5 Important Ghostwriting Principles

A woman who is a copywriter recently reached out to me on LinkedIn to inquire about ghostwriting. She wanted to how to become one, what my path was like, what the money is like, and how I grew my business.

I answered her questions, offered her my consulting services, and wished her well. She said she’d reach out to me again, so we’ll see.

In thinking about the conversation, I realized there are principles of ghostwriting I believe she and everyone should know. Here are five.

What do you want to write? Since anything you write that doesn’t have your name on it could be considered a form of ghostwriting, the first principle is to determine the type of ghostwriting you want to do. 

I asked her what she’s doing for her current clients. She said blog post writing. I didn’t ask her if she liked it because it didn’t matter. There are so many categories: books, speeches, social media posts, white papers, corporate communications and branding, website copy, blogs, marketing, sales, etc.

Then you have to choose between fiction and non-fiction. Is the copy you write going to be all truthful or will you exaggerate or take liberties? Each ghostwriting type has its rules for truth vs. untruth, so know the difference and follow the rules.

It’s the story, stupid. Regarding this principle, I told this woman, “Never take a story that doesn’t interest you. Never do a job just for the money because it’s never worth it. Ghostwriting projects could take a year or a year and a half, so you’d better want to spend all that time working on it.”

Everyone has their own idea of what stories appeal to them. For me, it’s those that are unique, relatable, vivid, and emotional.

I recall a study in which two researchers put one hundred insignificant items on eBay and had people write short stories about each one. There was a plastic banana, an old wooden mallet, and a plastic motel room key, to name three.

The items totaled $197. They sold for almost $8,000, or more than 6,300% of their value.

It’s highly collaborative. No ghostwriter can do this job in a vacuum. This principle requires the ghostwriter and the client to spend hours upon hours upon hours talking about the story. That means the ghostwriter had better have interviewing skills. That also means the ghostwriter had better compile a long list of questions that start with who, what, where, when, how, and why. These are open-ended questions that don’t get you yes or no answers. The more detail a ghostwriter gets, the better.

Also, remember that the client is the story expert and the ghostwriter is the storytelling expert. Anyone who expects a ghostwriter to take the information and write it alone without client input doesn’t want a ghostwriter, they want an editor.

Furthermore, once it’s written, the collaboration isn’t done. The first draft is only the beginning. Then comes the feedback. The client must go through everything and discuss what works, what doesn’t, what needs to be added, moved, deleted, condensed, expanded. Then the ghostwriter has to write another draft to incorporate the changes and get ever closer to fully reflecting the client’s vision.

Sometimes, the ghostwriter decides the suggested changes are valid and make the story better. Sometimes, the ghostwriter will know the changes don’t serve the narrative and must tell the client why and make other suggestions.

I normally do two or three drafts on chapters, but I’ve done as many as five. Whatever it takes, I’ll do it because I’m in contact with my client and we are working together to make the best story possible.

Do your research. With this principle, A ghostwriter must dig deep—fact-checking stories, verifying claims, and sometimes learning a new industry—to make the client look credible and authoritative.

In my practice, the majority of my research comes from fact-checking. The human memory is imperfect, and since I write memoirs, I need to make sure the facts are straight. I remember one time, I guy told me he remembers driving down the freeway and hearing a song in 1982. The problem was the song didn’t come out until 1984.

One thing I really enjoy about this kind of research is how it brings history to life via my client. One current client recalls attending an Acid Test in a Unitarian Church in the San Fernando Valley. I researched and found the exact date: February 5, 1966. He remembered a rock band playing. I discovered it was the Grateful Dead.

He also mentioned hearing actor Robert Vaughn speak at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. I found the date: April 15, 1967. And he recalled hearing the Byrds play at a club on the Sunset Strip. Sure enough, I found articles about the band’s weeklong residency and how Bob Dylan joined them on stage, which he also remembers.

This kind of research also applies to other forms of ghostwriting. If you’re writing marketing or sales copy, it helps to quote the appropriate facts. If you’re writing a speech, you also want to make sure the details are accurate.

You get what you pay for, so charge accordingly. I told this woman about a conversation I had with ghostwriter Michael Levin on a webinar. He said there is a tendency for ghostwriters to undercharge and declared everyone on the call was undercharging. He suggested that whatever rate you currently charge, “double it and add twenty percent,” While I didn’t go that far, his point rang true to me, and I increased my rate by thirty percent.

I have discovered two things from my pricing strategy: First, the people who hire me could actually pay more, which tells me I can increase my rate again. Second, the people who do hire me don’t complain about the price because they recognize the value they are getting. They never say, “Why am I paying you so much money for this?”

I told her to find her price and confidently tell her prospects that’s what you charge. There will be people who can’t afford it, but don’t worry, those aren’t the people you want to deal with. Those who can pay will.

There are several sources online that can suggest what to charge. I recommended she look at Lisa Tener. I’ve never met her, but her information is valuable, and she espouses similar principles.

There are other principles I haven’t mentioned here, including the importance of anonymity, confidentiality, and sounding like the client. But these five should be taken into consideration when considering a ghostwriting career.

Feel free to read and check out my other posts related to ghostwriting. Go to leebarnathan.com/blog.