KP: By definition, a ghost writer is a professional writer who is paid to write material in the form of books, reports, articles credited to another person. What made you decide to become a ghost writer and what specific qualifications do you need? Do you have publish your own book to be able to ghost write someone else’s book?

SF: I never set out to be a ghostwriter, but seized the opportunity when it was presented. I am a member of a local writer’s group, and one of the leader’s sent an email to the group about a client seeking a ghostwriter. I responded to the appropriate person, and in a week, I was scheduled for an interview with the client. They hired me after the second meeting.

You need the ability to not only write well, but to edit. Ghostwriting is more editing than writing because the clients are the authors. They create the story, while you create the written page.

Another qualification is the ability to communicate. You’re facilitating the work, so if anything is unclear, it’s up to you as the ghostwriter to clarify. Don’t wait for the client to make things clear. That’s your job. Employ your listening skills. I record our interviews, so I have a resource to refer to. Yet, I still find myself asking follow-up questions or clarifying something. .

Have great organizational skills. You have to organize either hours of recorded interviews, pages of written stories or outlines, then create a well written work. As the ghostwriter, you need to keep track of their material provided, because once the project is finished, you have to return their material. For example, I save the recordings to a flash drive to return to them once the project is finished.

KP: One of the most exhilarating aspects of being a writer is finding one’s voice and infusing it into a story. What techniques do you use to find the voice of the person you are writing for?

SF: I read some books and articles about ghostwriting, and did a few exercises before I started on the client’s book.

I met with the clients in person weekly. I am blessed because we have a great rapport which helps to draw out their personalities. I recorded our meetings and listened to the recordings which is a great resource too. And the clients gave me written passages for the book, another resource. I typed the passages into Scrivener (word processing software for writers) and edited them. After a few months of talking with the clients, hearing them on the recordings and typing their written passages, I was confident I had discovered their voices.

KP: Do you specialize in a ghostwriting a specific genre or do you ghost write several genres?

SF: This is my first time ghostwriting, and it happens to be a memoir. I am open to ghostwriting other genres such as a business/finance book. I have a Bachelors in business and have helped briefly with writing a business manual.

KP: Do you have a specific protocol you follow in working with people on ghostwriting their story? If so, please describe.

SF:

#1: Maintain a great rapport with the clients especially on a memoir. My clients are warm, engaging and understanding, so I was comfortable interacting with them, asking them probing questions, and offering various suggestions. Since they were engaging and transparent, it was easy to capture their values and personalities which I consider important to grasp for a memoir.

#2: Maintain professionalism. I was diligent to be on time, if not early to meetings, made deadlines, researched facts, studies or other helpful information for the book and handled the business aspects such as writing a contract and providing receipts for their payments.

#3: Maintain their privacy: Many things the clients share were confidential; therefore, it’s important to respect their information and not share it with anyone.

KP: What are the pros and cons of being a ghostwriter from your point-of–view?

SF: Pros:

• Fun experience: I’ve enjoyed this process especially meeting with the clients. They are an amazing couple, and I’ve gleaned much from their wisdom and knowledge. I have gained a friendship as well.
• New adventure. You discover another person’s world and get to “travel” through time to learn their story. While memoirs are traveling through your own experiences, here you get the opportunity to explore someone else’s world.
• Sharpens your skills: I have grown as a writer through this experience especially my editing skills. And I’ve learned to be a director and visionary. I had to see beyond the written page, and come up with creative ways the clients can communicate to the readers, and as director, I suggested going in a certain direction with their stories or adding a certain story in a different chapter.
• I’ve had to sharpen my communication skills, especially listening. I am learning the how to not only hear what they are sharing, listen for the inside story, things not so obvious. Perhaps listen for their motivations, their passions. Hear their ‘why’. Then translate their heart and spirit in their stories.
• It’s a paid job. Unlike writing your own book, you have guaranteed payment. Whether the book is a best seller or not, you are still paid.
• Builds your resume. Joe Bunting from Story Cartel says that your writing is your resume. You never know what other doors will open because of this work.

Cons:

You’re not the author of the project. You can’t decide the direction of the book. You can’t add your own voice, for you must be invisible. Even if you have a wider vocabulary, you can’t utilize it at the expense of losing the author’s voice. I’ve replaced words to get efficiency, but knew that the author had either used that word before or familiar with the word.

You don’t dictate the schedule. (This might not necessarily be a “con”, depending on your tolerance for flexibility.) You’re working alongside the clients and their schedule. If a meeting is canceled, then you have to work around discussing items that you had planned to cover in that meeting. You may have completed all your revisions, but need to wait on the clients to read and accept them before continuing the next step. Or you may have to speed up to meet the client’s schedule. Again, you’re not the driver of the project.

KP: What recommendations do you have for people who may be interested in becoming a ghost writer?

SF: Study how to ghostwrite. I read two books and some articles about ghostwriting before I started working on their project. You may either write the contract or the client may present you with a contract. You need to be prepared for either scenario.

Ask yourself if you can enjoy being the facilitator of the project instead of the author. The clients are the authors who decide the content, direction and voice of the book. You help the authors not only write the words on the page, but clarify, edit and polish. You’re working behind the scenes to get the work ready for the public. And then after it’s released, you may not receive any public acknowledgement.

If you enjoy learning new stories, experiencing new challenges as a writer and working with others, then I suggest this type of work.