What is Ghostwriting?
What is Ghostwriting?
It sounds ominous or supernatural, but its really not an uncommon practice. So, what is ghostwriting?
Ghostwriting is the process of having another person write something (article, book, story, script), then publishing under your own name.
Meaning: You pay someone to write your book, then publish it.
The person that ghostwrites takes money up front, then doesn’t take any credit for the published work. If you get famous or a movie deal, then the ghostwriter is silent in the background. They assume anonymity in the published work, and it never has to be released that a ghostwriter is used.
Let’s dive in. From a professional ghostwriter, here’s the scoop on the overall practice of ghostwriting.
What a Ghostwriter DOESN’T DO
Who Uses a Ghostwriter
The short answer - almost everyone.
Even Mozart used to compose music for rich people who wanted to brag to their friends. If you’ve ever seen an autobiography by someone who is famous (for something other than being an author), they used a ghostwriter.
The Ghostwriter doesn’t take any credit for the words between the covers. Most people who use ghostwriters aren’t keen to tell the world about it (especially famous authors). There’s no numbers on how many books and scripts are ghostwritten, but honestly it’s a bigger number than you think.
What Does a Ghostwriter Do?
Sounds easy, right? Take someone else’s plot and just write it down.
Well, it’s not as easy as it looks. Lots of people have great ideas for books/movies/stories. You probably have twelve of them swarming through your head right now. But, if you’re not a professional storyteller, you might not know about the intricacies of writing a full fledged novel.
Ghostwriters crush a lot of dreams. Sure, you want the big reveal to be something crazy, but if it’s not going to make sense in the story, your ghostwriter SHOULD tell you. At least, a good ghostwriter will. Everyone in this situation has to have a thick skin.
A ghostwriter can do anything from write a plot out for you to follow to writing the whole book itself. They can write stuck parts for you, or the parts that aren’t as fun. Need a sex scene but are uncomfortable? Hire a ghostwriter. For twenty bucks you can get that piece you don’t want to write out of the way (and probably back within an hour).
What a Ghostwriter DOESN’T do
We are NOT editors. There might be some typos, some errors in grammar. You get essentially a first draft. If you want it edited, you’re going to need to hire someone for that. And, odds are they are more expensive than the actual ghostwritten content.
That’s how the business works. I give you a first draft, I wipe my hands, and the rest is up to you.
We will never take credit for your work. In fact, most of us have contracts. You don’t tell anyone you used a ghostwriter, and we don’t tell you who has hired us.
Makes it tough to get reviews on a website, but that is the nature of the business.
We write and we disappear.
Just like a ghost.