Ghostwriting is legitimate and authentic.

Ghostwriting means you hire a writer to write for you, but you present the work as if you authored it. Isn’t that deceptive? Well…not exactly; it’s an acceptable practice.

A ghostwriter is a professional writer-for-hire who doesn’t take credit for the content in any way, nor do they profit from it. You still get to claim authorship and all legal rights to the content, royalties, and any other professional credits. They charge writing and editing fees based on the scope of your project.

Why do ghostwriters want to write but not take credit? Writing is, by its nature, an introverted profession. Some of us really are content simply providing the written portion and staying behind the scenes. The challenge lies in using our knowledge and professional specialty of words, grammar, sentence structure, and story crafting to match the author’s voice.

The Ghostwriter should sound like you

When someone reads your finished work, they should not realize you did not write it. The finished work should sound like you, carrying your idiosyncrasies and speech patterns – but in such a way it will connect with your desired audience. To put it plainly, if the reader knows you didn’t write it, the ghostwriter did a poor job.

Consider hiring instead of DIYing

What is the benefit of hiring a ghostwriter? You’re hiring a professional. Someone who leverages their expertise with language and reading comprehension to elevate your story, bio, manuscript, web content and reflect well on your brand.

Also, it will likely take me less time than it would take you. Assess a dollar amount of what you would pay yourself to do what you’d hire a ghostwriter to do. Now multiply it by how many hours you think you’ll spend writing and editing…then triple that. A professional ghostwriter will price their services based on their knowledge of the time and resources it will take them.

You can then focus on your specialties, rather than writing your novel becoming a chore because it takes away from your family time or running your business. And you will get quality results.

How does it work?

How does the process work? You and I discuss the terms, I structure a contract which outlines fees and expectations, interview you a few times to take notes, read over your materials, and begin generating a draft.

It can look very collaborative where you write a chapter or two at a time, then I edit, refine your arc, and streamline your message. Or I can take the reins to generate the first draft for you. Some people need a little encouragement or a few writing prompts to get their creativity flowing (I love writing prompts). There’s variation in how projects go, and I figure out where you are when I talk to you.

But, by hiring a ghostwriter or writing mentor, you have accountability and make progress – which increases your self-confidence and gets you closer to your bucket list goal of being a published author.