Ghostwriting

I began my writing career as a novelist but soon learned that very, very, (add in 2,000 more “verys”) few people in the world make a full-time living writing their own novels.

Then I discovered ghostwriting. It is what I primarily do. And I’ve come to love it.

A good ghostwriter is rarely unemployed, as the world is seemingly filled with people who “have a book inside them,” yet can’t coax it out.

So who is a ghostwriter? A high-caliber, professional writer who works with and for you. And who are you? Either an expert with the desire to share his or her expertise with the world (Subject Matter Expert), or simply someone with a story to tell—real or made up.

Why hire a ghostwriter (pardon me for going out of order, but the tale is best told this way)? Being an expert or having a story does not automatically make you a writer. Writing is a craft, like plumbing or being an electrician. And if you’ve ever botched a home repair, you’ll understand the occasional need to bring in someone who actually knows what they’re doing. Secondly, there’s time, which is another reason we outsource other aspects of our life. Don’t have time to mow the grass? Hire a lawn service. No time to walk the dog? Hire a dogwalker. Have an unfinished manuscript in the top drawer of your desk for ten years and don’t know how or when you’ll ever get it completed? Hire a ghostwriter.

What does a ghost do? They interview you and get to know you and your story, whatever category it fits into. In the nearly 50 books I’ve worked on, I’ve done memoirs, self-help, novels, and just about every conceivable subgenre from Christian Lit to Erotica. A ghost takes what you have, whether it’s copious drafts and notes or simply what’s between your ears, organizes it so it flows like a good book should, then writes it, sharing pages with you all along the way so the process never gets out of hand or you feel you are losing control of your dream and vision.

What I also do is help people get published. Today, self-publishing is within the grasp of nearly everyone, but where I take particular pride is in getting aspiring writers into the big leagues: traditional, royalty-paying publishing. This involves not only writing your book, but also drafting query letters to agents and publishers, writing non-fiction book proposals (a “business plan” for your non-fiction book—novels don’t require one), doing the actual querying for you (i.e. knowing who to contact and how), and staying aboard to make edits and changes that inevitably are requested by the aforementioned agents and editors.  

Where do ghosts work? Anywhere they please—my personal fave is in my boxer shorts in my home office. But the question I’m frequently asked is, “Must I hire a writer who is local to me?” The answer is no. I’ve worked with people all over the world. As long as telephones and the Internet exist, everyone is just a click or two away. With apps like Skype, we can even see one another as we talk (I promise to put on more than just my shorts). We can exchange files. It’s almost like being right next door. Still feel the need to work face-to-face? I happen to be mobile. My contracts have a codicil covering travel, at your request, to anywhere you’d like me to be for as long as you like. No, I’m not paying for my own plane ticket—you are—but I am flexible and amiable to travel.

When do I do it? Contact me if you’re interested and I’ll let you know my availability.

How do I do it? We discuss your project. I give you a price quote. If we come to an agreement, I send you a contract. If and when you sign it, I ask that you share with me what you’ve got, if anything (notes, drafts, etc.). I put together an overall concept for you. If you approve, we move forward—first chapter first, second comes second, etc. I send you pages, you read them, correct them, we discuss them, and only once you’re satisfied do we move on. Eventually, we have a book. If it’s a novel, we either publish it (self-publishing) or I send it out to literary agents and publishers. If it’s non-fiction, if you want to self-publish, we do. If not, along the way I also create your book proposal and again, I send it out to agents and publishers for you.

If you’re serious about working with a ghostwriter, I’m sure you have a hundred other questions, but I can’t cover them all right here, right now, since many of them are particular to your personal project. So send me an email and let’s talk about it. There’s no reason that “book that is inside you” should stay there forever. Let me help you get your book out!