Today I want to talk to you about working with a ghostwriter, as it’s a topic that confuses many people. That’s because it’s not always understood, so I thought it would be helpful to put this episode into a question and answer format, using questions people often ask about the subject.

First, what is ghostwriting? It’s when someone has knowledge they want to put into a book, but they either don’t have time, inclination or writing skills to write the book. They somehow, usually through interviewing or notes and other materials, transfer that knowledge to a writer, who transforms the rough information into a book. It’s called ghostwriting because the author’s name goes on the book, while the ghostwriter remains invisible.

Isn’t that cheating? No, it’s not, if you provide the information for the book. For example, let’s say you are a tax accountant, and you want to publish a book that will help people prepare their business for the end of the tax year. You are an expert in the field, so you have the information. It’s your knowledge and your experience that is being transferred to your readers, and the ghostwriter is merely putting it in writing in a way you may not be able to do. Now if you simply said to the ghostwriter, write a book on getting ready for yearend, and provided no information whatsoever, that is borderline cheating in my view — although some would disagree with me.

How does the process work? Of course there are many ghostwriters, and they all have their own way of working, but I’ll tell you how I do it. In my first meeting (whether face-to-face or only) with the author, we discuss the subject of the book, the target reader, the purpose and how the author is going to use the book. That helps me know the approach to take to the subject matter, and the level of jargon or technical language that will work for the readers. Working either from interviews or the author’s existing notes, I gather the information on the subject and organize it into a Table of Contents. When that is approved by the author — sometimes with changes — I work on the outline and then first draft. That draft is reviewed by the author, and then we discuss it together before I begin the first round of edits. This part varies depending on the author and the content, but usually the second round of edits brings us pretty close to the final manuscript. The process is flexible and individual, of course, but that’s the general shape of it.

Is it expensive? Yes it is. I find ghostwriting a book to be labour intensive, and in fact much more so than writing my own books. That’s because its NOT my book, and has to reflect the voice and content of the author, which is a whole other layer of writing. That’s why it is the most expensive of my author services. I am a professional, who will help you author a professional book, so my services are worth the investment.

If you have a message or information you want to put into a book but for whatever reason you don’t want to write it yourself, and you are willing to invest in the project, ghostwriting may be the answer for you.

If you have other questions about ghostwriting, I’d be happy to have a conversation with you to answer them. Just drop me a line at helen@theexecutivesbookcoach.com and we’ll set it up.