Archive for April 2024
Refining that 1 Foul First Draft
As I recently wrote, all ghostwritten work has to start somewhere, and that somewhere is the first draft, that often ugly, messy, incomplete, error-ridden, Frankenstein’s monster of a draft. Ghostwriters must impress upon clients that the first draft is just that: a beginning. Then comes the shaping, molding, building, forming, forging, and producing the work…
Read MoreThe Good, Bad, and Ugly of 1 First Draft
Ghostwriting is one of the truest forms of collaboration there is. On one side, there’s the story expert: the person who has the compelling story that simply has to be told for whatever reasons the person wants to tell it (also known as the client). Joining that person is the storytelling expert, the ghostwriter, who…
Read More1 Reason Quality Ghostwriters Shun “on Spec” Work
Recently, I turned down a potential ghostwriting client because he clearly didn’t have the money to pay me. He then asked me if he could pay me after the book sells. I responded, “No, I don’t work on spec.” That pretty much ended my conversation with him, but it made me realize that maybe not…
Read More2 Times a Good Ghostwriter Was a Therapist
“I’m not a licensed therapist, but sometimes we must all act that way.” —Jodi Lipper, six-time New York Times bestselling ghostwriter I find these words, spoken during January 2024’s Gathering of the Ghosts conference in New York City, to be so true. Writing a book—with or without a ghostwriter—is a monumental undertaking. People who hire…
Read More1 Missed Chance to Ghostwrite a Story Better
To ghostwrite is to have tact. Early in my ghostwriting career, I was not as tactful as I should have been with people I needed to interview to flesh out the story. This stemmed from my newspaper journalism days when I often strong-armed and aggressively got people to talk to me. This earned me several…
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