Marketing Guy Isn’t Afraid Of Ghostwriting

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

[Music]

Hey friends, hey listeners, community. Thank you so much for being out there. I just realized as I was working on this episode that we are coming up on number 1400. Episode 1400 will arrive in approximately, well, exactly 11 days. This is 1389.

That is correct, right? 1400 minus 1389. Yes, that's 11, okay. Glad I passed that test there. I just feel so fortunate to be able to make this show for you every day.

I had no idea when I started in January 1, 2017 that I would keep going all this time. And it really is because I keep finding so many great stories. I keep hearing from so many engaged listeners all over the world who are pursuing these projects and trying to figure out how they can increase freedom for themselves, how they can make extra money, but also maybe do something that they never imagined doing before. Or maybe they imagined it, but they felt stuck on something. So it's just so much fun to hear from listeners.

And I'll have more to say about that as we get up to 1400, but I just wanted to say for now, thank you, you're awesome. And in today's story, after a partner in a marketing firm fulfills a lifelong dream of writing his own novel, he begins ghost writing for others, penning children's books and even poetry. We're gonna call this story, Marketing Guy Isn't Afraid of Ghost Writing, right? Because who would be afraid of ghost writing? All right, that story is coming up after this quick message from our sponsor.

And thank you again. [Music]

Over 20 years ago, a Las Vegas local known as Brian Ruff began a new chapter in his life story. He became a partner in what would eventually become a mid-sized marketing agency, serving clients both in and out of Sin City. Starting a new business was an exciting next step for him. Not least of all, because it came directly after he achieved a lifelong dream.

You see, for his whole life until then, Brian wanted to be a writer, a novelist to be precise. And like many aspiring writers, he found it difficult to turn the page on that career. But he kept working at it. And after much effort, Brian would eventually self-publish his first novel. It was called Dice Angel and revolved around a down on his luck character who meets a mysterious woman who promises to turn it all around.

The premise was intriguing and the book well-written, but Brian felt that his real success had come before selling a single copy. He had finally finished that novel, bringing a long chapter of his life to a close. Although Dice Angel never graced the bestseller list, it still opened up a lot of doors. He appeared at local book fairs, libraries, festivals, and conferences, basically anywhere he could get a leg in before the door slammed shut. As he spoke more, more people read his book.

His Amazon reviews climbed and serendipitously, a big name casino magnate contacted Brian with a proposition. He had read Dice Angel, noticed Brian's contact details in the back of the book, and reached out to discuss an opportunity. That magnate was big on ideas, but short on time and writing talent. He loved Dice Angel and wanted Brian's help in writing a book of his own. A deal was struck and Brian was paid mid five figures to write the book.

It was a lot of money, although Brian says over the next year he would earn every penny. Countless revisions and constant feedback meant there was significant heavy lifting to be done to deliver the desired manuscript. But Brian, the ghostwriter, never lost his spirit. He completed the book and ended the year a little richer. It was hard work, but even so, he wasn't scared off of ghostwriting.

He kept attending workshops, seminars, and book fairs. He made a lot of personal and professional connections and met countless people for coffee. He always offered assistance in their own endeavors any way he could. During one of those meetups, it dawned on him, there might be more of a market for his services than he realized. And like the casino magnate, some of those people might actually be willing to pay him.

From then on, every time he spoke at an event, he would subtly mention that he offered ghostwriting and coaching services. This led to a steady stream of interest. He created his own website using WordPress and began blogging. As the years passed and social media platforms came to prominence, he built profiles on those two. And slowly but surely, he built up a reputable online presence by posting, answering, and engaging with people in the writing community, both locally in Las Vegas and elsewhere.

Some of them would become clients of his, which he typically charged in one of two ways, either hourly for coaching or a one-off sum for ghostwriting. He consulted with aspiring novelists. He wrote children's books, even ghostwrote poetry. He covered topics like UFOs, war, and the swinging '60s. As long as it was interesting and he liked the people he worked with, he had few limits on what he would take on.

In fact, sometimes he'd even work with people more than once. Remember the casino magnate? Brian wrote a sequel to his first book several years later. Brian has kept up this gig for 20 years as a side hustle to his main marketing business. He does it not only because he loves writing, but also because it's profitable.

As he approaches retirement from his business, Brian hopes ghostwriting can become an even larger source of income. It can certainly keep him busy. [Music]

Thanks so much to Brian, the marketing ghostwriter. I appreciate you allowing us to share your story with our listeners. If you wanna check him out on Instagram, his handle is the house always wins Vegas.

Once again, it's the house always wins Vegas. One word, of course. We will link up his website and anything else mentioned in the story on the show notes page. Now I do wanna encourage you listeners, I often have this phrase at the end of our stories where I say inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is so much better. And this is a common theme in so many of our stories where a person is inspired, but then they don't just remain in that space of inspiration.

They actually go and do something about it. And so my hope is always for you that you'll also be entertained. You might learn something. This is informative, et cetera. But ultimately it kind of pushes you forward in some way.

So that's always my hope. I will leave you with that today. And that show notes page is sidehustleschool.com/1389. If you've got a comment or question for the show, just come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. Thank you again for listening.

I hope you do one thing today to get closer to that goal that you believe in. And of course come back tomorrow for episode 1390. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]

From the Onward Project.