7 Things

To Look

For

When Hir ing a

Business Ghostwr i ter

Compatibility

1

You and your

ghostwriter

should be a

good fit.

C o m p a t i b i l i t y i s k e y

b e c a u s e w r i t i n g a b o o k

t a k e s m o n t h s t o

c o m p l e t e , e v e n f o r t h e

p r o s .

You’re the expert

Your ghostwr i ter ’s job

is to showcase

your exper t ise ,

not h is .

If you and your ghostwriter

are a good fit,

you will often start to think about

old things in new ways.

When readers are absorbed

in a story, their

intellectual resistance

drops

Reliability

2

It’s easy to

get

sidetracked

when writing

a book.

To keep your book on track,

your ghostwriter must be

dependable, organized and

deadline-driven.

Your time is precious

A reliable ghostwriter understands this fact,

and works within and around your schedule.

Business expertise

3

Ghostwriters of business books tend to have (or

should have) business

backgrounds. It makes the process much

smoother and easier, and adds

value, quality and depth to the

material being produced.

Ability to ask

the right questions

4

Jargon and complexity is an

inevitable by-product of being an expert in your

field. A good ghostwriter takes complexity

and turns it into plain English so it is

accessible to a wider audience.

When the expert says something

that sounds intelligent but appears opaque,

the ghostwriter must keep at it,

asking the “dumb” questions (back to ‘fit” again)

until another, better way is found to

express those thoughts so that

every reader will understand.

Structure

5

At their core, most business books are simply an

extended

argument.

Ultimately, a business book’s value

is defined by how

persuasively the author

Is able to make his or her case.

Structure is about developing

a consistent and coherent theme.

Your ghostwriter should have the ability to

organize and structure your book’s contents

so your argument builds and flows

in a convincing way.

Ideally, a business book works

on multiple levels:

Inspirational

Emotional

Intellectual

Visceral

Voice

6

Your ‘voice’ is as unique to you as

your thumbprint.

An experienced ghostwriter knows

how to put creative ego aside and

quickly discover your authentic

written voice.

However, your voice on the page

is likely to differ

from your spoken voice.

Why?

Because even the most articulate speaker

will appear a little less polished

when his or her (transcribed) words

are seen on the page,

so a certain amount of polishing

is always necessary.

Trust

7

You and your ghostwriter must

rely on each

other.

Trust is mutual belief.

Trust sometimes takes time to fully

develop. That said, there doesn't

have to be love at first sight or even

at last sight.

If you are committed to going ahead

with your book, but have a concern

about your ghostwriter's ability

to capture your voice…

… your prospective ghostwriter

should be willing to show you

written samples from published books

they have either co-authored or ghosted.

(Or possibly even write

a sample page or two for you.)

To learn more

To l e a r n m o r e a b o u t m e

a n d / o r t h e b o o k c o l l a b o r a t i o n p r o c e s s ,

s i m p l y c l i c k o n t h e l i n k b e l o w :

Jonathan Verney