One of the big jobs for any copywriter is ghost writing.
It can be a book, an article, or a blog, it’s all the same. You are writing something that the client passes off as their own.
Why don’t they do it themselves? It’s a lot of work. And people often struggle to write down all their ideas and thoughts. There’s plenty there, they just don’t have the space to do it. That’s where a copywriter comes in.
I had a client who wanted to tell her story in a book. English wasn’t her first language and she was not a writer. So we sat down and did it.
Here are five ways I did it:
1. Listen to the client.
I was writing on behalf of someone else, so I needed to express myself as they would. I had been hired to write well, but to express their personality in some way. But the key was to listen carefully. I kept talk to a minimum, I just listened.
2. It’s all about team work.
I was ghost-writing, so I was collaborating. While I was doing the writing, I made sure the client had full control over the words. Everything was checked, and I made sure my copy was using their words
3. Be tolerant
The client had views and perspectives I didn’t agree with. I was not expressing my opinion, it was my client’s. So, however much I might have disliked it, I was ready to ‘agree to disagree.’ Having a discussion with the client was important, to keep things running smoothly. I made sure I could disagree without being disagreeable.
4. Remain discreet
Confidentiality is key when it comes to ghostwriting. The whole point is that my client was the author of the work I produced. I could not share who I was working for or what I was working on because that would defeat the purpose of the exercise.
5. Attribution.
Attribution was an issue we had to sort out right from the start. Who gets the credit? Only the author? Or both author and ghostwriter? We agreed ahead of time, instead of arguing over it later. We figured it out in advance.
Ghost writing is a good gig to get. If you need a ghost writer, contact me on 0411 745 193 or leon@leongettler.com
