Customer Reviews

Write a Book Without Lifting a Finger: How to Hire a Ghostwriter Even if You're on a Shoestring Budget

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hiring a ghostwriter often doesn't get the respect it should as a technique for promoting your career. Yet, as Mahesh Grossman shows, it's an honorable and proven way to multiply your time and get into print fast.

Write a Book without Lifting a Finger is incredibly detailed and covers all aspects of the topic. Although chock full of details, it is a fast and pleasurable read. I started to read it while returning to my office from the post office, starting reading at random in the middle. An hour later, I was still reading--a testament to clear writing and helpful, pragmatic advice.

As the publisher of www.AboutBizz.com and AboutBizz Magazine, I am constantly approached by readers for advice. In fact, I have often been pinned down for the ole' "let me pick your brains" by individuals asking for information and advice on writing articles and books. Until now, much of what I have dispensed as wisdom was fairly generic...that is until now.
Last night I was privileged to listen to a conference call put on by Dr. Daphne Houston. Her special guest was Mahesh Grossman who is the author of the book "Write a Book Without Lifting a Finger." For 90+ minutes he offered real answers to many of the questions that writers or would-be writers asked. His style is very relaxed yet thoroughly knowledgeable.
For a man in his position it would NOT have surprised me to hear him speak down to the newbies asking questions, yet he spoke with a gentle instructional manner that allowed even those with some experience to still glean a nugget of golden advice.
I await the physical copy of the book and truly can't wait to dig more into it. I firmly believe EVERYONE has a book in them...be it ebook or printed pages. Mr. Grossman's book combined with a few other's I could recommend will give any writer real confidence to sit down realize that life's dream of being a published author. With Mr. Grossman's expertise, you really and truly could see your name up on the shelf of your local Barnes & Nobles, Borders, or even right here on Amazon!
If you'd like a copy of the audio call I heard, drop me an email at AboutBizz2@aol.com. I hope you all the best of real success.

Congratulations and much gratitude to Mahesh Grossman for writing this knowledgable, thorough, professional and generous book. I am the author of over 20 books and a writing teacher at UCLA.
This is a book I now recommend to all my students.
Grossman knows the publishing business, the taste of the public and the world of ghostwriting better than anybody.

I purchased my copy a little over a month ago and have not put it down yet! Re-read it several times and am still learning from it's down to earth wisdom and guidance. Enspired me to pull out my old notes and get working on producing not one but two tombs for pub lication.
Advise offered is very highly practical. Many examples of such a real nature that it makes you just want to sit down and start on a book NOW.Exactly what I did !!! Excellent "How to Do It" manual.Direct,concise and yet clearly written and highly understandable.
In my opinion, if I could afford only one book on getting a book into print Mahesh Grossman's "Write A Book Without Lifting a Finger" would be it.

This is a terrific book and I highly recommend it! As a published novelist myself and ghostwriter of more than ten books and screenplays, I was a little concerned when I picked up this book that Mr. Grossman would be giving away too many "tricks of the trade" and would inadvertently put some of us "ghosts" out of business. I needn't have worried. This book is well organized, very well written, and a quick, easy read. I am now recommending this book to my students, clients, and colleagues. The sample book proposals alone (one of which netted its unknown author a six-figure, big publisher advance) make this book more than worth its modest cover price.

I highly recommend this book to three groups of people:

1. Aspiring authors who are considering hiring a ghostwriter.

2. Aspiring ghostwriters who want to learn more about the business.

3. Non-fiction authors working without a ghost who want "inside" information on how to write a book proposal and what it takes to get published in today's highly competitive marketplace.

If you fit into one of these three categories, or if you just want to know more about the "mysterious" world of ghostwriting, this book is for you!

When I first came accross Mahesh Grossman's book, "Write A
Book Without Lifting A Finger"; I thought it must be the
ultimate hoax of all time. If anyone can write a book without
lifting a finger, then how come there are so many out there
that must have used somebody's fingers,if not their own?
Who's then? Whose fingers? What does the writer do without
ushing his own fingers? No..this can't be! What's the catch?
Well, the catch is in the heretofore long suppressed and now
subtly revealed secret! Ghostwriters! Don't belive it?
Think again. Haven't you ever wondered how busy executives,
VIP's, tycoons, and ordinary people, suddenly end up on the
Bestseller list or overnight literary sensations? Can you
actually picture a mogul or celebrity, with their notoriously
busy schedules and demands; spending hours,days or years
writing an actual book? Or how does unknown housewife
suddenly become a star on the Talk Shows as the newest
literary discovery? The answer is...Ghostwriters! Yes,
these people use and depend on what is standard policy
and procedure in the publishing industry. And not so
infrequently anymore, quite ordinary people with shelved
book ideas or writing passions have caught on to this
secret; and found it to be the path to fame and riches.
Heretofore, many writers have had the notion that in
resorting to ghostwriting serveices, is tantamount to
something like a frustrated lothario resorting to using
a stripper or call girl. That it would be selling out
on their creativity and a ghostwriter would not refelect
their true literary intent or anticipation. So Wrong!!
Mahesh Grossman clearly and succinctly dispels this
notion and futile vanity for once and for all in his
totally factual and logic filled book, "Writing A Book
Without Lifting A Finger!" And quite literally, the
writer does not use his fingers. One does however, get
personal phone interviewing, coaching and guidance
like the professional team of Grossman's Authors Team.
Grossman is the consumate professional with all the
credentials and criteria to really "spill the words"
on this very compete,concise and invaluable guide
and resource for one's literary avocations. And he
does so with wit, charm, panache and a total dose of
facts and realities about the publishing world and its
intracacies; so many writers cannot on their own, win
the prize of publication, fame and riches. It may not
be the path or resource for any and every writer. But
for the turly serious and vanity-free writer, with more
ambition than egotism to avail oneself of such invaluable
services; this is a godsend and keepsake!

I'm an experienced ghostwriter. Let me nip something of Grossman's in the bud right off the bat. His major premise seems to be that you don't have to spend a lot of money on a ghostwriter because all you need to start is a proposal about your book, not the actual book in hand. Then you just send the proposal to agents/publishers and, if it's good enough, bam! you'll get a big advance. Um...no. Unless you're a celebrity or an expert with a HUGE platform, good luck getting a publisher to give you an advance for a sight-unseen work. It's almost irresponsible to suggest that it can happen. Grossman's wrong. I'll give him two stars because there is some practical advice in here, but that's all he's getting until he joins the rest of us in the real world.

Even if you never plan on hiring a ghostwriter but would like to get a book published, get this title. I've read stacks of how-to writing books for many years plus I work as an acquisitions editor inside a book publishing house. There is information, stories, quotations and detail that I've never seen in a printed form. Mahesh Grossman knows what it takes to get a book deal and how to create a focused book proposal which will stand out from everything else and land the attention of a major publisher.

The final portion of this book includes many specifics about book proposal creation along with examples of four book proposals.

For the unique information crammed into the pages of this book, it's a worthwhile title for anyone who wants to get a book published.

If you're trying to decide whether to hire a ghostwriter, you should read this book.

Being an author, I was curious about Mahesh Grossman's book, Write A Book Without Lifting a Finger. Even though my interest does not include ghostwriting, Mr. Grossman's book is quality, through and through! It delves into the do's and don'ts of ghostwriting and how an author with a very busy schedule can secure a legitimate person in the field to make their manuscript a valuable, viable piece of work. Mahesh Grossman touches on every aspect: What being a ghostwriter entails, how to find the person (ghostwriter) who can speak in your voice, being compatable, magazine and freelance writers, how to put a reader in the mood (with hooks), why and how marketing your book is necessary and many other pertinent facts.

Even though I may never hire a ghostwriter or assume the duties of one, all the tools Mr. Grossman lays out in his book could apply to every author. Great book!

Joyce Rapier, author of Full Circle, released November 2006