I was intrigued when I accepted a ghostwriting contract a couple of years ago, but instead of becoming Prince Harry’s secret scribe, I learned the reality is much less glamorous.
Lack of variety
Most clients hired a ghostwriter because they weren’t writers themselves or couldn’t devote enough time. I’ve also worked with some authors whose first language wasn’t English or who were differently abled physically or mentally, making it challenging to write a book on their own.
However, the vast majority of clients were business owners who wanted to publish a book as a personal legacy or to boost their business. A book is the new business card and a way to establish or cement credibility.
Book factory feel
I’m a sucker for gorgeous, lyrical prose and accepted the ghostwriting contract mostly because I thought there’d be more emphasis on the craft of writing. I wanted to get away from snappy, SEO content and deeply technical (and sometimes yawn-inducing) writing.
The small publisher I worked for charges clients to write, edit, design, publish, and market their books. After interviewing the author to collect content, I was expected to put together a full manuscript draft in 6 – 8 weeks. Depending on the subject matter, I usually didn’t consider that enough time to create a high-quality deliverable.
Customer is king (even to the book’s detriment)
While writers with traditional publishing deals don’t usually have the final say over the book title, cover, or final edit, all of my clients did. Most clients were grateful to have the guidance of experts. However, some liberally exercised their veto power and chose titles that didn’t make sense, decided on a book cover based on outdated trends, or left content in their books that opened them up to legal troubles.
Lower pay
I was a freelancer, not an employee, and started out at $50/hr, ending at $60/hr. I would have loved this hourly rate when I started my own business seven years ago, but it was my lowest-paying gig at this point in my career. I was fascinated by learning about the book process from start to finish, and I got to work with many brilliant creatives. I met some wonderful authors and felt honored to tell their stories. However, continuing that work wasn’t financially feasible, especially when my other marketing and technical writing clients were paying me between $80 – 95/hr, depending on the specific services.
Amateur therapy
I spent hours interviewing each author for several months. Most book topics were business related, but some were memoirs or included personal stories. Talking to clients who wanted to use the book as a business card and, therefore, were keen on making themselves look good, required diplomatic efforts to extract the truth without wounding egos.
If the content was of a personal nature, authors often got emotional in conversations. With some, it was an honor to be a witness to their life story. With others, I felt like an unpaid therapist.
After nine books, I realized that ghostwriting was much more emotionally and mentally taxing than my marketing and technical writing work. I found myself using up most of my creative juice for other people’s books instead of working on my own projects. Together with lower pay and faster turnaround times, it wasn’t a good fit for me.
The experience taught me how important it is to diversify my services. I now mix and match marketing and technical writing with full-length books and my own passion projects. Trial and error help me add a few of these new services while still earning a living and keeping the creativity flowing.
Bio:
Juliane Bergmann is a technical writer for Montana State University, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. As a book coach, ghostwriter, and editor, she’s guided nine first-time authors through the ideation and creation of their non-fiction books spanning memoir, entrepreneurship, business development, psychedelics, healthcare, IT, immigration, coaching, and leadership.
Juliane’s work has appeared in: Mamalode, The Writing Cooperative, CRY Magazine, A Parent Is Born, The Bozeman Daily Chronicle, and The Scarlett Letter. She was named a semi-finalist in the 2021 Medium Writing Challenge for her essay How To Become A More Selfish Parent.
Juliane offers free writing resources at https://julianebergmann.ghost.io/
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