What Is a Ghostwriter?
A ghostwriter is someone who is hired to write something — whether that be a memoir, a blog post or a song — under another person’s name. Famous musicians, orators and even authors have often resorted to the trusty ghostwriter.
The “ghostwriter” name comes from the description of the profession — instead of operating under a public name, the ghostwriter produces the work invisibly, without taking any of the credit. Though the title is a little glamorous, the actual reputation of a ghostwriter remains hidden — unseen by the general public and everyone except the ghostwriter and the person who hired them.
You may be wondering why anyone would actually want to be a ghostwriter. After all, what’s the point of creating a work if you aren’t going to get to any of the credit? You might be considering trying to find a ghostwriter for your own purposes or might even be thinking about becoming a ghostwriter yourself.
In this article, we’ll cover all of these questions and more, delving into all the ins and outs of ghostwriting.
What Does a Ghostwriter Do?
The world of ghostwriting is vast and covers nearly all forms of writing. Some of your favorite historical speeches or even song lyrics likely came from a talented writer working in the shadows. Here are some popular mediums for ghostwriting. Speechwriting
The world of politics is filled with ghostwriters. Nearly every speech you see likely had another pen behind the person speaking them. The United States may even have been built on the great ghostwriting work of James Madison, who helped craft some of George Washington’s most famous speeches.
Speechwriting is a staple in politics for a variety of reasons — most politicians don’t have the time to put together a well-thought speech on the campaign trail (though Lincoln was notorious for writing many of his own speeches.) And for another, speechwriting is an art in itself — it’s one thing to be a great orator, but it’s something completely different to put the right words next to each other to create something lasting and resonating.
But even aside from politics, many people use ghostwriters for speeches — whether it’s CEOs of huge businesses, commissioners of sports leagues or late-night hosts. Many times, people would rather resort to a professional writer who’s versed in wordplay rather than try to craft something themselves. With proper communication and direction, a ghostwriter can create a speech that displays what a particular person wants while capturing their distinct voice at the same time.
Blogging
The explosion of blogging in recent years also created a huge need for ghostwriters. Many companies — from your local car repair shop to tech giants — use blogs to leverage traffic and drive people to their businesses. In order to do this, they need to find writers that can access their brand voice and capture the essence of their company. This takes some skill — ghostwriters offer the perfect skillset to write for these types of blogs.
Many blogs, websites and companies use ghostwriters to pump out content that matches the voice they want.
Social Media Copy
All those tweets from your favorite celebrity? They may not actually be coming from who you think. Many high-level athletes, movie stars and politicians usually have a ghostwriter or even a team of ghostwriters who work to craft the perfect social media copy. This could be anything from a clever Instagram caption to a more nuanced post on Twitter.
Books
One of the most traditional roles of a ghostwriter is writing books. Oftentimes, someone will hire a ghostwriter to help them write their autobiography. The list of ghostwritten autobiographies goes on and on — many famous politicians and celebrities will have a ghostwriter help them write their life stories. Often, these types of jobs are in-depth and require multiple rounds of interviews. In some cases, the ghostwriter may actually live with the person to get a feel for their life and what they do during their day-to-day.
Aside from autobiographies, ghostwriters can also write books under a different name, mimicking a famous author’s style. There is a lot of speculation about authors who pump out book after book with no sign of slowing down — the writer R.L. Stine came under the microscope at one point because of the astonishing pace he was putting out stories. Sometimes demand becomes so high that writers enlist help to keep up.
Pitches and Proposals
Companies will also use ghostwriters for writing pitches to other businesses and proposals for grants or funds. A great proposal could bring in a huge amount of money to a company, so ghostwriters are very important in these cases.
Songs
Ghostwriters can even write song lyrics — especially in today’s industry, some musicians may not write any of their own lyrics at all. Instead, talented writers will come up with catchy tunes for artists to work with. Some in the industry look down upon ghostwriting — many may remember the famous feud between Drake and Meek Mill in 2016. During an ongoing, public argument, Meek Mill let on that Drake was using a ghostwriter for his lyrics. Drake responded with his famous single “Back to Back,” which went on to become a classic. Was it ghostwritten? We have no way of knowing.
What we do know is that ghostwriting is plentiful in the music industry, and for good reason — a lot of music revolves around collaboration and creativity. Having someone in the room who knows how to make words pop is a path to great music.
How to Be a Ghostwriter
Becoming a ghostwriter may seem intimidating, and you could be unsure of where to even start. It will help to break this process down into manageable steps and work your way towards the final goal.
1. Become a Great Writer
Before you think about becoming a ghostwriter, you should first work on becoming a great writer. All ghostwriters should have great confidence in their writing abilities — as a ghostwriter, you’ll have to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and find their unique voice. Every person has their own innate way they speak and write — your job is to access that and make it come across clearly on the page. In order to do this, you must have empathy, great observation skills and, above all, great writing ability.
2. Practice Ghostwriting
Much like an actor adopts a role and steps into a certain identity, a ghostwriter adopts someone else’s persona in order to tell their story. Many ghostwriters pride themselves on their ability to disappear under their words so that only their “real” author’s voice remains.
Ghostwriting itself is itself a skill that you must hone and work on to become great at. Spend some time attempting to adopt someone else’s voice and write as you think they would sound on the page. You can go back and look at speeches, songs or even books and try to narrow down a certain tone or voice you hear there. Many times, this tone will be very subtle — it’s the ghostwriter’s job to try to narrow it down and notice those small intricacies that separate a voice from the pack.
Once you’ve found that voice, spend time writing content trying to replicate that tone. After some practice, you may start to find this process easier and the writing will start to come more naturally to you.
3. Market Yourself as a Ghostwriter
Even if you’ve never done ghostwriting work before, you can still start crafting some samples and use these to market yourself as a ghostwriter. Usually, if people see that you’re a great writer, then they’ll trust you to be a ghostwriter for them. Any published works will help you get more eyes on your work and build your reputation as a writer.
From there, you can start dipping your toe into the ghostwriting market. Talk to friends and potential clients about what you’re planning to do and spread the work that you’re interested in the ghostwriting world. Try to find writers who you know or think may have delved in ghostwriting before and ask them how to break into the industry.
If you’re very knowledgeable about a certain topic, you may even already have ghostwriting jobs waiting for you.
3. Build Up a Client Base and Gather Testimonials
Marketing yourself as a ghostwriter can be challenging, as all of the works you’ve created aren’t under your name. So how can you let people know that you’re good for the job? Try to build up a solid client base and gather testimonials from those you worked with. When you’re pitching for a new project, you may be able to use these testimonials to showcase your aptitude for the job.
4. Garner a Reputation
Once you’ve completed a few ghostwriting jobs, you may start to gain momentum. The more work you do, the better your reputation will become. Though you’ll likely have to do a lot of work in the beginning to break into the industry, after a while you’ll be able to gather a good portfolio and even become well-known in the ghostwriting community. Work may even start coming to you without you needing to ask for it.
Why Become a Ghostwriter?
Many people may be curious why anyone would want to be a ghostwriter. Your work goes under a different name and all the credit goes to someone else. So why do it? The ghostwriting industry offers many unique benefits:
Ghostwriting Offers Anonymity
One of the most obvious benefits of being a ghostwriter is that offers you anonymity. In today’s world, much of what we say is scrutinized and judged through the lenses of millions – as a ghostwriter, you’re able to shield yourself from that scrutiny. Instead, your can produce your work genuinely, without concern about how it will be received. This offers ghostwriters a lot of freedom.
It’s Lucrative
You can also make quite a lot of money ghostwriting. Though it may be challenging starting out, if you become good at what you do there will be plenty of people willing to pay you top dollar for great writing. Edge into the world of celebrity, big business or top-tier politicians and you could find yourself making money hand over fist.
It Lets You Enter Another Persona
This is one that many people may not think of when they think of ghostwriting, though it’s one of the best things about the job. Ghostwriting allows you to take on someone else’s persona. When you do this, you’re practicing one of the purest forms of empathy. You’re forced to step into someone’s shoes and not only think as they do but also write as they would.
There’s a reason why many authors — Stephen King, Agatha Christie, JK Rowling — used pen names when they wrote. It allows you to stay anonymous and it also lets you adopt another persona, becoming someone without any ties to their old identity. It’s a freeing way to write and may even help you become a better writer.
Stephen King said something along these lines during one of his interviews. The Bachman shield allowed him to play with different themes that his audience may not have found appealing and really test his writing skills. As King, he was under a bit of pressure to write for his audience. As a ghost, he could write exactly as he wanted.
The Benefits of Hiring a Ghostwriter
On the other side of things, you could be questioning why you should hire a ghostwriter. Whether you’re a large corporation, a musician or a startup, there are plenty of reasons why you may want to hire a ghostwriter:
Keep Your Brand Voice Constant
A ghostwriter helps streamline the voice of a particular company or person. Continuity is essential — it doesn’t matter if it’s a book or fifty blog posts. Readers will be drawn to a certain way someone writes. If you’re able to replicate that time and time again, you can draw a large audience. Hiring a ghostwriter will help you keep that constant voice throughout all of your content.
Put Out Content On Your Terms
Hiring a well-known, reputable writer may help you gain authority and credibility. However, these writers also come with the baggage of their past work. A ghostwriter can conform to whatever content they need to write. You’ll be able to have control over the process and collaborate with the writer to get what you need written — as you want it written.
Tell Your Story
Stories are a huge part of our culture. They help us build a framework that’s familiar and compelling. Ghostwriters are awesome storytellers — they can help you formulate the origins of your business or your life, letting people know who you are and how you’ve become who you are.
How Much Does a Ghostwriter Cost?
The cost of a ghostwriter will largely depend on the scope of the work — a full memoir will cost a lot more than a 500-word blog post. But you’ll also have to see whether you’ll charge hourly or pay an up-front fee that can be doubled when the work is finished.
Usually, a solid line of communication between you and the ghostwriter will ensure that compensation is handled effectively.
How Much Does a Ghostwriter Make?
Ghostwriting salaries vary widely. When you’re just starting out, you likely won’t make a lot. But some ghostwriters are able to achieve great success, making money upwards into the six figures and even more.
How to Find a Ghostwriter
Ghostwriters can be difficult to find — their profession requires them to be ghosts, after all, slinking around and using their skills to adopt various personas. To find them, you’ll need to know the right places to look and have the right strategies to find them. Here are some ways to find a ghostwriter:
Look Around Online
The internet is full of eager ghostwriters ready to work for you. There are various ghostwriting associations that allow you to access databases full of great ghostwriters. Social media platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn are also chock-full of awesome writers.
Ask Around In Your Industry
There are likely ghostwriters also hard at work in your industry. A great way to find them is to ask those in your line of work if they’ve used ghostwriters. These people may be able to point you in the right direction or even refer you to a writer.
Talk to Writers
One of the best ways to find a ghostwriter is to start a dialogue. A large part of ghostwriting, after all, is finding someone that not only matches your writing standards but also your values and goals. You want someone you can communicate with so that the content you want will shine through clearly.
Reach Out For More Information On Ghostwriting
For more information regarding how to become a ghostwriter, hiring a great ghostwriter or something related to this subject, feel free to reach out to get some more information.
