Writing Tip of the Week

Ghostwriting and Client Contact

???From the writer’s perspective most authors want more contact with their writer than is necessary. It’s a matter of insecurity combined with a desire to “be involved” in the process. Add in a dose of “I’m damn sure gonna get my money’s worth out of that wordsmith.” It’s a good idea upfront to set the limits of how much and what kind of contact your client will get.

??A good ghostwriter will want and will make sure he is in regular contact with his author. That’s common sense and it’s good business. The challenge is in the definition of “regular.”

You want to avoid is something I call hand-holding – contact just for the sake of contact. Trust me, hand-holding gets in the way of writing what you have been hired to write. The frustration at unnecessary contact also can affect the quality of your writing. It will certainly affect your attitude toward the project.

??I tell my authors that I will be in regular contact by phone or e-mail to keep them apprised of progress. I don’t define the meaning of regular. I also point out that I do not do hand-holding. And I use that term. I also let my client that I will always be available and will respond to any inquiry immediately or certainly within 24 hours. I let him know that if he doesn’t get a response either I didn’t get the message, I’m dead, or my photo just appeared on the FBI’s Most Wanted List and he should expect no further contact until I set up my new office in Lichtenstein.

Often my updates are very brief. “The project is going well. I’m 32,000 words into the draft” and that sort of thing.

??Not to worry – there will be plenty of opportunities for contact, so that hand-holding shouldn’t be necessary anyway. You’ll be calling/e-mailing for specific information, input, and the data the client promised weeks ago that still hasn’t arrived.

??I also let my authors know that my process is to write entire chapters before contacting them for information or input. “I don’t want to be e-mailing you every hour for something. It’s easier if we address all issues at one time.” This is reasonable.

??Additionally, if you try to get your input one-bit at a time, you’ll be sitting on your hands a lot waiting for your client to respond. The work is important to the client – but – when his client is screaming for him to take action, when the IRS shows up at his front door, when the spouse calls about Junior’s meeting with the principal, or when the buxom blonde who giggles a lot shows up for the interview for the new secretarial position your manuscript goes to the bottom of the pile.

Another form of client contact without contacting the client so to speak is to embed comments into the manuscript. For example,

???????????Donna Lea, ?How about a personal anecdote here? - DB

The correct amount of client contact varies with each client. Generally, they’ll want more contact than is really necessary. Set the boundaries early, but never forget one important consideration: you’re working on your author’s nickel. Ultimately, he wins the coin toss.

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Recommended Reading: Up the Organization by Robert Townsend

Quote of the Week “He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare, and he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.” Ali ibn-Abi- Talib

Recommended Viewing: ?Twilight’s Last Gleaming

Shameless Self Promotion:

?I was on The Unexplained with Howard Hughes, a Talk Radio program based in the United Kingdom and on Coast To Coast With George Noory this month. The subject was my latest paranormal non-fiction book The Paranormal Pendulum II – What the Spirits Say.

?www.fourknightspress.com?www.danbaldwin.com

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? Dan Baldwin 2021

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