What’s it like being a book ghost writer?
By Karen S. Cole of Ghost Writer, Inc.
I love being a book ghost writer. I don’t handle screenplays except for editing them, but I do both edit and write books for a living. I’ve been a book ghost writer since 2003 and before, but I’m still learning about it as I go. A book ghost writer has a lot to learn about different types of subject matter and the process of writing a book as well.
When I became a book ghost writer, I expected to be churning out a lot of copy by myself, but over the years I have found that clients tend to help me a lot with the actual writing process. They usually at least supply background notes and/or a book outline which helps me as a book ghost writer to prepare the books, professionally writing or rewriting them to ready the books for publication. I also format book manuscripts in the modern style desired by literary agents and book publishers.
A lot of people only need me to edit their books, not to be a strict book ghost writer. So in those cases, I can charge them less and they are less put out by the price tag for the ghost writing work. I am still a book ghost writer in those cases, as a lot of the work involves extensive rewriting and not just line and simple color editing. I do a lot of editing into Show not Tell style, which is the most popular style of book writing. A good book ghost writer can put your entire book into Show not Tell style and greatly improve the overall tone, thrust and performance of your book manuscript.
When you hire a book ghost writer, you must check the credentials of your prospective writer before you hire them. Almost every book ghost writer can give you a list of clients they’ve worked for who are willing to vouch for them, and a list of brief samples from their work, even if they can’t list the clients’ names or the titles of the books they’ve worked on. A good book ghost writer will have lots of short samples they can give you, and also references from clients as well. So only hire a book ghost writer who can show you proof that their work is more than adequate for the task at hand.
