What is a Ghostwriter?

People are always surprised when they ask me what I do.

“A ghostwriter? What’s a ghostwriter?”

“I write books for people who have great ideas but no time to write,” I explain.

“Really? Isn’t that cheating—getting someone else to write your book?”

“Not at all,” I smile. “It’s how books have always been written. Take the Bible. God’s name is on the cover, but someone else did the actual writing. Supreme Beings have worlds to create. They don’t have time to etch their thoughts in tablets.”

“Then you’re really a modern scribe?”

“Yes and no. A scribe takes dictation. They don’t influence the text. A ghostwriter takes down ideas and then organizes and shapes them into a readable, marketable book. But like a scribe, their name never appears on the cover, so their work is invisible.” 

“Huh. Are a lot of books written this way?”

“Well, a lot of good books are written this way. Haven’t you ever read a book and wondered how a busy entrepreneur, consultant, or coach found the time to write such a polished work?” 

“Sure. All the time. It’s what keeps me from writing my own book because I feel like I could never write anything that good.”

“Now you know their secret,” I whisper. “They hire people like me.”