I've been there myself. I remember before I began writing full-time, how scared I was at the thought of writing book proposals, much less a book itself! All that, and I'm blessed with natural writing talent - it's my "thing." And, I'll be honest, there are still times today, after I've managed to climb into the top 1% of writers on Guru.com, that I'm still afraid to send that query, still terrified to

According to The New York Times "According to a recent survey, 81% of people feel that they have a book in them...and should write it." When you fill in the blanks, that means over 200 million people in the U.S. want to write a book in their lifetime!

Are you one of the millions?

According to another source, it takes about 475 hours to write a novel.

What's the pay off? Fiction is considered successful if it sells 5,000 copies.

What about nonfiction?

Writing a nonfiction book takes an average investment of 725 hours.

Nonfiction books are deemed successful when 7,500 copies have been sold.

And, in our nation alone, there are about a million and a half different books in print.

If you take a look at those figures, I think one of the easiest conjectures you can make is that of the 200 million people who want to write a book, very few of them actually get it done.

Maybe I'm biased (I am a full time freelance author with a small writing agency of my own), but I'm really surprised that so few people actually follow through with their dreams to write a book.

Think about it. If you've got a novel in you, if you can sell just 5,000 copies, you've made a mark. If you could find a way to maximize your visibility and get the traffic you need, all you'd have to do is sell 14 copies a day in your first year and your book is a success!

If, on the other hand, you're dreaming of writing a non-fiction book (there are literally thousands of potential categories to choose from), you need to aim for 7500. Fortunately, there's a much bigger (and bigger spending) market for non-fiction titles. If you could find a way to sell 21 copies a day for your first year, you're on a roll.

I think that probably the biggest reason that all of those people out there dreaming of writing a book don't actually achieve their dream is because they find writing so intimidating.

I've been there myself. I remember before I began writing full-time, how scared I was at the thought of writing book proposals, much less a book itself! All that, and I'm blessed with natural writing talent - it's my "thing." And, I'll be honest, there are still times today, after I've managed to climb into the top 1% of writers on Guru.com, that I'm still afraid to send that query, still terrified to s

What about nonfiction?

Writing a nonfiction book takes an average investment of 725 hours.

Nonfiction books are deemed successful when 7,500 copies have been sold.

And, in our nation alone, there are about a million and a half different books in print.

If you take a look at those figures, I think one of the easiest conjectures you can make is that of the 200 million people who want to write a book, very few of them actually get it done.

Maybe I'm biased (I am a full time freelance author with a small writing agency of my own), but I'm really surprised that so few people actually follow through with their dreams to write a book.

Think about it. If you've got a novel in you, if you can sell just 5,000 copies, you've made a mark. If you could find a way to maximize your visibility and get the traffic you need, all you'd have to do is sell 14 copies a day in your first year and your book is a success!

If, on the other hand, you're dreaming of writing a non-fiction book (there are literally thousands of potential categories to choose from), you need to aim for 7500. Fortunately, there's a much bigger (and bigger spending) market for non-fiction titles. If you could find a way to sell 21 copies a day for your first year, you're on a roll.

I think that probably the biggest reason that all of those people out there dreaming of writing a book don't actually achieve their dream is because they find writing so intimidating.

I've been there myself. I remember before I began writing full-time, how scared I was at the thought of writing book proposals, much less a book itself! All that, and I'm blessed with natural writing talent - it's my "thing." And, I'll be honest, there are still times today, after I've managed to climb into the top 1% of writers on Guru.com, that I'm still afraid to send that query, still terrified to

Think about it. If you've got a novel in you, if you can sell just 5,000 copies, you've made a mark. If you could find a way to maximize your visibility and get the traffic you need, all you'd have to do is sell 14 copies a day in your first year and your book is a success!

If, on the other hand, you're dreaming of writing a non-fiction book (there are literally thousands of potential categories to choose from), you need to aim for 7500. Fortunately, there's a much bigger (and bigger spending) market for non-fiction titles. If you could find a way to sell 21 copies a day for your first year, you're on a roll.

I think that probably the biggest reason that all of those people out there dreaming of writing a book don't actually achieve their dream is because they find writing so intimidating.

I've been there myself. I remember before I began writing full-time, how scared I was at the thought of writing book proposals, much less a book itself! All that, and I'm blessed with natural writing talent - it's my "thing." And, I'll be honest, there are still times today, after I've managed to climb into the top 1% of writers on Guru.com, that I'm still afraid to send that query, still terrified to

If, on the other hand, you're dreaming of writing a non-fiction book (there are literally thousands of potential categories to choose from), you need to aim for 7500. Fortunately, there's a much bigger (and bigger spending) market for non-fiction titles. If you could find a way to sell 21 copies a day for your first year, you're on a roll.

I think that probably the biggest reason that all of those people out there dreaming of writing a book don't actually achieve their dream is because they find writing so intimidating.

I've been there myself. I remember before I began writing full-time, how scared I was at the thought of writing book proposals, much less a book itself! All that, and I'm blessed with natural writing talent - it's my "thing." And, I'll be honest, there are still times today, after I've managed to climb into the top 1% of writers on Guru.com, that I'm still afraid to send that query, still terrified to

I've been there myself. I remember before I began writing full-time, how scared I was at the thought of writing book proposals, much less a book itself! All that, and I'm blessed with natural writing talent - it's my "thing." And, I'll be honest, there are still times today, after I've managed to climb into the top 1% of writers on Guru.com, that I'm still afraid to send that query, still terrified to submit that proposal.

However, unlike the rest of the world at large, I know about a little secret that can change the way you think of "writing a book."

It's called ghostwriting, and it means that you can get your book idea, with your name on it, drawing royalties to you and you alone - and you can do it all without ever having to write the book!

Celebrities use ghostwriters all the time. Many autobiographies are ghosted. Web content, sales letters, novels, curriculum materials - you name it, ghostwriters are tackling the projects, content to let you - the "writer" - take all of the credit.

Now, don't get me wrong. Ghostwriting doesn't come cheap. And, unless you've already got an explicit go ahead from an agent or a publishing house, there's no guarantee that your title will get picked up. But that always allows the chance for self-publishing or digital presses like Lulu.com. E-book sales are the fastest growing segment of "book" sales now, and in 2006, the number of sales had doubled!

But, when you take a look at the potential payoff, you'll still find yourself in the clear - with plenty of extra cash to play around with.

You can find ghostwriters in any number of ways. You can search Google for "ghostwriters", or look to online freelance agencies like Guru.com, where you can post your project and have various writers (there are over 1900 writers on the site) place bids and proposals for ghostwriting your title. All of the writers there are very familiar with completing "work-for-hire" assignments, which is what a ghosted text is - a book created for you, belonging to you, credited to you, paid to you - 100% yours.

Dreams come true ever day. Why can't your publishing dreams be one of them?