Why Do You Need a Ghost?

The reasons for engaging a ghost are as numerous as the clients we serve—but here are the Top Five:

1. Clients may not have the time or inclination to write an entire book—they have busy schedules, but their stories still deserve to be told.

2. Clients may feel they lack the specific skills required to write for their target readership—they respect good writing and know what they want to say, but they’re not necessarily expert writers.

3. Clients understand they can greatly improve their chances of finding a publisher when a respected ghost is involved—while they’re experts in their own fields, they still appreciate the importance of firsthand publishing industry knowledge.

4. Clients recognize that ghosts actually help them sound more like themselves—they don’t worry about getting assistance with their work, because they know a good ghost will express their unique experience, perspective, and voice in print, without a single inauthentic word.

5. Clients know ghosting has come out of the closet and into the mainstream—no one writes a masterpiece by going it alone, and as today’s bestselling authors can testify, there’s no greater collaborator than an experienced ghost.

Who Uses Ghosts?

Though novelists, poets, memoirists, historians, professors and other academicians, etc., often write their own books, they frequently employ the services of a ghost for “book-doctoring.”

The Top Ten Qualities of a Good Ghost

There are many fine ghostwriters out there charging all kinds of fees, and with varied expertise in a range of subjects. When searching for and deciding on a ghost, consider my Top 10 list of qualities you should expect from your ghost:

1. An ethical ghost, no matter how excited he or she may be about a given Author or project, doesn’t overpromise or guarantee publication, sales, advances, or royalties.
2. A veteran ghost has extensive experience with contracts and publishing law, so they, along with the agent, can negotiate the best contract terms for their Author. A good ghost cares about the Author’s bottom line.
3. Sought-after ghosts can choose only the projects that excite them, so they go way beyond “hired gun” and actively participate in the Author’s imperative mission—because it matters to them. A good ghost “gets” the Author and makes it a personal mission to express the Author’s vision to the world. A perfect ghost brings out the best in an Author, and dramatically increases an Author’s influence.
4. A multitalented ghost understands the specific science and art not only of book writing, but of proposal writing, speech writing, editorial/opinion writing, and blogging, all necessary nowadays to build an Author’s brand.
5. The ideal ghost always acts discreetly, never misses a deadline, and always represents and projects an Author in the best light.
6. A master ghosts adopts, and when necessary, adapts, an Author’s voice for maximum impact. The kind of ghost you want isn’t in it for the credit, but to serve your mission.
7. An expert ghost is a genius at translating complex, technical, or niche-specific material into words that inform, evoke, affect, and motivate mass-market readers, without inducing yawns.
8. A known and experienced ghost forges and maintains well-established relationships with agents and editors. A well-connected ghost works well with agents, editors, publicists, marketers, booksellers, website developers and managers, TV producers, and journalists, to help develop the all-important Author’s “platform.” The most valuable ghost works with partners who have expertise in all facets of the platform-building industry, from publicists to speakers’ bureaus and SEO experts.
9. A well-trained ghost offers Authors quality, accuracy, and expediency.
10. A good ghost is a master not only of craft, but of efficiency and marketability—a wordsmith and savvy businessperson. Also, a good ghost is a friendly ghost: easy to work with even while exacting in all the details.

When Could You Use a Ghost?

Sure, like other ghosts, we write book proposals and books—that’s our bread and butter.  But we also ghost speeches, white papers, articles, essays, corporate copy, marketing materials, podcast and virtual conference scripts, blogs, Facebook posts—even tweets! If you want it written, we can ghost it, anytime.

GHOSTBUSTED vs. GHOSTBESTED

Ghostbusted

The second-rate ghost thinks he or she already knows it all. Out of insecurity, this ghost will telegraph that they’re an expert in just the same way their Author is. This is, perforce, untrue. You will recognize this ghost by the absence of your voice in your first few conversations. Is this book about the ghost—or about you, the Author?

The run-of-the-mill ghost thinks entirely about this project, this book, and cannot see the context within or beyond. They’re working for a dollar, which, in itself, is not a sin—ghosts should be paid well for their essential services—but can be a hindrance if you as an Author see a bigger picture. It’s OK to focus on the task at hand, but this is moot if the ghost, who’s actually writing the book and articulating the mission, fails to grasp how the book fits into the grander scheme of the Author’s life goals and vision.

The mediocre ghost makes excuses about his or her lack of expertise: “I’m not an astronaut—how am I supposed to understand the effects of gravity on the brain? I’ve never raced a car before, so what do I know about shifting on the fly? I’m only really good at writing about [fill in the blank: Victorian dolls, corrugated carton recycling, subaqueous acoustical physics, dogs].”

The middling ghost relies entirely on the words, whether verbal or written, of the Author, to construct the book. They act as though they’re merely court reporters, medical transcribers, or some modern-day “Bartleby the Scrivener”—human copy machines. If an Author on their own could perfectly turn their life or life’s work into a coherent and cohesive book, they wouldn’t need a ghost! These lazy ghosts also depend completely on the often erroneous assumption that everything the Author says is “right” and “true.” After all—it’s just the Author’s perspective, and how could that be wrong?

The not-so-good ghost talks a lot about what he or she “likes” in terms of words, sentences, paragraphs, chapters, etc. A ghost who’s confident about his or her writing skills is great—but not to the exclusion of the Author’s wishes—and the readers’ benefit.

Ghostbested

A conscientious ghost knows that the essence of good ghosting involves, above all, listening before any writing ever occurs—listening with supreme sensitivity to the words, diction, cadences, patterns, and tone of an Author’s communication, in order to reproduce that in a book, to truly represent the Author. But a very good ghost also understands that sometimes an Author’s voice is not always ideal for articulating and communicating certain key content. So, often the ghost must draw upon extensive knowledge of readerships to tweak the wording to suit the message and/or serve the intended audience. The ghost should carefully explain this to the Author in ways that make sense and still respect the Author’s wishes.

An expert ghost, while they might have certain specialties—e.g., Medicine, Real Estate, or Technology—also understands that the fundamental nature of their job is communication: They ought to be able to communicate anything, in any written form, to anyone, at any time, by carefully interviewing the Author and conducting outside research to optimally represent their Author’s core message in an articulate and impassioned manner, subtly adapted to the appropriate audience. The expert ghost not only helps to shape the message into its ideal form, but also helps to hone an Author’s ability to do the same.

1. An agent or editor employs a trusted ghost when they discover an Author with a great book in them, in need of significant work (either writing from scratch, re-imagining, articulating a message, organizing, editing, etc.). Sometimes an Author approaches a ghost directly, and sometimes a ghost pitches a potential Author with an idea for a book.
2. The two parties establish the details of their proposed working arrangement, sometimes with an agent as mediator. The contract is always in writing.
3. Both sides make up a meeting schedule, which they spell out in the contract (sometimes called a “collaboration agreement”).
4. Both parties agree on financial terms based on the Author’s budget and the ghost’s reputation and schedule, taking into consideration possible future monies earned from advances and/or royalties. Sometimes they agree on a simple “work-for-hire” agreement for a flat fee. Sometimes they negotiate a share of the back-end profits.
5. The Author and ghost, sometimes with the input of an agent and/or publisher, clarify the timeline for the project. Terms + Scope + Timeline = the essence of the legally binding contract.
6. Both sides agree to the scope of the project: Will the ghost write a book proposal with or without sample chapters, in order to pitch the book to agents? Will the ghost participate in connecting the Author to agents and pitching? Will the ghost also write guest articles, blogs, and/or website content to increase the Author’s platform? Will the ghost write only the book itself?
7. They agree on what materials the Author will provide the ghost (e.g. previous writings, a draft proposal, ad copy, written interviews, access to archives, etc.). Also: How available will the Author be to the ghost, how often, and for how long? Will interactions require only email and phone conversations, or are face-to-face meetings necessary? If so, how many? Will the ghost have to travel and/or incur other expenses, and how will these be compensated?
8. The parties agree about credit. Will the Author transparently credit the ghost with co-authorship, or will a “WITH,” “AND,” or “AS TOLD TO” cover acknowledgement? Will the Author thank the ghost only in the book’s acknowledgements? Will the collaborator be a “true ghost” (meaning only industry insiders will know for certain a ghost was involved)? Also: Will the ghost share copyright? (This is rare, but appropriate under some circumstances).
9. The Author and ghost decide together how many drafts will be necessary and reasonable, and establish ground rules for what constitutes the completion of the project.
10. Both sides clarify any other necessary terms—e.g., survivability, assignment, etc.