What is a ghostwriter?

Since books were first written, ghostwriters have been employed. This is a surprising concept to many people because it’s not often talked about outside the literary world. The term ‘ghostwriter’ is a relatively modern term so perhaps the word ‘scribe’ is more accurate. These nameless ancient writers would have been used in ancient kingdoms to write words for noble people or royalty.

Indeed, the most famous books and poems in the world were written by nameless writers, eg ghostwriters. They include the Holy Bible, epic Greek poems Iliad and The Odyssey and later of course big questions surround Shakespeare and whether he wrote all of his plays himself.

Essentially, people who are good with words have been used to write for other people since the beginning of literature.

The term ‘ghostwriter’ was first coined by an American sports agent in the 1920s known as Christy Walsh. But only relatively recently have people begun to understand how ghostwriting works.

Let’s break down what a ghostwriter does.

First, we are employed by someone to write a book for them, or more accurately, a manuscript. This manuscript can then be sent to an agent or publisher or self- published. The average length of a memoir is around 70,000 words, and for a business book it’s usually around 40,000 to 50,000 words.

How does a ghostwriter do this? Well, an author client needs to communicate what they want to appear in the book in the easiest manner for them. This can vary but the most popular method is by an interview process. The ghostwriter asks the questions, and the author answers them. Sometimes the author offers their own diaries (for a memoir) or written ideas in the form of blogs or other musings (perhaps for a business book). The interview process often takes around 20 hours per average book. Many clients find this process surprisingly positive or cathartic.

At the beginning of a project a ghostwriter can find putting together a chapter breakdown a useful process. This where a ghostwriter can write a few paragraphs noting what will appear in each chapter to give the book idea a structure. What is the author trying to say? Who is their target market? What is commercially viable? These are important questions if an author is serious about making the book a success.

This mass of information is then gathered by the ghostwriter who turns what often looks like a tangled web of words into a narrative of chapters. The average chapter length for a book is around 2000 to 3000 words, but this can vary. Each chapter needs to have a narrative arc which hopefully helps the book become a page turning read.

Writing a book is a brave endeavour. It is time consuming, tricky, and at times hugely frustrating. This can be the experience for a professional writer, let alone a person who has never written a book. That’s not to say someone who doesn’t write for a living cannot write a book, many people try it and do a decent job. If you manage to get a full manuscript together the services of an editor might be more useful.

But equally, many other people try to write a book and fail. Many people want to write their book but do not have the time, the inclination, or the will to see it through. That’s where using a ghostwriter can be a transformative experience.

A good ghost can capture the voice of anyone, whatever their story. That’s why for centuries our services have existed and will continue to exist as long as humanity wants to create books.