What is ghostwriting?
If you have a great life story, are looking for a business marketing tool, or have an idea for a book (or article, speech, etc.), but you know you're not a writer, you might be looking for someone who is a writer. Someone like me, or my friends.
A quick primer because the word "ghostwriter" sometimes trips people up.
It has nothing to do with writing ghost stories. (I've twice been confused when someone started talking about haunted houses soon after I mentioned what I do for a living.)
It doesn't mean "uncredited."
It isn't usually a big secret.
The ghost part comes into play only because the writer's voice is supposed to be invisible in the pages; a ghostwriter writes in someone else's voice, based on that person's thoughts, experiences, research, and so on. At least mostly. Ghostwriters may also add in outside research, interview other people for their thoughts, and help their clients think through ideas, but the book is meant to sound as if the client wrote it. The client is the one who's named as the author.
There may have been some stigma attached to ghostwriting in the past, but nowadays, most high-profile people do acknowledge their ghostwriters in some manner. I appear on the cover of most of the books I've worked on, with a shared credit in small font. You'll see a byline such as "BY JANE SMITH with Jenna Brooks." When I'm not on the cover, I'm usually on the title page or, at minimum, in the acknowledgments. There are a few books I'm not allowed to talk about and where my name doesn't appear anywhere... the lack of credit generally comes with a larger fee. I'm not mad about that.
It's not embarrassing to use a ghostwriter; on the contrary, many people see it as a status symbol. Ghostwriters are expensive, and we know what we're doing. It's a lot like hiring a celebrity stylist or reputed architect; if you want your book to be good, you hire an established professional.
Ghostwriting is extremely common in the upper echelon of publishing: Literary agent Madeleine Morel estimates that 60 to 70 percent of nonfiction New York Times bestsellers these days are ghostwritten. Among celebrity books and business leadership books, that number likely rises even higher. In recent years, numerous notable figures have acknowledged the help of ghostwriters: Prince Harry, Michele Obama, Paris Hilton, Cicely Tyson, Chip and Joanna Gains, Pete Wentz, Laura Bush, Pamela Anderson, and many more. But lots of non-celebrities hire ghostwriters, too: primarily those with remarkable life stories or careers.
Depending on skill and experience, ghostwriters command a wide range of rates, but you can expect upper-level ghosts to charge six figures for nonfiction books.
