Here's a question I received today:

I have a question about Ghostwriting.  I got an idea about an article. I wrote it this evening.

I have an affiliate link with someone that I think might be interested. I thought about asking her if she would like to buy the article from me. What do you think? How would I go about doing this?

If I were to get other ideas for articles and wanted to sell them, how do I go about asking them without running the risk of them stealing the article from me?

Here is my response…

First of all, I would definitely contact the person you referenced in your email — or her affiliate manager, which happens to be me. 😉 I do think that that is definitely an interesting approach to getting an ongoing writing job. I wouldn't invest too much in writing articles in advance, BUT.. if you have written an article and you want to find it a home, then there's no harm in asking. If she says “no”, then you can always still use it in one of these ways.

1. Add it to your website
2. Submit it to article directories with your affiliate link
3. Offer it to someone else.
4. Start a portfolio of your writing, so that, in the future, you can just point interested clients to your portfolio, rather than writing a sample just for them.
5. Use it to start your OWN infoproduct

As for the person stealing it, I wouldn't offer it to someone unless you feel comfortable that they appear to be an ethical business person. Yes, she may say “No” and then write a similar but unique article herself, but that wouldn't be stealing. And, anyone with a successful affiliate program should know better than to steal it.

You may also want to post about your ghostwriting services here –
http://nicoleonthenet.com/2006/ghostwriters-looking-for-work-post-below/

I hope that helps!
Nicole