Your Voice is Vital, Ghostwrite it
Finding the time and space to sit down and write, for someone working 16 hours a day, is probably never going to happen. But it’s the people who put in those kinds of hours—innovators, entrepreneurs and business leaders—that really should be writing, because folks who aren’t nearly as successful need to hear their stories. Highly successful people often do have the idea that they should write a book, and even place the task on their long-term to-do list. But their workload and schedule often totally precludes it.
The short answer for such a person, if they want to get a book written, is to turn to a ghost writer. That isn’t, unfortunately, the whole answer.
I’ve personally known a number of people who decided to be “ghost writers” because they saw it as a potentially easy career. Their products were apt demonstrations of their lack of experience. You’ll see ads for this type of person all over LinkedIn and other social media platforms, and my heart goes out to anyone who actually pays for the services of one of these, um, writers.
A ghost writer is someone who should reflect the nature of the name. In other words, in the end they should be “transparent” and allow the actual author—the person being written for—to show fully through in all their glory. All the qualities that make the author great, and worthy of being read, should be immediately evident and accessible. Their “voice” should be precisely reflected—the reader should feel like they’re actually having an intimate conversation with the author.
Not to blow my own horn—well, okay, I will blow my own horn—I know these things because this is precisely the way my ghost-writing clients have described me.
When choosing a ghost writer, you should put them through a trial, and the potential ghost writer should be willing to do this free of charge. Do a sample chapter or an essay. Have the ghost writer turn it out, and see if it’s really you. If not, find someone else.
The end product should be, seriously, like you’re looking in the mirror. When you find that…you’ve truly tapped into the real power of the ghost.
And it’s well worth the money.