Starting with today’s post, I’m beginning a new monthly business update. Let me explain where the idea for this came from, and then I’ll get into some specific updates. 

I’ve talked about this before, but I’m a member of a fantastic community called Total Life Freedom. This is a group led by Vincent Pugliese, who is an author and entrepreneur. He created this group two or three years ago, and I’ve been a part of it for a couple of years. I just joined the Elite Mastermind a few weeks ago, which is his high-end mastermind group that meets every week. 

One of the people in this group is a Realtor named John Schuchman. John lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, so if you live in that area and need a Realtor, John is definitely your guy. He also hosts a fantastic podcast called The Real Estate Survival Guide, so if that’s your industry, make sure to check it out. 

John recently started doing a monthly business update on his podcast, which I thought was a great idea. He got the idea from another friend of ours in the Total Life Freedom Community, Ken Carfagno. Ken runs a cleaning business and also hosts a great podcast for cleaning business owners, called Smart Cleaning School. Ken does a monthly business update on his show. You can see how powerful it is to be part of a great mastermind group, and how ideas can spread from one person to another. 

That’s how this idea came about. When I heard John doing a business update, I immediately thought that would work well here. I know many of you have a writing business of some kind, and a lot of you probably want to begin one. Although this podcast isn’t really about ghostwriting, a lot of the lessons I talk about are transferable to your own writing and business. Plus, I hope that you can learn from my mistakes and struggles, as well as my successes.  

I want to fill you in on what’s happening with my ghostwriting, the Daily Writer, and personal life. I’ll also talk about my biggest challenge. Let’s dive in! 

Ghostwriting

I’ve talked about this briefly on the podcast recently, and I’ll go into a lot more detail soon, but you may or may not know that I recently quit my teaching job to do ghostwriting full-time. This was not a decision I made lightly. I had a lot of criteria that needed to be met in order for me to make this transition. One of them was that I needed to have about 6 months of savings in the bank before I made the leap, which I do. Another was that I needed to have at least 6 months of consistent income to indicate this was sustainable. That was also true. 

Another key factor was that I needed to have definite confirmation from my wife and other key people in my circle who I trust. And I have to tell you, that there was not a single person who said I should stay in my day job. Even my own bosses recognized that my business was growing, and they were not surprised by this transition. 

There are some important lessons there that I’ll get into in a few weeks when I do a dedicated post on why I made this transition and how it came about. For the time being, the main thing to note is that it was a very planned, very deliberate decision. A lot of entrepreneur types talk about ditching your day job so you can have freedom and all that. But if you quit your day job, you better be darn sure you have a plan in place and some money in the bank as a safety net. I have a low tolerance for risk, so that was important to me and my wife, as well. 

Now let’s talk about ghostwriting specifically. Right now, I’m actively writing four books for clients, and am also doing heavy developmental editing on another. Of the four books I’m writing, one of these came through a ghostwriting agency, which incidentally is my lowest-paying book. That should not come as a surprise because that’s the way agencies work. The other three I’m writing came through my network and personal relationships. As of this moment, I also have a proposal out for another book, and there are three other books that I think are very good possibilities for this year. 

I’m definitely grateful for all of this, but I do have to tell you that ghostwriting is very simply a lot of hard work. It really is. Even if you like writing and are good at it, there is no way to get around the work. Ghostwriting sounds like a light and fun sort of business, but it is work. 

Now, what you’re probably wondering is, “How is the money in ghostwriting?” Well, that’s a very good question, and one of the things I’ve talked about is that I always want to be as honest as I can with you. With my current level of ghostwriting, I have essentially tripled my salary from my day job within the first 5 months of this year. That is a mix of book projects and other freelance writing. So yes, to be blunt, that was absolutely a factor in my quitting my day job! 

However, when you hear me talk about increasing my income, it might be tempting to think, “Oh that Kent, he’s so lucky” and so forth. But that’s not the case at all. Yes, I’m blessed and fortunate, but I’ve also been building this business for a long time. I also am working harder, and have much more responsibility now.  

It’s important to keep in mind that income is just a reflection of the value you are bringing to the marketplace. This is simply a matter of me shifting to a type of work that is more highly valued in the marketplace. Ghostwriters are compensated at a higher level than college professors, generally, because the market feels they are adding more value. It’s really just basic economics. 

So, if you are wrestling with what kind of business to get into with your writing skills, I would urge you to consider what kinds of writing are most valued in the marketplace—especially if income is one of your main criteria. 

The Daily Writer 

Basically, there are two parts to my business: ghostwriting and the Daily Writer. The Daily Writer, or DW for short, consists of books I’ll write, products, and, of course, the DW Community, which is a membership group for writers. 

My podcast is essentially a gateway to all of those things, and it’s my main way to promote what I’m doing with my books and the community. Currently, we have about 25 members in the community and it’s going well. We have an active Facebook group and lots of resources. Every Thursday we do a several-hour writing sprint where people can hop on and off as they would like. We also do a group call at noon CST every Thursday, which alternates between a general community call, a guest expert call, a teaching call, and a book discussion. 

There are a lot of possibilities for the Daily Writer, and I feel like I’ve only started to scratch the surface. The main thing I need to accomplish next is building the Daily Writer email list, which I’ve done a terrible job of doing. I don’t even have a lead magnet finished for that website to collect email addresses. I’ve simply been too busy with client work, my own writing, the podcast, and other things. But I know I’m missing out on a huge chance to serve people and build this side of my business. 

As far as the books I’m working on, there are two in active development. The first is called “Kickstart Your Creativity,” and it’s a 31-day challenge to unlock your creative genius and discover new possibilities. Each day will have a short chapter to help you boost your creativity. That is also the first volume in what I’m calling the “Kickstart Series,” and it’s designed to help creative entrepreneurs develop important business skills such as creativity, networking, productivity, courage, and several other areas. Those are all future volumes in this series. 

The other book I’m working on is “The Daily Writer,” which will be 366 daily readings to help inspire and motivate you in your writing. If you listen to the short weekday episodes of my podcast, you’re hearing me write those entries as I go along. I’m using my podcast as a way to write content for that book. The Daily Writer book will come out in October of 2022. 

A Personal Update 

The biggest thing I’m working through personally is dealing with a lot of change at once. I’m now working from home all the time and learning to think more like a business owner. That’s a big shift from being a college professor for 17 years. 

My son is also going to be a senior in high school this Fall, so my wife and I are looking to be empty nesters before too long. There are a lot of emotions that come with that. My wife has also transitioned into a brand new job and career direction. Plus, we’re all coming out of this sort of mild catatonic state from the pandemic last year. You sort of feel like you’ve been asleep and are just now waking up. 

My Biggest Challenge 

A few days ago, I was taking a long walk, trying to figure out why I had been feeling mildly irritable the last few weeks. Then I realized I was going through grief as I have been learning to let go of my old life and embracing this new stage of life. I’m 46 years old and am very clearly in my second half of life. 

I suddenly realized that I’m not ready for the second half. It’s sort of like being in a football game, and they throw you onto the field for the second half, but in your head, it still feels like the first quarter. You realize that time is limited and it’s moving faster than you realize. 

That’s where I am right now, just to be honest with you. I’m emotionally grappling with the fact that I’ll be 50 in a few short years and that life is moving pretty quickly. I’m so grateful for this new opportunity to serve people through ghostwriting and the Daily Writer, don’t get me wrong. I’m gearing up for an awesome second half and am looking forward to more good things to come. 

As always, I appreciate you so much. I’m grateful you are taking this journey with me.