Thanks for sharing this Katherine, and can I quickly say I'm hugely excited to subscribe to your Substack after being an IG follower and fan!
This also seems strangely prescient. I have a growing interest in the process of ghostwriting, which interweaves with learning the craft of creating writing after years as a journalist (worked on x2 novels in the last six years alongside paid work as a writer and editor). It's probably a bit like how when I was a reporter at the Guardian: everyone told me they had held a long-held dream of being a journalist (even though they showed zero practical attempts to actually become one). You probably get told this all the time: I've always wanted to be a ghostwriter (though the closest I came to being one was applying for an advertised job as one for a fashion designer, which I didn't get). But the actual nuts and bolts of how a writer gets into ghostwriting is just as mysterious as the process of ghostwriting itself. So thank you for illuminating on many counts.
One Q though: when you say the ghostwriter has to have a proposal accepted: is this a non-fiction proposal sent to the publishing house/publisher on behalf of the author? Ie to have the non-fiction advance and publisher agreed? Or is this a proposal sent to the author from you to be their ghostwriter? I sort of think it might be the former but perhaps you can clarify. And if that is the case, what kind of proposal/interview process do you have to go through with the author before it's agreed you'll be their ghostwriter in the first place?
Thank you in advance and looking forward to more from you on Substack!
Thank you for this article which has given me a flurry of excitement. I’ve ghostwritten blog posts and articles for online influencers and, as I’ve not been able to promote it, have struggled to get momentum with this. But I really like the way you articulate it this a niche in its own right. Inspiring!
Thanks for sharing this Katherine, and can I quickly say I'm hugely excited to subscribe to your Substack after being an IG follower and fan!
This also seems strangely prescient. I have a growing interest in the process of ghostwriting, which interweaves with learning the craft of creating writing after years as a journalist (worked on x2 novels in the last six years alongside paid work as a writer and editor). It's probably a bit like how when I was a reporter at the Guardian: everyone told me they had held a long-held dream of being a journalist (even though they showed zero practical attempts to actually become one). You probably get told this all the time: I've always wanted to be a ghostwriter (though the closest I came to being one was applying for an advertised job as one for a fashion designer, which I didn't get). But the actual nuts and bolts of how a writer gets into ghostwriting is just as mysterious as the process of ghostwriting itself. So thank you for illuminating on many counts.
One Q though: when you say the ghostwriter has to have a proposal accepted: is this a non-fiction proposal sent to the publishing house/publisher on behalf of the author? Ie to have the non-fiction advance and publisher agreed? Or is this a proposal sent to the author from you to be their ghostwriter? I sort of think it might be the former but perhaps you can clarify. And if that is the case, what kind of proposal/interview process do you have to go through with the author before it's agreed you'll be their ghostwriter in the first place?
Thank you in advance and looking forward to more from you on Substack!
Thank you for this article which has given me a flurry of excitement. I’ve ghostwritten blog posts and articles for online influencers and, as I’ve not been able to promote it, have struggled to get momentum with this. But I really like the way you articulate it this a niche in its own right. Inspiring!
I’ve always been curious about the ghost writing process, thanks for sharing.p
I’m reading this at just the right time. Thanks for sharing 💕