Christina Hamlett

Whenever the subject comes up in interviews or at workshops that being a professional ghostwriter is part of my repertoire, it often generates one of three responses:

1. What does a ghostwriter do?
2. Isn’t it like doing someone’s homework for them?
3. Who are some of your clients?

 A ghostwriter, in essence, is a chameleon. No matter how gifted you are at penning your own works, you need to be able to not only step into the mindset but the unique voice of your client as well. It’s the client’s name, after all, that will go on the finished product, not yours. Like an actor that can do multiple accents, a ghostwriter with a diverse range is likely to pick up more work than one that delivers everything in exactly the same way.

People hire ghostwriters for two reasons. The first is that they have something they really want to say but realize they don’t have the communication skills to deliver it. How many times, for instance, have you heard someone say, “I have all these great ideas but I wouldn’t know the first thing about how to put them down on paper”.

The solution is to find a wordsmith that comes closest to what’s in the sender’s vision and simply put their own name to it. Does the recipient feel any less appreciative because the words were someone else’s? Of course not. In the recipient’s view, the delivery of the message trumps the origin of authorship.

The second reason ghostwriters get hired is because their clients don’t have the time to commit to a project as detailed and lengthy as a book. While politicians, celebrities and athletes most commonly fall into this category, there are just as many others that work as doctors, teachers, accountants, business owners and students. 

The amount of groundwork that clients have already done toward their projects can be likened, I think, to the nameless artists that painted backdrops such as meadows, trees, and cows for the paintings of the great masters. It was a win-win for both sides. The backdrop guys not only got to apprentice with professionals but also pick up tricks of the trade along the way. The masters benefitted from the arrangement because the time they saved painting cows or crowds or whatever could be spent on each painting’s primary attraction. Compared to ghostwriting, the only difference is that – in the end – it’s actually the master that recedes into obscurity and allows the apprentice to take full credit.

Whether you’re looking for a professional ghostwriter to pen your memoirs, write your novel or assist with articles, blogs and newsletters for your business, let’s talk!

One-on-one consulting services are also available for authors and business owners who want to learn how to attract more media opportunities without spending any money, become an interesting (and more effective) interviewee, and put together a compelling press kit. I also provide editorial and cover design services for your writing projects.