If you’ve considered writing a book and you know it’s time, there are five reasons you should consider a ghostwriter. In fact, by using a ghostwriter to help plan and write your next book, you’ll demonstrate that you are an author with PLUCK.

What Is a Ghostwriter?

A ghostwriter is someone who writes a piece of work–a book, an article, or something else–that another individual puts his or her name on and takes credit for authoring.

Some people have said it’s unethical. Some people would like it to be illegal. In fact, ghostwriting has been around for a long time. Busy people who don’t have the time to write a book themselves but who have a great story to tell can benefit from hiring a ghostwriter. Many famous people have done so, and some not-so-famous-but-successful people have, as well.

A ghostwriting relationship can take several different forms. One form is for the author, the person whose name will appear on the book, to pay the writer a flat fee for putting the manuscript together.

Another way a ghostwriter-author relationship can be structured is with all or part of the royalty package going to the ghostwriter. For instance, if the author has already secured a publisher, he can assign his right to royalties to the ghostwriter, who will then collect any earnings from the sale of the book while the author enjoys other benefits.

Some ghostwriters have taken a cut in their flat fee, a percentage of royalties, or both, in exchange for being listed as co-author.

In short, ghostwriter-author relationships can take several different forms. No matter what form they take, however, the book author benefits from the ghostwriter’s expertise. Below are five ways a ghostwriter benefits a book manuscript and its author.

PLUCK: What a Ghostwriter Does for a Book

The following five benefits of a ghostwriter are centered around an acronym – PLUCK. Authors who use a ghostwriter show that they have incredible pluck.

1. Prepare the Book for Success – The first benefit to hiring a ghostwriter for your book is preparation for success. A good ghostwriter will begin with an outline. The outline is not gospel; rather, it’s a guide. But it’s a good place to start because it provides your book with a structure right from the beginning. That structure can change throughout the course of writing the book, but by beginning with a structure in place at the start, you are laying a solid foundation upon which to build. One of the ghostwriter’s primary tasks is to educate the author on the process of writing and publishing a book so that the author and the book are set up for success from the very beginning.
2. Leverage Your Time – One of the most important benefits to hiring a ghostwriter is to leverage your time. If you’re a busy executive, you are likely wrapped up in the details of your business. You are juggling millions of dollars in assets and equipment, and you likely have a family. While you are busy living your life, your ghostwriter is hard at work churning out the details of your book.
3. Uncover Hidden Storytelling Opportunities – A good ghostwriter has an eye for a story. In my experience, people who do not write for a living may be good at composing sentences, but that doesn’t mean they understand story structure, character arcs, and plot devices. Even with nonfiction, every story must have a structure. Novices tend to leave out important details. Professional ghostwriters see where there are hidden opportunities to dig deeper and bring out details that you are too close to the story to see. These hidden gems can make or break your book before it ever gets published.
4. Craft the Right Title – Titling a book is as much an art as writing one. Your ghostwriter can help you pick the right title for your book based on the story, your audience, and your marketing plan.
5. Knead the Prose – Many people hire a ghostwriter because they realize they are not writers. That’s a great reason for hiring a ghostwriter. Not everyone is a sales expert or a financial wizard. By the same token, not everyone is an ace wordsmith. A ghostwriter will help you maintain consistency in your book’s voice and tone, extricate any unnecessary words, keep the story from lagging in the middle, and make appeals to your audience throughout the manuscript to keep readers interested in reading. It’s a tall order, but if you fail at this point, no one will read your book but your mother.

A ghostwriter benefits the book and the author. From beginning to end, the ghostwriter is focused on what will make the book successful. That begins with an outline, but it doesn’t end there.

Are you ready to talk about getting your book published? Look me up today.