How Does Ghostwriting Work?

Recently, I’ve had quite a few people ask me how ghostwriting works. So I want to take this opportunity to go back to the basics. What is ghostwriting?

Everyone has different levels of understanding. 

Some people don’t even know what a ghostwriter is (although we are becoming more widely known). I actually used to be in this camp. I didn’t have dreams of growing up to be a ghostwriter. I just learned what this was back in 2022 on a podcast. 

Some people know that a ghostwriter does the writing for other people, but they don’t really understand the process to get there. There’s often a disconnect between understanding how the content is relayed and how the writing really becomes the author’s own. 

Others have a general understanding of the ghostwriting process, but they know that each ghostwriter is different, and it helps to understand how different ghostwriters work. This can be informative in choosing or recommending a ghostwriter. 

So today, we’re keeping it simple with a super high-level overview of the main parts of ghostwriting as it relates to my process. 

Intention Setting and Outlining

One of the most important parts of a successful collaboration (or really any book) is intention setting. As part of this, we discuss what your goals are for yourself, what your goals are for the reader, who exactly the reader is, how you’re serving them, and what you want your readers to learn. 

This helps both the author and the ghostwriter be on the same page going forward in the project. It sets the stage for how the project will be approached and the important components to keep in mind.

These intentions help keep us grounded throughout the process. As time goes on, they serve as guideposts when there is uncertainty on whether some piece of content should be included or how to approach the tone of a specific section, as examples. 

After intentions are set, an outline can be developed. While some people get nervous about outlining because they want the process to flow freely, this is a really important step. The outline helps both the ghostwriter and the author to be able to see what’s coming in the project and prepare for it appropriately. The process can still flow seamlessly, and the outline can always be adjusted later.

Interviews

When the outline is set, the interviews can begin. In my process, I use the outline to structure the interviews. Typically, I like to break the interviews down by chapter. So if Chapter 1 is about Notre Dame football, I’ll ask my author to teach me about it, tell me stories about it, etc. (P.S. if anyone wants to write a book on Notre Dame football, I’d be ecstatic)

Ghostwriters don’t just get to sit back and relax during this process. This is one the areas of the process where we have to be most mentally on our toes. It’s a delicate balance of being fully present for the author and also asking sufficient and well-thought-out follow-up questions that will make the chapter engaging and well-rounded. Similar to journalists, much of this has to happen on the fly, depending on what the author is saying. 

These interviews are recorded to be used for the writing.

Writing

Once I have enough information from the interviews, I’ll begin writing. As a ghostwriter, I’m not just transferring what you said during our discussion onto the page. Books require far more than glorified transcription. 

What I’m doing is translating your speaking voice into your literary voice. Structuring your thoughts in a cohesive way. Aligning the tone with the goals for the book. Ensuring the message is directed at your audience and not just how you talked to me in the interview. Deciding what content to keep, what to remove, and what needs more context. 

Putting the words on the page requires far more than just the mechanics of writing. It requires honoring the author and the intentions behind the book. 

Feedback Loop

As a ghostwriter, I don’t just sit in interviews, bury my head in my laptop, hand off a huge document to you, and say sayonara. It is a collaborative process. 

The first point of feedback comes fairly early in the writing process. After I’ve written 20 – 25 pages that will be representative of the book, I hand them off to the author and request feedback on the voice, tone, and structure of the writing to ensure the rest of the project is aligned to feel and sound like the author. 

Later, I’ll hand off the first draft of the full manuscript to the author. At this point, the author is reviewing everything from content to voice to cohesiveness and everything in between. I give the author generally about a month to review, but this can depend on the author’s schedule. As they review, they leave comments and suggestions directly in the document that we talk about to ensure we are fully aligned on expectations and next steps. 

Then, I’ll incorporate that feedback into a second draft. The second draft is what will be the publisher-ready deliverable that the author is able to hand off for the editor and publisher to begin their work.

If you’ve been considering working with a ghostwriter, but you weren’t sure what that would look like, you now have some initial clarity. If you want to explore this further, request a book consult using the button below.