If you hire a ghostwriter, you’re going to be working with them for the next 4 to 6 months and often longer. You’re not merely hiring a specialist; you’re embarking on a creative collaboration. Below are a few guidelines to ensure you’re getting the most out of the relationship.
1. Be clear about your goals for the book:
Any decent ghostwriter will ask you this explicitly at the start of the process. Are you writing to share memories of your life with friends and family? Are you writing only for yourself? Are you gunning for a book deal? Is your goal to reach a wide audience, influence society, change the world? Do you hope to earn a monetary return from the investment?
The answers to these questions influence how the writer will approach your project. Communicating what you hope to get out of the process lets your ghostwriter work toward those goals.
2. Ask questions:
You should understand what the process entails, what the next steps are at every stage of that process, and what the timeline is. When you receive drafts of chapters, it is appropriate to ask about the writer’s editorial choices; why the writer did X and not Y. This does not mean you should micromanage or second-guess every little creative decision (and I’ve never had a client who did that), but the process of co-writing a book works best when the client understands the writer’s thought process, just as the ghostwriter must understand the client’s thought process.
3. Prepare for the interviews:
In most projects, 80-90% of the material comes from interviews the ghostwriter conducts with the client. A book is like anything else: the output is only as good as the input. Yes, the advantage of hiring a ghostwriter is that he, not you, does the heavy lifting, but that doesn’t absolve the client of doing a little homework.
Taking ten to fifteen minutes (if not more) to gather notes, jot down anecdotes to share, and organize your thoughts before the interview translates into tighter, more efficient writing and a better book overall.
4. Give detailed feedback, if need be, on chapter drafts:
I say “if need be” because most authors don’t give a lot of feedback. If the book is planned well and the ghostwriter does their job, there isn’t much to add. But if you do want your writer to input changes, be specific.
5. Don’t procrastinate or blow deadlines:
It’s better for all parties, but above all for the client, if you adhere to meeting schedules and review the drafts your ghostwriter produces in a timely fashion. Stick to a cadence.
For the client, the time commitment for a book is minimal (about 30 minutes to an hour a week), but some busy professionals find trouble maintaining even that. Do yourself, your ghostwriter, and the book a favor by being punctual and consistent.
6. Don’t try to write a book without a book plan in place:
The best outcome will come by writing a book with a solid “book plan” (a chapter by chapter outline). Don’t just try to wing it or make it up on the fly. Before a single word is written, a ghostwriter will work with the author to fine-tune the message or story line, then figure out how to organize all the author’s ideas in a coherent, cohesive fashion. The plan is flexible, and often changes as the book develops, but it’s essential to have that foundation in place.
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