...what's the difference...
By jeanneyvonne
@jeanneyvonne (5501)
Philippines
November 2, 2012 7:54am CST
between freelancing and ghostwriting? This question was asked to me by a newbie writer. She argues that she was freelancing and ghostwriting are the same since writer's don't exactly get paid to have their name printed for their work. I argued about some writers in thews department who are freelancing or contributing to newspapers but she says it's different in terms in writing for the web. it got-me thinking and maybe she has a point.
what do you tihnk?
6 responses
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
2 Nov 12
Not the same. You can be a freelance writer and still get a byline on a lot of things: magazine articles, newspaper articles, web articles, short stories, poems, songs, etc.
If she's writing web material for people who are putting their name on it, then she needs to speak with the people who hire her about it.
Ghostwriting is when you're writing with the understanding that someone else's name is going on the product.
I've been a ghostwriter and a freelancer for a long time. They're completely different.
A ghostwriter can be a freelance writer, but they're different.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
3 Nov 12
this got me thinking about paid-to-write and paid-to-rewrite jobs. does your name appear in the byline? are you allowed to list them as writing samples for your credentials?
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
3 Nov 12
If you're asking legitimately and not rhetorically, I guess it's up to the client. For articles that a client is going to publish on a whole bunch of different directories, then allowing a byline from a freelancer might be okay. A few years ago when I first started working for other people via small article jobs, I was hired to write a whole bunch of stuff on HubPages and other similar sites. It was an ongoing theme, needing a bunch of articles to keep the presence up, and I got to use a name and a profile.
I could have used by real name, but I decided to go with a fake name. But the important thing is that the option was there. 
@jeanneyvonne (5501)
• Philippines
4 Nov 12
@thanks for clarifying that up. Ina sense,some freelancers (web content) are also ghostwriters since their content is used without their name. But there are also freelancers who make content and have a byline.Thanks for citing your experience.It makes the picture much clearer and easier to explain to the newbie.
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
2 Nov 12
ghostwriting and freelancing are so very different. ghost writing is using someone else's name to write under and is a specific project, whereas freelancing, is writing for yourself and moving from article to article and more often than not, different people or companies that you are writing for.
1 person likes this
@thesids (22180)
• Bhubaneswar, India
2 Nov 12
Hi jeanneyvonne
Technically, A ghostwriter is a writer who writes books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person [Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostwriter]
Now as a freelancer, there are chances that your work gets credited to you, it depends on how the terms and conditions are for that assignment of writing but for ghostwriting, it is never in your name.
Technically, A ghostwriter is a writer who writes books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person [Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostwriter]
Now as a freelancer, there are chances that your work gets credited to you, it depends on how the terms and conditions are for that assignment of writing but for ghostwriting, it is never in your name.@jeanneyvonne (5501)
• Philippines
4 Nov 12
Actually, I think is the kind of explanation that I gave. But thank you for clarifying it.
@bloggeroo (2167)
• Philippines
2 Nov 12
Freelancing simply means that you work for yourself and are not employed by another company.
On the other hand, ghostwriting is producing a literary work with the authorship attributed to the client. The most common type of literary work that requires the services of ghostwriters are biographies or something similar. If I am not mistaken, the book The Road Ahead by Bill Gates is a ghostwritten work.
So, it's quite possible to be both a freelancer and ghostwriter at the same time.
@jeanneyvonne (5501)
• Philippines
4 Nov 12
I guess this is what made me and her confused but the your explanation is very good. At least, we are both enlightened and know better.
@jenny1015 (13366)
• Philippines
2 Nov 12
I think that a freelance writer and a ghostwriter are just one and the same. If there are any difference between them, maybe it would be the involvement of a contract.
@bloggeroo (2167)
• Philippines
2 Nov 12
Actually, there's a difference. And as a rule, the credentials of a ghostwriter is higher than ordinary writers. After all, the client will want a ghostwritten book that bears his name to be successful. So, most ghostwriters are also published authors in order to be qualified for the job. That is not the case for most freelance writers.
@zoey7879 (3092)
• United States
6 Nov 12
@Bloggeroo - How are the credentials of a ghostwriter higher when the ghostwriter cannot make any legal claim to the content that they "ghost" wrote? *Headdesk*
I agree with Jenny1015 on this one.
I work as a freelance writer - I provide content through "ghostwriting" to one company on a regular basis. I provide freelance content to my local newspaper that is not considered "ghostwritten" content - These published items contain my byline.
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
2 Nov 12
its quite funny,there is no difference its just the nature of writing which varies essentially
