Ever since my first ghostwriting job found me, I’ve discovered more reasons to love my work. If you’re a fellow ghostwriter—or an author looking for one—how do my top five reasons match what you look for in a ghostwriter + author partnership?
GHOSTWRITERS EARN AUTHORS’ TRUST
Ghostwriters simply have to be trustworthy. We must keep secrets and reveal truth (as authors see it). We must handle our clients’ ideas with the delicacy and competence of a neurosurgeon. Our clients expect and deserve both skill and integrity.
An author’s trust is an investment, a vote of confidence. I’ll never forget the day a client told me he had turned down his agent’s offer to connect him with better-known writers. He was sticking with me. That told me our working relationship fit him well. I had earned his confidence.
Trust, to a ghostwriter, is better than a trophy.
GHOSTWRITERS BUILD ON STRENGTHS
If all of us were concert pianists or CEOs, who would transplant organs or write books? For ghostwriters, writing is a delight; for our clients, it’s a chore. By collaborating, authors and ghostwriters empower each other to do what they do best. More valuable work gets done.
Say my ghostwriting skills produce an eBook that establishes my client’s authority with potential customers. Or I craft a memoir that brings attention and support to my client’s life-work. Then both my clients and I have followed our callings, and the world benefits as a result.
Sharing strengths for a better world. That’s a satisfying way to do business.
GHOSTWRITERS LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY
To do the job right, ghostwriters must dive deep into the client’s story.
This immerses us in a world we might not discover on our own. There’s nothing like the thrill of exploring new fields of endeavor. Unless it’s drawing out the vibrant details of lives we have not lived.
Ghostwriters worth top dollar are not content to crank out half-researched fluff. We dig into our subject and bring out the gold. Our authors have invested in us; we work to maximize their return on investment. Ghostwriters deliver value to our authors, so our authors can deliver value to their audiences.
We do that by loving the learning it takes to write well.
GHOSTWRITERS SPEAK IN A FRESH VOICE
Think about how actors get into character: they adopt a set of mannerisms, take on their characters’ emotions and motivations, and step on stage as that character.
Ghostwriters get into our authors in a similar way. We listen attentively to interviews, phone calls, and even emails. We study the way authors use language in their own world. Their favorite phrases, their nuances of tone, their pet themes, even their vocabulary, all shape everything we write for them. We notice what moves them, infuriates them, makes them laugh.
Then we turn around and present them to their audience in writing. (It’s probably the closest we’ll ever come to being stunt doubles.)
GHOSTWRITERS THRIVE ON TEAMWORK
Whereas writing can be a lonely endeavor—just the writer and a laptop by lamplight—when ghostwriters collaborate with our clients, we form a partnership. We find ourselves pulling together toward the same goal. We’re both committed to getting the project done, done well, and placed in front of the right audience’s eyes.
That kind of teamwork refreshes us solitary ghostwriters. We’re not stuck staring at a blank screen trying to generate yet another fresh idea to write about. And our authors gain a guide through the labyrinthine road to publication.
The teammates may part company after completing their project, but authors often resurrect those successful partnerships when they find new messages to communicate.
A career filled with mutually rewarding partnerships suits me just fine.
If you’re a ghostwriter, how do your top five reasons to love your job compare with mine?
Let me know in the comments below.
If you’re an author whose project has been languishing on your To-Do-Someday list,
today’s the day you could start getting it done.
Let’s talk about what you need and what I can do to help.
Start working with Karen today
Today could be the day your load gets lighter.
Ask Karen Ingle to make that happen.
