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 More
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 More
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.…
Read More
I’ve long known that a client-ghostwriter relationship can resemble a marriage at times. The client is sharing so much with so many details that, inevitably, the client gets put in a vulnerable situation. It is up to the ghostwriter to treat that information, and by extension the client, with all the care, decency, and sensitivity…
Read More
As I’ve previously written, having other sources when ghostwriting a memoir fleshes out a story with different points of view, confirms details, and helps neutralize the “unreliable narrator.” To get these details, however, a ghostwriter often needs to interview those other sources, so this is about how to do that effectively. Like with the entire…
Read More
I specialize in ghostwriting three non-fiction types: memoir, business book, and expository essay. Of these, memoirs take the longest to complete. The main reason, I have found, is it takes longer to organize an outline and write about an individual’s life. With a business book or expository essay, the client often has the outline already…
Read More
Process (n) — a systematic series of actions directed to some end Why have a process? It seems like a silly question. How do you get anything done if you don’t have a way to do it? And I agree that it should be self-evident that a process is necessary. I found this on Alan…
Read More
I’ve written that partnering with a ghostwriter is great when your story is too important to leave to someone who isn’t professionally trained. It’s also extremely important to partner with a ghostwriter who gets you. Colloquially, I mean, hire a ghostwriter who clicks with you. But what does “click with” mean? Historically, it’s from the…
Read More
You have an idea for a book that you’re sure will be a big hit and reach a wide audience. You also have decided that, for whatever reason, you can’t write it yourself. So, you hire a ghostwriter. Unfortunately, the book you got was pure drek: typos galore, inconsistent style, questionable organizational choices, and words…
Read More
To paraphrase William Shakespeare: When machines do the work that we’re assigned And create the content that does abound We’ll all be free to do the things we love And leave the dreary work to be done by glove. I say paraphrase because this, I believe obviously, was written by artificial intelligence (I found it…
Read More