About the Author:
 Melinda Copp is a ghostwriter for memoir and nonfiction books.
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This collection of articles is designed to help you navigate your path to becoming a nonfiction author. Click on the titles to read more.
| 14 Benefits of Becoming an AuthorAuthoring a book requires a big investment in time, effort, and money. With the writing, editing, and production work required to publish a book, it can take years before it’s done. And if you can’t write the book yourself, hiring a ghostwriter costs as much as—a client once told me—a car. Not a fancy car, necessarily, but still a car. However, becoming an author offers some big returns too. |
| 7 Common Mistakes Aspiring Authors Make and How to Avoid ThemOver the years I’ve worked as a ghostwriter and developmental editor, I’ve helped fix quite a few books that weren’t fulfilling a promise or achieving the author’s goal. These are some of the most common nonfiction book writing mistakes that I’ve seen aspiring authors make and how to avoid them. |
| How to Publish a Book Every aspiring author thinks about publishing his or her book. That's the payoff, right? But with so many options available in this day and age (self-publishing, ebooks, traditional publishing, print-on-demand, etc.), if you’re writing a book, then you have a lot to think about! Many writers feel the most important decisions they can make is whether to seek a traditional publisher or self-publish. |
| Good Book Title Ideas and Bad Book Title Ideas If you’re writing a book, you may have a working title in mind, something you put on the first page of your manuscript to hold the title’s place. Or maybe you have no idea what to title your book. At some point, as you start wrapping up your manuscript, you need to make a decision on what exactly you want to call this thing you’ve been working on for all this time. |
| How to Get a Book Published Many writers dream of getting a book published by a major publishing company. In fact, it’s how many define success. I had lunch with a potential editing client the other day who felt getting published was more important that writing a great book. But we’ve all heard stories of six-figure advances and national exposure. For those lucky authors, the commercial publishing contract is the fastest path to success. |
Melinda has ghostwritten fifteen books and has an MFA in creative writing. Her own work has been published in newspapers, magazines, and literary journals, online and in print. She helps her clients get their books done and into the world. For more information, visit her at www.writerssherpa.com.