“Seeking a ghostwriter or coauthor,” the email subject line read. Make up your mind, I thought. Because those are two very different roles. A coauthor works with you, while a ghostwriter works for you. How to decide if you want a coauthor or a ghostwriter I get it. You think you need writing help. But…
A friend and fellow author recently asked me to be his coauthor on a topic close to his heart. I said no. Quickly. It has nothing to do with him. It has to do with the nature of coauthoring. What a coauthor is, and why I won’t be yours I’ve coauthored three books. Here’s the…
Writing a book is hard enough. Adding another person makes it twice as hard. Collaboration only makes sense if it’s asymmetrical — if you have complementary skills and different jobs. I’ve written three books with coauthors, edited a few more, and am currently ghostwriting parts of books with other authors. Coauthoring sounds like it’s going…
I have coauthored three books, so I know: writing together is the intellectual equivalent of marrying someone — it is that intimate, getting it right is just as rewarding, and getting it wrong is just as painful. Here’s how to collaborate on a shared writing project. Decide on your shared objectives It’s hard to share the work if…