Don’t choose the wrong ghostwriter: 8 vital things to discuss in the discovery call

Exciting! You’re finally taking the plunge to hire a writer to create the book you’ve been dreaming of. The one that will share your knowledge and expertise, propel your career or your brand, and change people’s lives or businesses.?

You've found a few ghostwriters, had positive initial communication with them, and narrowed your list to a few who you think could be a great fit for you and your book.

Now, how do you choose the right one?

A speaker I know, a sought-after speaker on leadership, hired a ghostwriter to write her first book. The writer pitched her that he could take her speeches and turn them into a book, which he did. However, she said to me:

"It's a good-enough book, but if I was going to do it again, I would do it differently, because he wrote his book. It's not the book I would have written."        

That's something that obviously would be a concern for you.

Ghostwriters are often prevented by NDAs or author request not to disclose that they worked on a particular book. They also might not have published anything under their own name. This means they might not have reviews, testimonials, or writing samples.?

For this reason, when hiring a ghostwriter, the discovery call is very important.?

The discovery call is perhaps your only opportunity to truly assess whether the writer is the right one for you and your project. So, here are the eight most important things to discuss with the ghostwriter in your discovery call.?

At the end, I give you 2 bonus tips to guide you in making the decision.        

?1. Your vision

Your vision for your book influences a lot of the other decisions. For instance, let's say you envision your book as a quick, handy reference guide. That's going to influence the tone, the length, the style of writing, the use of bullet points, how much information will be included . . . and more. All of this affects the time frame and workload for the ghostwriter.?

2. Your audience

Who is going to read this book? This matters to the writer because it influences the tone and style of the writing. Even more importantly, though, the ghostwriter needs to know how much your audience already knows about the subject of your book. How much will need to be explained? What is the reading level of your audience? How busy are they? What are their goals and dreams? What will your readers be wanting and expecting from this book? Why will they buy it? All of that affects the research and the writing.?

3. Your goals

Do you want to influence people? Do you want to get them to change their behaviour? Do you want to help them change their lives or their business in some way? Do you want to help them reach their goals? The ghostwriter will take this into account to understand the scope of the project and if they would be a good fit to help you realise your goals.?

4. Your voice

The voice or tone is how the book sounds in the reader's ear as they're reading it. Do you want it to sound exactly like you? Or do you want maybe to sound more articulate than you normally do? Or more casual? Friendlier? More authoritative? It’s important to discuss this with the writer, because ghostwriters are chameleons, but they don't necessarily have all the colours in their coat. The tone that you want might not be in the ghostwriter’s repertoire.?

5. The writer‘s natural strengths

If this hasn’t already come up in your communications with the writer, now is a good time to ask what their natural strength is. Is it memoir? Creative nonfiction? No-nonsense business books? Articulating complex ideas for a general readership? Short-and-punchy mono-topic books of the Jeffrey Gitomer type? Ideally, you want a match between their natural strength and your book as you envision it.?Also ask what their weaknesses are, because you'll need to consider both in your decision.

6. Your time frame

This one is very practical. Do you have a target publication date? Let the writer know so they can assess whether it’s realistic for them given their existing workload and the scope of this project. They can also give you guidance on whether your time frame is realistic in terms of publishing a good-quality book.??

7. Your publication goals

This is very important only if your goal is to try to get your book published by a major publishing house. If that is the case, for a nonfiction book you need to prepare a book proposal. You do not write the whole book first. Ask the writer if they have experience in writing book proposals. It’s a specific art-science that requires some knowledge and experience or training. (Jane Friedman explains the nuts and bolts of book proposals on her blog: https://janefriedman.com/start-here-how-to-write-a-book-proposal/ )

9. The writer’s working style

Finally, ask about the writer’s preferred working style. Do they want to send you a chapter at a time for your review and feedback, or do they want to go away for nine months and not be disturbed and just write the book? How much collaboration do they want or expect from you??

8. Your expectations of the writer

What are your expectations of the writer? This is important because alignment of expectations — their expectations and your expectations of your working relationship and division of responsibilities — is a crucial aspect of the intangible but oh-so-important fit. Are you going to be a good fit for each other??

BONUS TIPS

Listen

Listen.?

Really listen as the ghostwriter is talking. Listen to how they respond to you. Do they seem to understand what you want??

Do they spontaneously offer ideas and suggestions? Do they seem enthusiastic? Keep in mind that many writers are introverts, and introverts often show enthusiasm in subtle ways. You might see it in their eyes or feel it from them, rather than hearing it.?

Listen to your gut

Ghostwriting a book is an intimate and collaborative process that requires significant trust and could last for as long as two years. So after the call, note how you feel.?

Is this someone you could feel you could enjoy working with and place your trust in for six months or a year or more??

Did you enjoy talking with them? Do they seem knowledgeable and competent? Did they gain your trust? Do they seem to be the right writer for this particular book?

Want to save time and money? Book a personalised guidance call about choosing a ghostwriter or any other aspect of writing and publishing a book -- tailored exactly to your needs and goals: https://meet.brevo.com/jane-mackay ?

Jane Mackay translates her 20+ years of editing and writing experience into à la carte editorial guidance for gifted ideators, nonfiction writers, and business professionals writing a book.