It took years of enduring jobs I didn’t enjoy before I finally mustered the courage to step into the unknown. Starting a new career is challenging, regardless of your age or previous experience—everyone begins as a beginner. Being a freelance writer as a South African seemed impossible until I took a chance and stepped off the ledge. You have to be brave enough to close old doors for new ones to open.
To my surprise, I landed projects I had only ever dreamed of, including authoring books. I didn’t even know that being a ghostwriter was an option for me until I stumbled upon an online company called The Urban Writer.
"Love is the force that propels us forward on the journey of life."
I have always been a writer, scribbling my thoughts on paper or typing my heart out just for the fun of it. Writing has been my go-to coping mechanism for dealing with life and all it throws at us. I remember writing my first unfinished book when I was still in school. I was going through my first ever heartbreak, and writing entries in my diary did not cut it. I had too many emotions to deal with, and my overthinking brain felt like it was about to burst. So, I let it burst, and thus my first 'unfinished' story was written.
Chapter by chapter, I felt the healing process take flight; I was crying and laughing with my characters. After this experience of letting my emotions run wild, I was hooked and soon enough became obsessed with writing stories as a creative outlet.
The only problem was, I did not have the confidence to share my writing at all.
I was hyper-conscious, not necessarily because I thought my writing was bad but more so for the truth hidden behind all my words. I like to integrate my real-life experiences and give them a fictional flare. To show these stories to people, especially those who knew me, made me feel horrified, as I am a very private person.
So, I continued to keep my writing a secret for all these years until I found the perfect solution, Ghostwriting!
Suddenly, I had a mask to hide behind, and it suited me perfectly. I could be as honest as I pleased, creatively expressing every thought, no matter how taboo. I have always had a wild imagination and am an introvert at heart. This made fantasy books my best friends, but reading could only give me so much pleasure. I quickly became bored and would rather get lost in my own stories and create my own worlds instead of finishing a book. I still love reading, and I also enjoy audiobooks, but writing is where my true happiness lies.
No matter what job I did or if I had to study, any free moment I got, I would write chapters of novels with no names and lots of poems with nowhere to go.
After graduation and being unfulfilled in most jobs I purely did for money, I knew there must be more to life. I was in an interview for an HR position when the interviewer asked me what my dream job was. Me, not thinking the obvious answer should be Human Resources, suddenly blurted out, "To be a writer!" The woman just stared at me and said, “But why don’t you write then?” I was sitting there, almost feeling embarrassed for what I had said; I did not have a good explanation for why I did not pursue my dream. This is the day I made a promise to myself; I would not sit on my dream any longer.
I started doing research on how I could start my career as a writer. Being a South African, our choices are somewhat limited but that's what makes the world wide web so great. I came across an online company, The Urban Writers | Dibbly with ghost writing jobs available.
I had to go through an extensive application process and, for the first time ever, share my words. To my disbelief, I got in and soon applied for my first project, and so my first paid for novel was born.
For more information on how I landed my first ghostwriting project, check out this blog post.
Books are the best therapist for introverts, and being able to help and entertain people with my stories and experiences is one of the best feelings in the world.
I put my heart and soul into each project I’m fortunate enough to work on, whether it’s books or blogs. Ghostwriting has allowed me to develop my own voice and branch out beyond being just a ghost behind the scenes.
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