Writing

stories matter typed on paper from a typewriter

Ghostwriters Should be so Lucky to Tell This 1 Kind of Story

By Lee Barnathan / December 18, 2023
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Fifth in an occasional series about stories and ideas worth telling. One criterion ghostwriters should look for when deciding what story to help tell is how mouth-droppingly amazing the story is. If when hearing the whole story, I find my mouth agape and my vocalizing the sentences, “Oh my God. I can’t believe that!” or…

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Why “The Impostors” is 1 Story Worth Ghostwriting

By Lee Barnathan / December 11, 2023
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Fourth in an occasional series about stories and ideas that are worth telling. Would you be interested in reading about that time a guy crashed an awards show and then was politely asked to guard the bathroom door so Elizabeth Taylor could have privacy? How about the time that same guy walked onto the Universal…

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Why Parental Alienation is 1 Subject Worth a Ghostwriter’s Time

By Lee Barnathan / December 4, 2023
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Third in an occasional series about ideas and stories that are worth telling. I get pitched story ideas all the time. Many come from people who have overcome some great adversity in their lives and feel a desire to share it with the world. Sometimes, the story doesn’t interest me, and since I don’t want…

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Why “Eva’s Uncommon Life” Was 1 Holocaust Story Worth Telling

By Lee Barnathan / November 27, 2023
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This is the second of an occasional series of stories I worked on that are worth telling. According to study.com, there have been more than 20,000 books written about the Holocaust. It is a sensitive topic from personal and historic standpoints, and a ghostwriter has to make sure that if he or she is going…

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Why “A Culture of Fear” was 1 Story Worth Telling

By Lee Barnathan / November 20, 2023
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Back in 2002, The New York Times came out with a survey that said 81% of people feel they have a book in them. The article’s author, Joseph Epstein, tried hard to discourage people from writing those books, and one reason he gave was that “so many third-rate books are published nowadays.” Epstein was right…

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6 Ghostwriting Projects I’ve Rejected

By Lee Barnathan / November 13, 2023
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The reason I love ghostwriting so much is because it’s the most rewarding—financially and emotionally—work I’ve ever done. I can’t adequately describe how wonderful it is to see the smiles and hear the sobs of joy in between “thank yous” from a client who has wanted to write a book and never thought it possible…

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1 True Link Between Line Editing and Word Choice You Should Know

By Lee Barnathan / November 6, 2023
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In my last post, I highlighted several typers of editing one could use to improve their manuscript. Today, I’m delving into more detail about line editing. As I previously wrote, line editors focus on more creative uses of language and how the word choice affects how clearly the story is communicated. Is the language clear,…

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1 Ghostwriter Grapples with Unknowns

By Lee Barnathan / October 23, 2023
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Last week, I received a phone call and an email inquiry from a man looking for a ghostwriter. He is 93 years old and doesn’t have a lot of time to get his memoir out of his head and onto the page, so he wants to move quickly.  He didn’t balk when I told him…

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1 Word to Explain Why Ghostwriters Aren’t Going Anywhere

By Lee Barnathan / October 16, 2023
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I’ve read some online reports that say ghostwriters remain relevant and in demand. The main reason can be explained in one word: Content. Everybody needs it. And it is seemingly everywhere all the time. It’s positively ubiquitous. I entered “types of content” into my search engine. Twenty-four different types came up. Seventeen of them require…

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4 Ghostwriting Secrets

By Lee Barnathan / October 9, 2023
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For me, ghostwriting is a most rewarding job. The work I do in telling somebody’s in-depth, compelling story — and then getting paid thousands of dollars to do it — is emotionally and financially gratifying. But like every other job out there, there are downsides. Here are some I have discovered. Scheduling conflicts — There’s…

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