Ghostwriting

IN MY CAREER AS AN EDITOR, I have encountered several highly intelligent people who, for one reason or another, did not excel at the written word. Some were not native speakers of English, others knew their subjects inside out but had trouble expressing it clearly in ordinary language.

FOR SOME PROJECTS, I would say that the editor's job descends into "heavy editing," co-writing, and even to ghostwriting. Many editors will turn down anything that requires heavy editing — it's time-consuming, expensive, and — dare I say — not fun to do.

NOT JUST CELEBRITIES may need help with putting words on paper. Really good writers are rare. One's ideas or stories may not easily translate into "book material." One's reputation may suffer because of published unintentional gaffes, slurs, poor grammar, dyslexia, or whatever.

IS THIS OPTION FOR YOU? I always recommend that people speak in their own voice, yet in cold print on the page, the impression can be misleading. If you feel that doing the writing solo is really out of the question, hiring a ghostwriter remains a viable option.

WORKING WITH A GHOSTWRITER requires a commitment on both sides, a collaboration that must be built on trust. If it is, the result will be better than either could do alone.

The Book Doc

Ghostwriting