Ghostwriting is a somewhat obscure profession, and thus the process is opaque or even mysterious to prospective clients who have never worked with a ghostwriter before. What does it entail? What is the relationship like? How do you go from a mélange of ideas in the author’s head to a finished book? Where do the author’s input end and the writer’s begin?
Ghostwriting is really best understood as a creative collaboration. The author produces the intellectual “raw material”; the ghostwriter applies his knowledge of book structure, mastery of content, and slick writing style to transform that raw material into a coherent, cohesive, compelling work that is a joy to read.
The best way of demystifying how ghostwriting actually works is to look at the process step by step.
Book Planning
An art unto itself, the planning stage is when we answer key questions such as “What do you want to achieve with the book?”, “Whom do you want to reach?”, “What is the main idea you wish to convey?”, “How is this book differentiated among similar titles?”, and so forth. At first glance, these seem like easy questions, but a good ghostwriter will really press the author to make sure she knows exactly what she wants to say, why, and to whom. A test that your book idea is strong: you should be able to articulate the thesis of the book in one clear, concrete sentence (two at most). If you can’t (and most authors cannot, without some coaxing and discussion), then your idea is still a little vague. No worries. That’s why we plan.
At this stage, we’ll also create a chapter by chapter outline, which serves as our road map for the project. Most business books have 10-15 chapters. Memoirs vary in number of chapters, or may technically have no chapters at all, but the story of the memoir must be structured just like a non-fiction work: a clear plot and character arc that takes us from beginning to end.
Author’s time commitment: 3-5 hours
Interviewing and Research
For each chapter, I interview the author for an hour or so to gather the material for the book. A little preparation before each interview by the author is advised, but some authors know their subject so thoroughly that they can just riff off the cuff, guided by the book plan.
While I call them interviews, I find that these conversations work best when I do little actual interviewing and just let the author speak freely. I’ll break in and ask questions when needed. But I like to let the author fall into his or her own train of thought. Don’t worry too much about organizing the ideas during the interview. That’s my job. Now we’re just gathering nuggets of knowledge.
Author interviews may be supplemented by outside research (also my job) or interviews with experts you want to include in the book (my job too).
Author’s time commitment: 10-15 hours
Writing
No explanation needed. I write! I take care to capture your voice, style, and manner of speaking. It’s exciting for authors to see their own words manifest on the page; some find it almost “magical,” like verbal alchemy! While the ghostwriter is the conduit, the text is very much a product of your own mind, intellect, and creativity.
Author’s time commitment: a few minutes per chapter, to answer any follow up questions by email
Reviewing/Editing
After completing the first chapter draft, I’ll send it to you for your review, and you can give feedback on the content as well as the tone/voice, so that I can get it right before proceeding with the next chapters. After that, we work in “thirds,” so I’ll draft a third of the book, send it to you for your review, you give your feedback, and the interviewing/writing/reviewing process continues.
Author’s time commitment: about 10 hours total to read the drafts and make notes
Second Round of Revisions
I take that feedback and revise the manuscript accordingly. Usually, there is very little revision to be done. If the ghostwriter and author plan well, and if the ghostwriter is good at his job, then the first draft should be in excellent shape, requiring minor changes and tweaks here and there. Once the author approves the current draft, it’s ready for copy editing.
Author’s time commitment: 4-5 hours
Copy Editing
The manuscript is handed off to one of our talented copy editors for copy editing and proofreading.
Authors’ time commitment: Zero
And voila! A finished manuscript ready to be sent off to the publisher or shopped around to literary agents. As you can see, it’s a minimal time commitment on the part of the author; the ghostwriter does all the intellectual and creative labor behind the scenes. But the result is a work that is all yours, that reflects your voice and conveys your ideas and story.
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