When people contact me to ghostwrite their book, they sometimes tell me, “We don’t know how to do it. We need you to show us how.” Fair enough. One of the first things I tell them once they become a client is that the process is like a relationship, and in this relationship, there are…
If a high school student came up to me today and said they were considering majoring in journalism in college and wanted my opinion on whether they should, I would say, “Don’t.” If I met a hypothetical journalist who proceeded to complain about the state of his/her/their industry, I would say, “I understand. Woe is…
I recently had a prospect send me several hundred pages of a manuscript in which she sought my opinion about its publishing potential. I read only about a third of it before I realized something extremely important was missing. There was no story. I wrote the following email: Thank you for letting me be of…
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…
A prospect had a compelling story to tell. I asked her my usual three questions, “Why do you want to tell this story?” “Who is the audience? and “What is the story?” She had a difficult time with the audience question and asked me if I would be willing to act as a consultant to…
I’m currently going through a situation with a client. He insists that his story is the hero’s journey. I wasn’t sure, so I researched the hero’s journey archetype and found he was correct. Then something dawned on me that probably should have sooner. A ghostwriter in Kansas City or anywhere else had better know all…
My birthday was earlier this month. My wife gave me a card that read in part, “You are doing what you love, you are really in a good place, so celebrate! Enjoy and be thankful for everything you worked so hard for!” She was right. I have much to celebrate. For the first time in…
I was all set to write this post about a lesson I relearned—one a ghostwriter always needs to remember—It’s not my story, it’s theirs. Instead, I was reminded of the importance of avoiding ChatGPT and working with a human and not artificial intelligence when writing a book. I had a recent conversation with a client…
From the Compelling Story and Pat Myself on the Back Departments: A prospect (who still might become a client) paid me a great compliment. He told me that he really appreciated that I was as excited about his project as he was. He said he had spoken to other ghostwriters and got the sense they…
I didn’t realize one ghostwriting lead I had was a DIYer. He had confessed he couldn’t proceed because he didn’t have his family’s full support to tell his story. I understood and occasionally followed up to see if he had made any headway with his family. I usually heard nothing back. After about a year…
