Don’t Be Afraid of a Ghost(Writer)
Part One: Whose Voice Is It, Anyway?
Most people are naturally scared of ghosts. Unfortunately, some businesspeople are naturally scared of ghostwriters as well. Are you?
Some professionals think:
- If I use a ghostwriter, will the work sound like mine?
- If someone ghostwrites my material, is it my work or theirs?
- Is using a ghostwriter ethical?
Believe me when I tell you, there is no need to be scared of ghosts. Ghostwriting is an excellent way for you as a business professional to get your story out there for the world to see. Your followers will see your expertise, you’ll position yourself as an expert in your industry—all with the help of someone who writes in your voice! What could be better?
Over the next several weeks, we are going to examine some of the most common misconceptions of ghostwriting in more detail. Once you’ve read these, you’ll never be afraid of ghostwriting again!
Are you ready? Here comes the number one misconception.
Ghostwriters get paid to write for you.
This is untrue. As a ghostwriter, I don’t write FOR you, I write AS you. You could ask me to put together a book about your business philosophy, and I could probably study you and learn about you online and do just that. But it wouldn’t be YOUR work.
Instead, if I’m going to write AS you, I’m going to get to know you. We go through a process of interviews together. I ask all kinds of questions, and I learn all about what makes you tick. I record these interviews so that I can listen to them over and over again. The more I listen, the more I learn about you. Perhaps a certain expression that you like to use comes out a lot. Or your ideas about a particular subject become very clear. If I’m going to write about your business philosophy, I need to know you, and why this philosophy is so pertinent to your success.
In other words, I’m writing in your voice. When this piece is finished, you won’t believe that you didn’t write it yourself, because it will sound exactly like you would write or speak.
Ready to learn more? Let’s talk. Reach out to me at sue@suetoth.com and we’ll set up some time to talk.
Coming Next: Who owns the material a ghostwriter writes?