Ghostwriting is often a mysterious thing for people. Step 1 is knowing that ghostwriters exist. Step 2 is knowing how to actually work with them.
Many folks consider the idea of working with a ghostwriter but don’t actually know what that process looks like, how the final product comes together, or what the roles and responsibilities within the partnership are.
As a ghostwriter, I would hate to see books that aren’t written just because a potential author has considered working with a ghostwriter but is uncertain of how it would work. While it’s beneficial to cover the entirety of the process on a call so that the discussion is specific to the author, here’s a high-level overview of the process of working with me.
Setting Intentions
You’ve seen me write other blogs on this because it’s just that important. The first step that needs to happen in the book-writing process (whether you’re working with a ghostwriter or not) is setting intentions. This puts in place the foundation and the roadmap for your book.
During this step of the process, we’ll talk about your “why” for writing the book, who your audience is, what your goals are once the book is written, what you want the reader to do once they finish reading the book, etc.
This step is so important because it drives the entire process. The goals that you have as an author will influence your tone, content, themes, stories, and more. The goals that you have for your reader will also influence tone, content, and style.
Furthermore, this helps us to look ahead at what type of publishing you may want to pursue, timelines, and other connections we may need to make in the process.
Outlining
Outlines can sometimes be controversial. It’s my opinion that they’re necessary for any book, but they’re absolutely critical when working with a ghostwriter to ensure there is alignment in direction and structure in the process. That being said, we aren’t married to the outline. Not only can it change throughout the process, but it almost certainly will change throughout the process.
The intentions set earlier, together with the outline, ensure that the book makes a greater impact. Creating an outline aligned with those intentions ensures that the content of the book stays on track and is always aligned with the theme and goals of the book.
This also helps to facilitate the process between the author and the ghostwriter. The outline will help create a flow for the interviews and will allow both the author and the ghostwriter to prepare ahead of each interview to be as efficient and effective as possible.
As the process progresses, the outline can evolve as well, if necessary.
Interviews
After the intentions are set and the outline is drafted, it’s time to get those ideas and stories flowing. For this portion of the process, the ghostwriter will sit down with the author at a cadence that works for them for the author to share their stories and thought leadership with the ghostwriter.
This is essentially a chance for the author to teach the ghostwriter about something they’re passionate about while telling related stories. The format of these interviews is tailored to the style of the author to make them most comfortable. Some authors prefer to teach as if they’re delivering a presentation, and some authors prefer the chats to be more conversational in nature.
This is also when the ghostwriter will bring some of their expertise as well. They will help to guide the interview by asking insightful questions that will more fully round out the material that will be needed to create the first draft of the book. They are able to provide a more objective viewpoint and help alleviate blind spots the author may have when teaching.
Writing
After all of that, we can talk about the writing. Ghostwriters will use those interviews to complete the writing of the first draft of the book. The processes that ghostwriters go through when writing are likely to vary greatly. My process will even vary from book to book.
For business, leadership, and personal development books, I will write throughout the interview process. In other words, as we’re completing interviews, I’m working on writing the book. Do I keep up in lock-step? No. But do I keep up within a few weeks of the interviews? Yes.
For books that are more akin to a memoir, I will write the first draft at the end of the interview process. When gathering information for memoirs through interviews, it’s easy for stories and insights to be remembered out of order and at different times throughout the process, so it’s most impactful and effective to have the full view before writing.
During the writing process, the ghostwriter will embody the voice, tone, and cadence of the author. As part of my process, I give the author a brief sample of a chapter or two of writing at the beginning to ensure that I’m on track with their vision for the books, especially the voice, tone, and structure.
Reviewing
After the first draft is written, the author will have plenty of time to review the first draft and provide feedback. It’s the ghostwriter’s expectation that there will be plenty of feedback. Nobody gets it perfect on the first draft, including authors who don’t use ghostwriters.
The author and ghostwriter will agree on an allotted period of time for the author to review the first draft. During this time period, they will be leaving comments and suggestions within the manuscript.
After the author has completed their review, the ghostwriter will meet with the author to understand the feedback and perform any additional interviews. Once the ghostwriter has incorporated the feedback, they will hand off the manuscript to the author, who will then take it and run with it as they please.
One of the perks of working with a ghostwriter is that they will help guide you through this entire process so you don’t have to think about it. The length of this process will depend on the book and the author, but I think a good timeline benchmark is six months, plus or minus a couple of months, for these steps within the book process.
Curious to learn more about working with a ghostwriter? Book a free strategy call with me using the button below!
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.