What is the Ghostwriting Process?

Here Are 5 Possibilities

Clients often ask me about the ghostwriting process. In many cases what they really mean is, “How will we work together?”

The answer is simple: The process depends on your needs and the kind of person you are.

There are five types of people who hire ghostwriters, and the process depends on the type. Which type sounds most like you?

The “You Do It” type

You want to give the ghostwriter your basic idea, plus perhaps an article or two on the topic, and then leave, not returning until the manuscript is complete.

You don’t want to do anything more than read the final manuscript to make sure you approve of what the ghost wrote.

The “I’ll Finish It When You’re Done” type

You’re interested in participating during the planning stages of the book, but not during the writing phase.

Once the manuscript is complete, however, you want to read it carefully and make small changes. Perhaps you’d like to add case studies or other small sections, suggest quotes or studies to include, and so on. You want to tweak the fully-written manuscript to make it your own.

The “Let’s Work Together” type

You definitely want to work on the book, but you’re happy to leave the heavy-duty writing to the ghost.

That said, you like the idea of talking with your ghostwriter virtually or in person, typing or dictating brief passages on your own, and passing drafts of the chapters back and forth, correcting, adding, and deleting material with each pass.

The “Guide Me Through It” type

You’re more heavily involved in the writing than the “Let’s Work Together” type.

In fact, you prefer to write a fair amount of the manuscript yourself, relying on the ghost to help you structure the overall book and individual chapters, make sure you stay on track, smooth out poorly written passages, create a modest proportion of the text, and otherwise ensure that you come up with a clear, compelling book.

The “I Did It, You Fix It” type

You have already written a complete manuscript on your own, but recognize that it is not of publishable quality. Or perhaps it’s well-written, but too technical or complex for the popular market.

You want your ghostwriter to break it down into its constituent parts, eliminate what’s unnecessary or repetitive, reassemble what remains in a more structurally sound and/or reader-friendly manner, indicate or add what’s missing, smooth out the writing, and otherwise polish your manuscript.

So instead of just asking about the ghostwriting process…

Ask yourself “What type of client am I?” Then hire a ghost who works well with your type.

Some ghostwriters are comfortable working with all types, but others are not, so be sure to ask before signing on the dotted line. Be sure you’re working with a top ghostwriter.

How does ghostwriting work? It depends on you.

For a look at how one ghostwriter handles the process, see “What To Expect When Hiring a Ghostwriter,” by Stacy Ennis.