I do almost everything on the internet these days, including meeting with clients, coaching, editing, researching, and reviewing drafts. Every meeting is a Zoom meeting. But I’ve learned the hard way that it’s best to kick off each ghostwriting project with an in-person meeting of at least half a day. There are four types of…
Ghostwriters are a secretive lot. We shouldn’t have to be. We do our work out of view of the public. Like any other service professionals, we create what our clients, authors, need. But we generally don’t talk about it and don’t seek recognition for it. Everyone knows and most generally respect the work of publicists,…
You’re in line for a nonfiction ghostwriting job. How should you prepare for the interview with the author client? Consider that there are two risks here: If you don’t create a good impression, you might not get the offer, risk 1. But if don’t take this time to learn more about the job, you in…
I am very selective about ghostwriting clients and very open to a broad range of editing clients. Part of the reason is that a ghostwriting commitment means living in your skin for six or nine months, while an editing commitment means living in your manuscript for two or three weeks. But it’s not just the…
Ghostwriting is a misnomer. Because most ghostwriters do more than write. If you hire a ghostwriter, which of the following do you want them to do? Ghostwriting jobs that are just writing are easier If you bring an idea, and organization, and proof points to your ghostwriter, all they have to do is write. That…
I made a good living as a ghostwriter in 2018. Is that who I am now? When I stopped working for a company and became independent three years ago, a prominent ghostwriting agency reached out to me. I told the owner, “I do not ghostwrite books for others.” But to keep an open mind, I…
The New Yorker just published a fascinating article, “Donald Trump’s Ghostwriter Tells All,” revealing what really happened when Tony Schwartz ghostwrote The Art of the Deal for Donald Trump. Schwartz says, “I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is.”…
Newsletter 40: Principles for writing success, including why authoring is like sex; a new leader for embattled librarians; Meta fails to buy publisher; plus three people to follow and three books to read. Rules of thumb for nonfiction authors Everyone writes their own way. But after 50+ book projects and thousands of shorter nonfiction pieces,…
I recently received a query to see if I, as a ghostwriter, could help with some freelance work. Here’s how the query read (I’ve made minor edits to conceal the requester’s identity): Is this a ghostwriter? No. I’ve spent quite a lot of time this year with ghostwriters. Ghostwriters’ primary job is, of course, writing….