Ghostwriting is all about getting your book written by a professional writer – think of It as your words or ideas, my labour. Your name as author on the cover, my name in invisible ink. I frequently chat to people who say they’ve never heard of ghostwriting but it is much more common that you might think.
You may notice there are periods of time when I don’t really talk much about what work I am doing. These are times where I have contracts in place and I am head down, bum on seat writing.
And I love it.
I love the intensity of these writing projects.
I love that we start a process together with nothing and end up with a manuscript. There is a pride for both parties. Everyone wins… and the world wins because your thoughts have been captured to be shared with a wider audience.
I get genuinely excited for the clients I work with.
I enjoy that we build a relationship for the time I am in your life, and I get to know my clients in a real way. I always need to get inside a clients’ voice so I can write in a way that reflects their uniqueness, and that is a challenge that I relish.
And the client always gets final say.
Each project is a little different – for some there are source materials and loads of research and interviews to be done. For other clients with a clear picture of what they want to say, or a personal story to tell, I am more like the conduit from verbal story to getting something on the page. Usually content is nonfiction, memoir/biography – what I love most – but it can be anything.
Often I sign Non Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) so I can never talk about who I write for, but I can say this – most books written by ‘famous people’, most columns written in magazines or on blogs by celebrities will have the hand of a ghostwriter in their production.
And sometimes it’s just that people are busy. Writing is hard work. It requires dedicated hours (yes I’ve turned out 65,000 word manuscripts in 6 months) and a skill set that after years of practice I’ve managed to be proficient at. I’ve studied and I’ve honed my skills over decades. And I can tell you it is possible to be ‘writing fit’ – it takes time but it’s a game changer for productivity!
You may have realised there’s value in outsourcing all sorts of ‘life tasks’ to a professional – book writing is no exception.