One of the most common objections that people have to hiring a ghostwriter is that whatever is being ghostwritten won’t sound like them. It’s a totally fair concern. After all, it is the passion project of the author.
But I would argue that a ghostwriter can also help the author actually find their voice and ensure that it’s authentic to them. Depending on the author, this process of finding their voice can happen in a variety of ways.
Here’s the thing about a ghostwriter helping an author find their voice. They aren’t changing anything about the author’s voice. It’s just that sometimes the written word can throw people off a bit. That’s where a ghostwriter comes in to help.
Writing Can Be a Blocker
Some authors love to speak their ideas, but when they start writing, the creative flow gets blocked. They’re good writers, but if they have to write more than a few paragraphs, they lose their train of thought on their ideas and the big picture.
This can happen because the author’s mind starts to focus on what’s showing up on the paper rather than letting the ideas, their expertise, and the creativity flow. They may get caught up on word choice, sentence structure, order of the content, etc.
This is where a ghostwriter can help the author maintain their voice. They allow the author to speak about their thoughts uninhibited. A good ghostwriter will often make the author feel like they’re in their element – whatever that may be. Some authors love speaking in front of an audience, some want to feel like they’re catching up with a friend over coffee. Whatever the author prefers, the ghostwriter can help curate that conversation style.
The ghostwriter then focuses in on the type of language the author uses, their tone, their sentence structure, and their overall style. By doing this, the author’s voice is maintained while their ideas are able to flow more freely, which allows the book to generate maximum impact.
Speaking Voice vs. Literary Voice
Something I learned from my ghostwriting mentor early on was that people have different speaking voices and literary voices. I had never thought about it before, but once he said it, it made sense!
We speak differently than we write. We don’t do this because one way is genuine and the other isn’t. It’s just a difference in how the two modes of communication are received.
The authors I work with typically want their books to feel conversational in nature. However, that doesn’t mean that the speaking voice is used throughout the book. Putting the speaking voice on the page can often confuse the reader because they aren’t in the author’s head to understand the cadence and tone of what is written.
If an author doesn’t yet know their literary voice, a ghostwriter can help them find it. This often involves translating the speaking voice into a way that it is clear on the page, using similar word choices, phrases, and overall emotional tone. The author can then provide feedback on this to fine-tune it.
Less Robotic
A ghostwriter also helps to make the book process feel less robotic. When starting the book journey, it’s easy to fall into a mindset that it needs to be pretty formal and well-put together on the first pass. For those of you who have followed along for a while, you know the first draft is messy.
A ghostwriter helps to get the author out of their head. They create a comfortable environment where the author can be themselves and not think about what they “should” be doing. There are a lot of steps that go into bringing a book to life, and it’s often a dream of the author. The process should have joy in it rather than so much pressure.
Plus, the pressure takes away from the creative flow of the author, which isn’t good for anyone.
If you’ve been tentative about hiring a ghostwriter because you’ve been worried about losing your voice, let’s chat in a strategy call!
Disclaimer: This blog should not be construed as providing, or intending to provide professional financial, legal, psychological, or other professional advice. It is simply meant to share my experiences with those who may find them relatable and helpful.