Why Credit 1 Great Ghostwriter

As I’ve written previously, the ghostwriting default is anonymity. But that doesn’t mean a ghostwriter always has to remain behind the scenes. More and more, authors that use ghostwriters are crediting them.

When you see a celebrity memoir, you might see the celebrity’s name and a different, less-familiar name. That name is often the credited ghostwriter.

When you read the acknowledgements, you might see unfamiliar names get thanked for researching or editing. Those people might have done researching or editing—or they might have done the ghostwriting but the author, for whatever reason, didn’t credit them that way. 

Once, I was received credit “for getting the book written and out the door on time and (helping) with a lot of the storytelling and book organization.” If you read between the lines and translate it, I was thanked for my ghostwriting.

Ghostwriters and their clients should realize that giving credit, whether as a ghostwriter, a co-author, or a collaborator, has some real advantages, especially as the ghostwriting industry becomes more transparent.

Here are some ways crediting the ghostwriter helps the ghostwriter, the client, and the work itself.

HOW IT HELPS THE GHOSTWRITER

This might seem obvious. A ghostwriter receiving credit allows that person to publicly claim the work, which leads to building a verifiable track record. Now, the ghostwriter probably won’t have to sign as many non-disclosure agreements. Furthermore, the ghostwriter can brand him- or herself as a recognized entity, not invisible labor. This is especially valuable when ghostwriting nonfiction, memoirs, thought leadership, and journalism pieces.

When people ask me to show them the books I’ve worked on, I send them links to the ones that have been published (then I tell them that others are unpublished because of lack of money or they only wanted the story written for family and never intended publication). Nobody wants to hire a person with no proof that they can do the job.

Each time a ghostwriter receives credit, the work becomes part of the ghostwriter’s portfolio. A ghostwriter who gets enough of a portfolio gets higher visibility, and that visibility often leads to higher paying clients as well as speaking, teaching, or consulting opportunities. J.R. Moehringer reportedly earned $1 million to ghostwrite Prince Harry’s memoir, but that was after he wrote Phil Knight’s and Andre Agassi’s memoirs.

HOW IT HELPS THE CLIENT/AUTHOR

I’ve had clients refuse to credit me because they felt admitting to using a ghostwriter would hurt their credibility. In fact, acknowledging you got help in getting your story written can increase reader confidence, especially when the story is nonfiction, a memoir, or a business book. If anyone was going to accuse the person of deception (i.e., “There’s no way you wrote that!”), acknowledging the ghostwriter would put an end to that. 

I found an unscientific reader survey of 673 participants that said 42.1% of them would not buy any more of an author’s book if they found out the author had used a ghostwriter. However, 39.7% said if the author acknowledged using a ghostwriter up front, it would not affect them buying the book. This indicates that there is an unspoken trust between reader and author, and violating that would be potentially damaging.

It is unlikely that Agassi, Malcolm X, Donald Trump, and Malala Yousafzai would have had books as lauded and praised as they were if not for the help of Moehringer, Alex Haley, Tony Schwartz, and Christina Lamb (in the case of Malcolm, the book might have never seen the light of day because he had been dead for nine months before the book’s release).

What these people realized—and some of my clients didn’t—was that having a professional writer help a non-professional tell the compelling story can signal quality, rigor, and thoroughness rather than undermine authorship.

Another advantage occurs during the writing process: A ghostwriter who will be acknowledged acts more like a strategic partner and not just a pen for hire. Now, the ghostwriter has some sort of vested interest in the project’s success, and the client/author will benefit from the ghostwriter’s increased critical thinking, stronger voice alignment, more cohesive organization and structure, and feedback. 

My clients appreciate when they add something and I ask, “How does this further the story?” They can’t always answer the question, so we get rid of it, and the story is better for it. Similarly, if they can answer it, the to-be-acknowledged ghostwriter will more likely recognize its value and leave it in. Either way, the story is better for it.

The bottom line is that transparency tends to preserve reader trust more effectively than secrecy. Some even appreciate the clarity, giving them a chance to judge the work on its merits rather than on who wrote it.

HOW IT HELPS THE WORK

Credited writers will always work harder to ensure the work is of the highest quality. If that means the author and ghostwriter are credited, now there are double the number of stakeholders who will do everything to make sure the story is told in the best possible way. That means more and better research gets done, the writing is tighter and more focused, and everybody acts more ethically.

It also means that who did what will be stated, and if the work is controversial in any way, everybody will be better protected because the roles will have been publicly defined. That also means legal action is less likely.

Public acknowledgement generally leads to fewer negative conversations in reader communities. And if the community is so effusive in its praise that the work becomes a bestselling smash, a visible ghostwriter can be rehired to write the sequel, a second edition with added information and detail, or related articles or adaptations. This creates continuity.

Of course, not every client (or ghostwriter) wants or gives credit. But hopefully, this article shows that there are some advantages to giving credit where it is due.

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