Listen! A Ghostwriter Hears — and then Really Hears
There is a poem I remember reading in a prayer book: What does it really mean to “hear”? The person who attends a concert with a mind on business, Hears — but does not really hear. The person who walks amid the songs of birds And thinks only of what will be served for…
Read MoreWhy Journalists Make Great Ghostwriters
Nobody starts out wanting to be a ghostwriter. Something happens along the way that makes them want to pursue that vocation. For me, it came in stages. First, I was a journalist. I wrote for two Los Angeles daily newspapers, in the sports departments, and I discovered a gift for getting people to open up…
Read MoreWhen a Ghostwriter Oversteps
There must be a high degree of trust between ghostwriter and client. Each must recognize and respect the other’s talents. Like with a marriage, the relationship between ghostwriter and client has ups and downs, pitfalls and pleasures, risks and rewards. Either partner can throw things out of whack. Clients might typically try to take advantage…
Read MoreGhostwriter, Co-writer, Co-author, or Collaborator?
I’ve previously written that between 50% and 90% of nonfiction books were ghostwritten. I’ve also found sources that say traditional publishing houses admit that 70% of all books were ghostwritten and 99% of celebrity-authored titles were. I’ve also previously written that if you see a “with” or “and” after the author’s name, followed by another…
Read MoreWrite Your Book for Your Audience, not Yourself
So you want to write a book, or you want a work with a ghostwriter. You have a great story that you know would benefit a lot of people if they could just read your words. That would result in your dream of selling thousands of copies and making a living as a novelist. There…
Read MoreWebsite Ghostwriting: Emphasize Stories Over Facts
One of my various ghostwriting services is telling the story of a company, product or service on its website. Too many company website product or service pages don’t tell the story of how the person reading the page will benefit from using that product or service. I have visited hundreds of small-business websites, and I’d…
Read MoreGhostwriting Emails: Don’t Forget the Why
Ghostwriting is more than books. It’s also writing email campaigns. And when I ghostwrite emails, I remember that you can’t build and sustain a relationship and keep subscriber engagement numbers high via email if your readers don’t understand why you’re sending them. I have found that about in 95 percent of the time, people tend…
Read MoreSmile! There is no Right or Wrong Way to Outline a Book
In my last post, I summarized the importance of an outline when ghostwriting a book. Now I answer the question, “How to outline a book.” The short answer: Any way you want. There is no right or wrong way. If you want to stop reading now, I won’t blame you. All I can do is…
Read MoreThe Importance of the Ghostwriter’s Outline
I had a client who provided me with a sizable amount of information to write the story. These were journals, and the client explained the writing was stream of consciousness. The idea was to get the thoughts onto paper as fast as possible. I applauded this client with getting the story out of the head…
Read MoreGhostwriting a Marketing Plan Inside a Book Proposal
When ghostwriting a book, I am sometimes asked to also write the book proposal. I remember the first time I was asked to do this. I had no idea, so I did my research. A book proposal is a plan to convince either an agent or a publisher that your manuscript should become a book.…
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