este Q&A, se aborda cómo empezar a escribir en línea sin audiencia, la importancia de la consistencia y la paciencia en el crecimiento. Se discute la creación de historias impactantes y cómo usar la historia personal como ejemplo para conectar con los lectores. Además, se explora el tema del ghostwriting y cómo crecer un equipo sin financiación. Se aconseja comenzar con lo que se conoce y utilizar la red de contactos para conseguir el primer cliente. Finalmente, se enfatiza la necesidad de escribir más y publicar con frecuencia para construir audiencia, especialmente en la escritura de ficción.

Takeaways

• 📝 Empieza a escribir en línea y es consistente, incluso si no tienes audiencia, ya que todos comienzan desde cero.
• 🔑 No hay ventaja en estar 'ahead of the curve', lo importante es comenzar y persistir en tu escritura.
• 🌟 La escritura efectiva es aquella que permite al lector ver su reflejo en la historia, independientemente de la longitud o complejidad.
• 🏗️ Para crecer un negocio, invierte tiempo, esfuerzo y energía, o dinero; ambas son formas de pagar por el crecimiento.
• 🤔 Decir 'mi historia es importante' es un error común; lo que importa es cómo la historia puede ser un ejemplo para el lector.
• 💡 Para descubrir qué oferta puedes crear, comienza por lo que otras personas necesitan, no solo por lo que te interesa.
• 📚 Aprender y escribir más frecuentemente es la clave para construir una audiencia, incluso en la escritura de ficción.
• 🔍 Para encontrar tu primera cliente como escritor fantasma, mira en tu red de contactos; tu nicho inicial es tu red.
• 💼 La escritura fantasma es una opción rápida para monetizar tus habilidades de escritura, especialmente si necesitas ganancias rápidas.
• 🌐 No hay una industria específica que sea la 'mejor' para la escritura fantasma; cualquier industria puede funcionar si tienes una ventaja informativa.
• 🔄 El ciclo de retroalimentación no tiene que ser lento; escribe y publica con frecuencia para acelerar el aprendizaje y el crecimiento de tu audiencia.

Q & A

¿Cómo se comienza a escribir en línea si no se tiene audiencia?

Se comienza a escribir en plataformas como Twitter o Medium, siendo consistente y esperando el mejor resultado. Es importante recordar que todos comienzan desde cero y que el éxito es un proceso que toma tiempo.

¿Cómo se creció la audiencia en Twitter y cuál fue la ventaja de estar adelantados a la curva?

La creación de contenido consistente y la participación en plataformas que ya tenían una base de usuarios grandes, como Kora y Twitter, fueron claves para el crecimiento. No estaban adelantados a la curva, simplemente comenzaron temprano y se dedicaron a la tarea.

¿Cuál es la ventaja de tener una larga trayectoria en la escritura en línea?

Una larga trayectoria permite acumular experiencia y entender mejor qué tipo de contenido resuena con el público, lo que a su vez ayuda a desarrollar un enfoque efectivo para el crecimiento de la audiencia.

¿Cómo se aborda el desafío de no tener una audiencia inicialmente en plataformas como Quora?

A través de la persistencia y la publicación de contenido de calidad, se puede ir mejorando y observando el impacto en las vistas, seguidores y comentarios, lo que eventualmente lleva a un crecimiento orgánico.

¿Qué hace que una historia sea impactante y valiosa para el lector?

Una historia es impactante y valiosa si el lector puede verse a sí mismo en ella. Es importante utilizar la historia como un ejemplo para que el lector se relacione con el contenido y no solo como una narración personal.

¿Cómo se añadieron nuevos miembros al equipo sin financiamiento externo?

A través del autofinanciamiento, es decir, reinvertir los ingresos que ya estaban generando con sus productos y servicios, y el trabajo duro y dedicación de tiempo y esfuerzo propio.

¿Qué tipo de historias deberían contar los empresarios para que sean relevantes para su audiencia?

Las historias que cuentan los empresarios deben ser ejemplos que ilustren los problemas y soluciones que sus clientes pueden encontrar, en lugar de solo enfocarse en su propia trayectoria o logros.

¿Cómo se decide si se debe comenzar con la escritura en línea o la escritura fantasma?

La decisión depende de los objetivos personales y la situación actual de cada individuo. Si el objetivo es monetizar rápidamente, la escritura fantasma puede ser la opción más rápida, mientras que la escritura en línea puede ser mejor para el crecimiento a largo plazo.

¿Cómo se encuentra la primera clientela como escritor fantasma?

Comenzando con la red de contactos personales, ayudándoles y utilizando esa experiencia para construir confianza y referencias que lleven a nuevas oportunidades de trabajo.

¿Qué industrias son más adecuadas para la escritura fantasma?

Cada industria puede ser adecuada para la escritura fantasma, lo importante es tener una ventaja informativa y comprender las necesidades de los clientes de esa industria.

¿Cómo se aborda el desafío de construir una audiencia para la escritura de ficción sin una retroalimentación rápida?

Escribiendo y publicando más frecuentemente, utilizando formatos más cortos y aprendiendo de los comentarios de los lectores para iterar y mejorar el contenido.

Outlines

00:00

📝 Empezar a escribir en línea y crecer desde cero

El primer párrafo aborda cómo comenzar a escribir en línea sin una audiencia previa, sugiriendo la consistencia en plataformas como Twitter o Medium. Destaca la importancia de entender que todos comienzan desde cero y comparte la experiencia personal del hablante, quien ha estado escribiendo en línea desde 2007. Resalta la idea de que el crecimiento es un proceso gradual basado en el aprendizaje de lo que funciona, y que no hay atajos para el éxito en la escritura en línea.

05:01

🎭 Hacer que una historia tenga impacto y valor

En el segundo párrafo, se discute lo que hace que una historia sea impactante y valiosa, argumentando que el lector debe poder verse a sí mismo en ella. Se menciona la experiencia del hablante en la escritura de ficción y cómo esto influye en su capacidad para escribir en otros géneros. Se enfatiza la idea de que la historia personal debe servir como un ejemplo para que el lector se vea reflejado en ella, en lugar de hacerla el centro de atención.

10:01

💼 Crecimiento del equipo y autofinanciación en negocios

El tercer párrafo explora cómo el hablante y su cofundador, Dicky, aumentaron su equipo sin financiación externa, enfocándose en el intercambio entre dinero y tiempo/esfuerzo. Se comparte la historia de cómo comenzaron con pocos recursos y cómo reinvertir los ingresos fue clave para el crecimiento de su negocio. Además, se desmiente la idea de que el éxito se puede lograr sin un esfuerzo significativo.

15:01

🤔 Escribir en línea o ghostwriting: elección basada en objetivos personales

En el cuarto párrafo, se aborda la pregunta de si se debe empezar por escribir en línea o por ghostwriting, y cómo la respuesta depende de las circunstancias personales y los objetivos. Se sugiere que ghostwriting puede ser una forma rápida de monetizar habilidades de escritura, mientras que escribir en línea puede ser una inversión a largo plazo en la construcción de una marca personal. Se argumenta que, en realidad, no es necesario elegir entre ambas opciones y que se pueden hacer paralelamente.

20:03

📚 Ofrecer valor a través de la escritura y aprendizaje

El quinto párrafo se centra en cómo alguien que ama aprender puede descubrir qué ofrecer a otros. Se señala la importancia de escuchar y observar las necesidades de los demás en lugar de centrarse únicamente en los intereses personales. Se sugiere que el conocimiento de lo que otros valoran puede revelarse a través de la ayuda a otros, y que la creación de una oferta efectiva comienza por comprender las necesidades de los demás.

✍️ Crecer una audiencia para la escritura de ficción

En el sexto párrafo, se aborda cómo construir una audiencia para la escritura de ficción, refutando la idea de que el ciclo de retroalimentación entre libros es demasiado lento. Se menciona la importancia de publicar con frecuencia y en menor cantidad, como libros cortos o series en Amazon, para acelerar el proceso de aprendizaje y crecimiento de la audiencia.

👻 Ghostwriting: industrias en demanda y cómo conseguir el primer cliente

El séptimo párrafo responde a preguntas sobre las industrias que más demandan ghostwriters y cómo conseguir el primer cliente. Se argumenta que cualquier industria puede funcionar para el ghostwriting, siempre y cuando se entienda a la audiencia objetivo. Se enfatiza la importancia de comenzar con una industria en la que se tenga ventaja informativa y de utilizar la red de contactos existente para conseguir el primer cliente.

Keywords

💡Escritura digital

La escritura digital se refiere a la creación de contenido en línea, como artículos, blogs o libros electrónicos. En el video, se discute cómo comenzar con la escritura digital sin una audiencia previa y cómo, con la consistencia y el tiempo, es posible ganar tracción y seguir creciendo. Un ejemplo es cuando el hablante menciona su primer artículo de gaming en 2007, destacando su trayectoria como escritor en internet.

💡Espectáculo de cero

Este término ilustra el concepto de comenzar un proyecto o una carrera sin una base previa de seguidores o reconocimiento. En el video, el hablante enfatiza que todos comienzan desde cero, y es a través de la persistencia y el aprendizaje continuo que se logra el crecimiento, como lo ejemplifica con su experiencia en Quora.

💡Consistencia

La consistencia es la capacidad de mantener un patrón de comportamiento o acción a lo largo del tiempo. En el contexto del video, se relaciona con la importancia de publicar contenido de manera regular en línea para aumentar la visibilidad y el alcance, independientemente del tamaño de la audiencia inicial.

💡Historia personal

La historia personal se refiere a la narrativa que una persona cuenta sobre sí misma, sus experiencias y logros. En el video, se argumenta que la historia personal es valiosa si permite a los lectores ver su reflejo en ella, y se debe utilizar como ejemplo para ilustrar conceptos o enseñanzas relevantes para el lector.

💡Escritura fantasma

La escritura fantasma es un tipo de trabajo en el que un escritor crea contenido para otra persona o empresa sin recibir reconocimiento público. En el video, se discute cómo la escritura fantasma puede ser una forma rápida de monetizar habilidades de escritura y cómo se puede obtener el primer cliente a través de la red de contactos personales.

💡Crecimiento de equipo

El crecimiento de equipo se refiere al proceso de incorporar nuevos miembros a una organización. En el video, el hablante comparte su experiencia en el crecimiento de su equipo sin financiación externa, destacando la importancia de la reinvestización de ganancias y el trabajo duro como formas de expansión.

💡Bootstrapping

El término 'bootstrapping' se refiere a la estrategia de iniciar y crecer una empresa utilizando únicamente los recursos disponibles sin recurrir a financiación externa. En el video, se menciona cómo el hablante y su cofundador comenzaron su negocio sin dinero de inversores, dependiendo de sus propios esfuerzos y tiempo.

💡Mercado saturado

Un mercado saturado es uno donde hay una gran cantidad de proveedores y pocos espacios no ocupados para nuevos competidores. En el video, el hablante desmiente la idea de que los mercados están saturados, argumentando que siempre hay espacio para nuevos creadores que ofrecen valor y aprenden de sus experiencias.

💡Oferta

La oferta se refiere a un producto, servicio o mensaje que se presenta al mercado con el objetivo de satisfacer una necesidad o interés. En el video, se discute cómo identificar una oferta efectiva, enfocándose en las necesidades de los demás en lugar de solo en los intereses personales del creador.

💡Aprendizaje

El aprendizaje es el proceso de adquirir conocimientos, habilidades o comprensión. En el video, se menciona que, aunque el amor por el aprendizaje es importante, es crucial diferenciar entre el deseo de aprender y la necesidad de identificar ofertas valiosas para otros, basándose en su feedback y necesidades.

💡Escritura de ficción

La escritura de ficción implica crear historias, personajes y escenarios imaginarios. En el video, se discute cómo los autores de ficción populares公共aciones a menudo y de manera efectiva, sugiriendo que la frecuencia y la conexión con los lectores son claves para el éxito en esta área, más allá de la extensión de las obras.

Highlights

Starting to write online with zero audience involves being consistent and persistent on platforms like Twitter and Medium.

The advantage of being ahead of the curve is often misunderstood; success comes from consistent writing over many years.

Every writer starts at zero and must learn through creating and iterating based on what resonates with the audience.

The importance of embracing the initial challenges and not giving up on the writing journey.

What makes a story impactful is the reader's ability to see themselves in it, making it relatable and valuable.

Using personal stories as examples in writing to connect with the reader's interests rather than making the story about oneself.

Bootstrapping a business involves trading time, effort, and money to grow without external financing or debt.

The journey of building a business is about reinvesting profits and dedicating significant time and energy.

Deciding between ghostwriting and building a personal brand depends on short-term earnings or long-term goals.

The recommendation to do both ghostwriting and building a personal brand to maximize opportunities.

Figuring out one's offer involves understanding others' needs rather than focusing solely on one's interests.

The importance of talking to people to discover what they need and how one can help, rather than isolating oneself.

Writing more and publishing frequently is key to growing an audience for fiction writing.

The misconception that high-volume writing equates to low quality, and the reality of genre fiction's success.

Every industry has potential for ghostwriting, and the importance of starting with an industry where one has an information advantage.

Finding the first ghostwriting client often starts within one's own network and personal connections.

The concept that in the beginning, one's niche is their network, and the value of helping people one knows to start building a client base.

Encouragement for viewers to share their enjoyment of the Q&A series for potential continuation.

Transcripts

okay little Q&A today I posted on

Twitter if anyone had questions on

digital writing ghost writing and

self-publishing and got a handful of

good ones back so I wanted to Rapid Fire

through a handful of these so first

Magda asked how would you go about

starting to write online if today you

started with zero audience would you

just go on Twitter medium be consistent

and hope for the best and then goes on

to say you know that the big advantage

that me and my co-founder Dicky have is

that we ah ahead of the curve and I

think this is a big misunderstanding

whenever you look at a creator that is

much further along um you have to keep

in mind that you are looking at Cole

today uh but Cole's been writing on the

internet for a very very long time I

wrote the very first you know my first

gaming article on the internet when I

was 17 this was back in 2007 and I

started consistently writing online and

really treating uh this passion of mine

as a as a pursuit in 2014 right after I

graduated from college I graduated in

2013 okay so even just that 10 years so

you're looking at a 10-year journey and

it's not that I was ahead of the curve

when I was writing on Kora back in 2014

Kora already had 200 million users it

already had people on there with huge

audiences I wasn't ahead of the curve I

just started and then when Dicky and I

started gaining a lot of traction on

Twitter in 2020 you have to keep in mind

Twitter had already been around for over

a decade probably longer I think it came

out in

2006 right so that's like 15 years 2007

maybe so 15 years old okay so we were

not ahead of the curve we just started

and I think one of the hardest things

for new writers to really wrap their

heads around is that everyone starts at

zero every single person when you say

I'm going to start writing on the

internet you don't log in and go well

you won the lottery you're we're giving

you 3,000 followers to start with

everyone starts at zero and so a lot of

the Frameworks that I talk about I'm

telling you are the same Frameworks that

I was using when I had zero followers on

quora and I can tell you exactly how it

went I wrote one thing on quora it C 27

views and I got no followers and I sat

there just like everybody else going I

guess this platform doesn't work and

then I tried it again and then I tried

it again and then I tried it again and

eventually I started to see like I would

get a 100 views or I would get one

follower or I'd get one like or I'd get

one comment and I'd go wow one is a

whole lot better than zero what did I do

why did that resonate let me try and do

that again right one leads to two two

leads to four four leads to eight it is

the same framework the same way that a

creator with with a quarter million

followers asks themselves how do I grow

from here is the exact same way someone

with zero followers asks how do I grow

from here it's based on what's working

and the only way that you can learn

what's working is you have to start

creating things and the hardest part and

and it's one of those like you almost

have to be a little uh like naive about

the

journey the hardest part is when you

start writing things and you don't see

the numbers go up and you have to not

sit there and go the platform must be

broken I promise you the platform's not

broken platforms if they were broken

wouldn't be making billions of dollars a

year okay so the platform is not broken

and it is not saturated and you are not

late to the party the problem is that

you haven't written long enough and you

haven't figured out yet what resonates

with people and who you're trying to

reach and who you're trying to help and

that is the hardest part when you're

starting anything new it's not just

writing starting anything new is almost

embracing the suck embracing the fact

that you don't know yet and you have to

go on the Journey of discovering and

figuring that out so that's a

long-winded way of me saying if I was

starting over at zero would I just start

writing on a social platform be

consistent and hope for the best yes

because to be perfectly honest that's

exact what I did when I started on quora

I didn't know what the outcome was going

to be I just figured hey if I write lots

and I'm consistent with it I'm probably

going to get better and maybe something

will happen and then the rest is history

and yes lots of things happened so there

really isn't much to overthink just

start get going and don't stop second

question fodal asks what makes a good

story impactful and valuable and this is

both a simple question and a difficult

question uh the simple answer to me is

what makes a story impactful and

valuable is if the reader can see

themselves in it if the reader can't see

themselves in it it's not a very good

story and a lot of times you see you

know I had teachers when I was studying

fiction at Columbia College Chicago that

would say if you can write fiction you

can write anything and I didn't

understand what that meant until I

graduated and then I got a job at an

advertising agency and I started getting

into business writing and non-fiction

writing and I realized how true that was

because I had already written fiction

and so I understood a lot about story

and then I went into you know these

other opportunities writing non-fiction

and business content and people I mean

the writing is just horrible it's so it

like it pales in comparison to Great

fiction and one of the primary

differences and one of the reasons why

most quote unquote business content

tends to not be very good is because

there's all of this like there's this

belief that circulates in the business

world of your story is important you

have to tell your story your startup

story your founder story and the reality

is nobody cares your story is not what

matters the only time your story matters

as if you can tell it in a way that

makes the reader be able to see

themselves in it and so whenever I

explain this writers go well how do you

do that I'll tell you exactly how you do

it you have to use your story as an

example your story is not what's in the

spotlight your story is an example and

so what you need to start with instead

is what is the reader interested in and

how can I use my story as an example so

let's say

hypothetically I built a recruiting

company and everyone around me is saying

Cole you you need to tell your story

your story of how you built this

recruiting company is amazing well if I

walk around and say hey everyone listen

to my story about how I built this

recruiting company nobody cares but if I

change who's in the spotlight and I say

hey reader I'm going to put you in the

spotlight are you interested in building

a recruiting company do you work in

recruiting and do you want to know how

to grow a really successful recruiting

company well I can tell you because for

example I built a recruiting

company that is the only difference and

and all you did was say instead of

putting the spotlight on me I'm going to

put the spotlight on the reader and I'm

going to put the spotlight on the reader

wants needs and interests and desires

and then I'm going to use my story as an

example question number three Tariq asks

have you and Dicky shared the Gory

details of how you grew your team

bootstrapping I'd like to understand how

you added new people without financing

or taking on debt so whenever you're

growing a business doesn't matter if

it's 0 to 1 1 to two 2 to 10 10 to a

gazillion you will always be faced with

the tradeoff do I want this to cost me

money or do I want want this to cost me

time and effort those are the only

options you either pay for it with money

or you pay for it with time and energy

and effort and your own Blood Sweat and

Tears okay and I can tell you in the

beginning when we started when when

Dicky and I started working together um

we didn't raise any money uh sort of the

beauty of both education products and my

first business which was an agency both

of those types of businesses don't

really require very much upfront Capital

doesn't cost very much to build an

education product and it doesn't cost

anything to start an agency because

you're essentially selling your time or

you're creating uh like digital assets

that don't really have any marginal cost

so we didn't need money but I will tell

you in the beginning before ship30 was

really making money I was still ghost

ring and because we didn't raise money

and because we didn't want to go well

let's you know give away 20% of this

idea and let's you know have some Runway

and then let's hire a couple team

members we just bootstrapped it and so

at the time I was still ghost riding I

was still ghost riding probably four or

5 hours a day and Dicky was still

working uh his hedge fund job on Wall

Street and then we just worked together

in the other hours of the day and that

was it and then that was all it took to

get uh ship 30 up and running and then

once ship 30 started making some money

we slowly started to reinvest in

building the team and and then as we got

further along ship 30 became more

successful then I shut down my ghost

riding agency right so I had one foot in

one foot out and I sort of der risked

the situation and then I left my ghost

rting agency and then I moved into

building ship 30 full-time and then

Dicky ended up doing the same thing he

left his job on Wall Street and then was

quote unquote fulltime with ship 30 so

that is always the trade you're you're

either buying it you're paying for it

with cash or you're paying for it with

time energy and effort and pretty much

everything that we've built has come

from just reinvesting in the business

and paying for it with time energy and

effort th those first two years building

ship 30 and building all of the

tangental products and everything I mean

I worked probably every weekend and I

probably worked 10 12 hours a day most

days um and in many ways I I kind of

still work that hard I still work six

days a week and uh anytime you see a

thumbnail of someone saying you know

here's how I make 28 million dollar a

month working two hours a day it's just

clickbait it's wrong it's it's a lie

anyone who is building anything

successful unless you've gotten to a

point where you have completely exited

the business you have hired a CEO and

you sit as chairman and you are out of

the B out of the business none of that

is true everyone is working very very

hard to build these things and they're

either incurring the cost and paying for

it whatever the next stag is of growth

with money or they're paying for it with

time energy and effort question number

four Clayton asks um should you start

writing online and building a personal

brand first or should you start with

ghost writing it just depends on what

you want in my opinion A lot of times

people ask these questions outside of

the most important piece of context

which is what's going on in your life

you know like if you ask any question

should you do this or this well the

answer is completely subjective a

depending on who you're talking to and B

it's it's dependent on what's going on

in your life and what do you need to

optimize for so a very easy way of

thinking about this sort of question is

like do you have a really cushy 9 to-5

job you have a ton of spare time and

you've got 50 Grand saved up in a

savings account okay I'm going to give a

different answer to that person than the

person who goes I lost my job I haven't

worked in two months I have 30 more days

of Runway and if I don't find something

soon I'm going to have to go back to my

parents and ask for a loan because I'm

not going to be able to pay my rent or

buy groceries I'm going to give very

different advice to each one of those

people right so often times I notice

when people ask these questions they

don't start from a place of well what is

the context of my life and what am I

trying to optimize for and in my opinion

if what you're trying to optimize for is

how do I monetize my writing skills as

quickly as possible and how do I power

level my earnings so that I can sort of

buyback some of my time like for example

if you were working a fulltime job that

was really just exhausting and mentally

consuming and you enjoy writing and

you're looking for something that's

equally or more lucrative but doesn't

require you to work 8 10 hours a day

ghost writing is is your fastest path to

doing that that is a very effective path

but if you're happy with the life that

you have and you're like I don't really

need to optimize for money and I'm fine

and uh that's not really what's driving

me but I'd like some long-term upside

and I I actually care more about maybe

some of the other tangental benefits

like connecting with other people or um

you want to build an audience so that

you can do XYZ other thing you want to

launch a podcast whatever it is then

yeah I would encourage you to start

writing online and investing in your in

quote unquote building a personal brand

but the easiest way to differentiate

this decision is are you trying to power

level your earnings as a writer as

quickly as possible in the short term

then the answer is Ghost writing are you

trying to unlock longer term upside and

know that this will probably be a one to

five year Journey then you should start

writing online and building your

personal brand my honest take though is

you don't have to choose and in many

ways you can and should do both I think

anyone who wants to build themselves and

wants to build a personal brand in an

audience should also be monetizing with

ghost writing because otherwise you're

leaving a ton of money on the table and

if you're ghost writing you should be

building yourself because it's only

going to make it easier for you to

attract clients so you should be doing

both all right question number five Mike

asks what advice do you have for someone

who loves to learn but can't figure out

what their offer is so this is why close

listening is so important because even

in this question there's a cognitive

dissonance

so in this question it's how do I figure

out what my offer is AKA what to offer

other people when I really love learning

AKA I love being selfish to put it

bluntly I I love focusing on what I like

to focus on and these are two completely

different things and what you have to

recognize is that figuring out a

compelling offer often has very little

to do with what you care about I'm not

saying that you should go build an offer

or build a product or build a service

around something that you have zero

interest in that's not what I'm saying

what I'm saying is that when you start

from a place of here's what I'm

interested in you immediately miss the

point of offer

creation and the real art of offer

creation is you taking the back seat and

instead you starting from a place of

what do other people need what do other

people care about and the mistake that I

see people make here is they think that

the way that you come up with that

answer is you sit in a room by yourself

and you stare off into the distance and

you go uh let me think about what people

need and that is not how you figure it

out it will it will never fall into your

brain the way that you figure out what

other people need is by going and

talking to other people so again if you

don't know what your Niche is you don't

know what industry you want to be in you

don't know who you can help the single

easiest place to start is who do you

know who's struggling with something

that you know how to do it could be you

have a friend that just bought a house

and their yard is a mess and they don't

know how to cut their lawn if you know

how to cut their lawn congratulations

you have an offer because your offer is

hey you don't know how to cut your lawn

would you like me to cut your lawn for

you yes that is an offer right or if you

want to do something in the digital

world and you want to help X person

solve y problem to unlock Z outcome go

find a bunch of those people online and

DM them and email them and talk to them

and be like I'll do it for free I just

want to understand like how can I help

you I have ideas for how I can help you

you have to start from what the other

person values not from what you're

interested in learning about in an Ideal

World there is an overlap right I'm not

just saying quote unquote chase the

money and and do something that's

unfulfilling to you and there should be

an overlap but often times that overlap

reveals itself as you help other people

all right question six San asks how do

you grow an a for your fiction writing

from zero the feedback loop from book to

book is way too slow so uh there's a

faulty belief buried in here and I just

want to point it out which is the

feedback loop from book to book is too

slow if you've studied genre fiction at

all then you know that the most read

most popular genre fiction writers are

writing a book every two to four

weeks and every time I explain that to

people they go well there's no way that

those books are high quality they're

just pumping out trash well here's

here's the thing if those books are

selling millions of copies then you

sitting there saying those books are

trash is really just you saying I don't

want to take the time to understand

what's happening here because clearly

they're not trash like e even if the

writing isn't Pitzer prize winning

level the story is still compelling

enough where millions of people or

hundreds of thousands of people or tens

of thousands of people are reading it

and enjoying it and that is the only

metric that matters and so if you're

sitting there going well no I need to

spend 2 years on a book then yes the

feedback loop for books takes too long

but there are a lot of ways around that

problem first of all it has never been

easier to write and self-publish books

ever in the history of everything second

is you don't have to write 100,000 word

books you can write like there's entire

categories on Amazon where you can

publish short mini books that are you

know 10,000 words that's a book and you

can you don't even have to do a print

version you could do just an ebook

version so often times I find even more

than the non-fiction World fiction

writers have 10 times more faulty

beliefs than all of the writers in the

non-fiction world who have faulty

beliefs and they have a lot of them and

so if you're asking how to build an

audience for fiction the simplest answer

is you need to write more fiction write

smaller fiction so shorter fiction and

you need to hit publish more often and

trust me I've spent a lot of hours going

down this because I had a hard time

wrapping my head around this as well but

one of the most fascinating data points

I think is that some of the most read

most popular genre fiction authors

actually have very small social

audiences many of them are actually

invisible on social the only thing they

do is rep out ebooks or Series on Amazon

it's the only thing they do and the

reason that they're so successful is

because they push volume and they don't

have some giant email list and they

don't have some giant social audience

but they're consistent and they figure

out what readers want and they pump out

books every two to four weeks and then

they learn and they read the comments

and they iterate and they double down

and they don't give up after two months

and that's that's it you know that it's

like let's not overthink it if that's

what everybody does and that's how you

become successful with genre fiction

then you should probably go do that and

that's the answer all right question

seven which actually leads nicely into

the last one question eight uh Sophie

asks and and then on the back end

Charlene asks as well who is in demand

for Ghost Riders which Industries is

Ghost writing you know best suited for

uh and then Charlene sort of backpacks

on this and says you know how do you get

your first client uh as a Ghost Rider

first of all I get this question all the

time everyone wants to know what's the

most lucrative industry the easy answer

if you just want something super

prescriptive the easy answer is look at

the new and emerging Industries where

lots of money is floating around and the

tldr easy answer there is technology and

now more specifically anything with AI

like there you go but me giving that

prescriptive answer isn't really the

full picture and so to just expand on

this for a little bit I truthfully

believe that every single industry can

work I have seen every industry work I

have ghostwritten in very obscure

Industries and what you have to

recognize is that you have this bias as

a writer as a ghost writer where you

look at someone else you look at some

other industry and you think oh that's

so successful but I've run into friction

you know with my thing and I don't think

my thing works but if I showed you

someone who was crushing it in that

Niche or in that category the thing that

you've

tried then all of a sudden you would be

like oh well I guess this works too but

then what's funny is that whenever I do

that and I point out a success story

then the person sits there and goes well

it's too saturated then I I don't think

there's any opportunity for me and

neither of these extremes are true the

reality is that every single person in

every single industry who wants more

customers needs a ghost

riter it doesn't matter what the

industry is the only thing that matters

is who is their customer and how can you

help them Reach or speak to more of

those customers with writing that's it

so every industry can work and so my

recommendation and a big framework we

talk about in our premium ghost Trading

Academy is starting with what industry

do you have an information advantage in

AKA what what is an industry where you

already know the lingo you already speak

the language you already understand all

the industry terms ideally this would be

an industry that you've worked in or

this is an industry that you're a

hobbyist in you know like you like for

example it'd be very easy for me to

ghost write uh for people in gaming

because I was a Pro Gamer as a teenager

and I really understand that space quite

a bit it would be very hard

for me to go straight in an industry

that I know absolutely nothing about

like if someone was like Hey Cole I want

you to go straight for my my mineral

Rock business well I don't know anything

about mineral rocks I could probably get

myself up to speed right but the person

who is obsessed with that and it's like

oh I've been collecting mineral rocks

for 20 years they're going to know how

to ghost Rite that content better than I

am at least in the short to medium term

so you always want to start with some

sort of Industry where you have an

information advantage and then

backpacking on this Charlene's question

of so then how do you get that first

client well another framework that we

really drill home in PGA is in the very

beginning your Niche is your network

okay so your Niche is not let me go pick

some hyp specific category and position

myself as an authority in the very

beginning your first client should be

someone you know or someone you know who

knows someone that's it okay it's the

uncle that always complains at

Thanksgiving about how no one reads his

newsletter it's the cousin you see

posting on X or LinkedIn and you can

tell they're trying to like Drive

traffic to their startup but they're not

doing a good a very good job right it's

it's the friend that is like hey I'm

thinking about leaving my job and

starting this thing uh but I don't I

don't know how to do it you're looking

for people in your life that you can

help and sometimes that means being paid

in cash and sometimes that means being

paid in a testimonial or being paid in

you getting experience or you building

confidence right you don't always have

to get paid in cash so that first ghost

writing client chances are is sitting

right right next to you somewhere in

your life but in your brain you think no

a my first client is going to be and

then you project this big fancy vision

of what it means to land a client off in

the future and that's not what it is

your first client should just be someone

in your life that you know and you go

help them and then you lad that work up

to the next one and to the next one into

the next one so in the very beginning

your Niche is your network let me know

if you enjoy this Q&A series I I really

enjoy actually uh just having questions

teed up uh it's a lot is very easy for

me to just speak to as well and I always

find myself going down different

tangents and rabbit holes that I I might

not have thought to talk about um had

someone not asked the question so if you

enjoy this Q&A series uh drop a comment

on YouTube let me know and I'll do more

of them