…back before I tried my hand at fiction writing, I hired a ghostwriter.

Or, should I say, thought I’d hired a ghostwriter.

You see, I had a great idea for a fiction book based on a mysterious character from Minecraft.

Herobrine, who was as elusive as Big Foot, would appear in people’s games and set fire to their homes and cause
mayhem and destruction.

There had to be a reason he was like that I wondered, and that became the storyline for my first book.

The ghostwriter I hired, loved the idea and promised me that we’d get started soon.

One week, became two, two became a month, and all I heard was silence from him.

‘Why don’t you write it yourself?’ Catherine said to me, on hearing of my frustration. ‘You know what happens in the book, so just write it.’

A few weeks later the book was done and on sale in the Kindle store.

Then the reviews started to come in.

For the ones that hated it, there were even more that not only loved it, but wanted even more.

A few weeks later, my ghostwriter came back to me looking to write the book.

‘I don’t need you, it’s done.’

To him, it was probably an opportunity he missed to earn some cash. To me, that missed opportunity opened my eyes to what I was able to do when I put my mind to it.

Life’s funny like that. Sometimes the biggest hurdle you face, is just what you need to make you step up and do
something you think you can’t do.

This Corona thing, is going to do that for a lot of people right now.

With their backs to the wall, they’re going to come online and start a business, or finally take the one they have seriously.

One of my darkest moments was losing a home I loved. Having to sell it before the bank swooped in, I’ll never forget
the day I pulled into the drive and looked at the ‘For Sale’ that had just been freshly hammered into the lawn.

‘I love this house. You know that, Daddy?’

Why my three-year-old son said that at that very moment, I’ll never know?

But it broke my heart.

Here I was, a parent of two kids and a husband, and I’d lost a stable home.

Looking at it from where I am now, I’m glad it happened. I wouldn’t be living in the house I am, and our marriage is stronger for it.

Times may be tough right now, but we’ll all come out of this a lot stronger than when we went in it.

There’s a lot more talent and ability in you than you know, but you’ll only find it by doing things you think you
can’t do.

And as for my book…

….well, that grew into a boxset of seventeen books. Which right now, has eighty-one reviews and an overall rating of 4.5.

And all because a ghostwriter didn’t show up to do the work.

Life’s funny like that.
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Thankfully, I’ve learned a lot about working with ghostwriters since that time…

https://writecome.com/ghost-writing-secrets/

Barry J McDonald.