If you’re considering becoming a professional ghostwriter, you will want to do as much research on the topic as possible before you quit your day job. It is a fun, challenging career, but it will take a while for you to build a good enough portfolio and to find clients who will pay well enough for you to support yourself.

Most individual ghostwriting gigs do not pay very well, but you can make a decent wage if you manage to find clients who will need a significant amount of work done, especially if you can write a good deal of material on concentrated subjects. While you may need to take small jobs from various clients in the beginning while you are building your portfolio, you will want to look for a well-funded client who needs vast quantities of content written (or many pages written, such as the case in writing manuscripts) on a few subjects. This way you can concentrate your time doing any needed research and will be able to churn out enough work to make enough money to support yourself.

If you want to become a book ghostwriter, make sure you get enough information from the client to make the work worth your time. Be sure to get a detailed outline of each chapter, plus supplemental research information and a detailed contract specifying exactly how many revisions you will provide (if any). Outline your compensation needs (either by page, word or hour) before you accept any book projects, as these can be wonderful projects or tremendous time-sucking projects that are not worth the time invested.

You’ll want to offer your ghostwriting services by advertising through online services and networking systems so you can build a steady stream of clients. Make sure you play up your specialties as you advertise. For example, if you have a medical or nursing degree, you can easily become a medical ghostwriter. Consider what skills and areas of knowledge you possess and use these to accentuate your ghostwriting skills.