I’m the expert who deconstructed ghostwriting theory, skills, and psychology necessary to command premium fees for the work. Most writers who come to me for help are in the same boat.
- They look for clients but aren’t positioned to attract them
- They include “ghostwriting” as one of myriad services they provide
- Their promotion lists their accomplishments: titles written, degrees earned, awards won
- They willingly share writing samples or do free chapters to demonstrate their skill
Most don’t understand the difference between BISAC spread and BISAC clump. Few can explain the disparate development paths (or potential ROI) between public, purpose, and private titles.
In other words, they present themselves to the world as employees but cannot understand why they’re treated as hirelings. They have no ghostwriting knowledge base. No ghostwriting skills. No ghostwriting authority.
So let me share some facts.
- The demand for professional book ghostwriters is higher than the supply. According to industry lore approximately eighty-one percent of Americans want to write a book. That’s 5 million potential authors, conservatively. But of the 54,000 writers in America, only 200 are professional ghostwriters, according to Madeline Morrell of 2M Communications. (I think she’s wrong; I’ve personally trained at least fifty ghostwriters who turned out to be top pros. That said, 283,500,000 : 250 is still a significant demand/supply ratio.)
- Pro ghostwriting has been the most profitable career choice for 21st century writers for nearly fifteen years, according to Marty Nemko (US NEWS & WORLD REPORT, 2009).
- Professional ghostwriting authority is based on a toolbox of knowledge, skills, and psychology that myriad freelancers admit: “It never occurred to me to even think about knowing something like that.”
To command premium ghostwriting fees, your toolbox must contain:
Book Industry Knowledge Base
- Industry expectations and standards
- Industry supply-chain players, discounts, and prospects
- Traditional vs. hybrid vs. service vs. self publishing
- Registrations, ownerships, and scam pitfalls
Ghostwriting Theory
- Scope and limitations
- Authority and obligations
- Business vs. freelancing
- Nonfiction structure, templates, and story
- Fiction architecture
- Market vs. audience vs. Amazon
- Author communication vs. report
Mechanical Skills
- Editorial
- Chicago Manual of Style
- Algorithm-compliance
- Nonfiction templates
- Draft sequence
- Implementation logs
Mechanical/Creative Skills
- Market positioning
- Tells, Intent, Perspective
- Nonfiction charting
- Fiction mapping
- Chart to chapter manipulation
- Map to chapter manipulation
- Musical Line Editing mechanical elements
Creative Skills
- Open interviewing
- Creative Analysis, aka Analytical Reasoning
- Perspective, Motive, Agenda
- Plot-PMA integration
- Meet-in-the-Middle plotting
- Movel to novel conversion
- Non-mechanical musical line editing
Creative/Professional Skills
- BISAC Subject Headings
- Industry based nonfiction, memoir, and fiction gold and strengths
- Industry based non-fiction, memoir, and fiction content disruptions and deal breakers
Professional Skills
- Book proposals
- Bestseller strategy plans
- Synopses
- Query letters
Business Skills
- Business model
- Project proposals, aka bids
- Equitable contracts
- Business plan
- Sales funnel
- Business launch tactics
Ghostwriting Psych
- Mindset management
- Human-nature management
- Project management
Yes, it’s a lot to master, and I truly wish I had a simpler answer for “How do I find clients who will pay me what I’m worth?” But I don’t. Writing can be a job, a paid occupation, or a trade, all of which earns however much the market will bear—but professional ghostwriting is a business that provides premium services at premium prices.
Fortunately, everything in the above list is 100 percent learnable and can be acquired by:
- Trial and error, which is the way most pro ghosts learned their profession
- Working with a mentor
- Taking Ghostwriting Professional Designation Program
Claudia Suzanne is a consummate ghostwriter/teacher, understanding what authors need in order to successfully complete their book dream, and she has a finely honed talent for communicating what she knows to her students and clients. Popularly dubbed “The Einstein of Ghostwriting,” Claudia has entertained and informed tens of thousands of writers, editors, journalists, and aspiring authors at countless writer and professional meetings, conferences, radio and BlogTalk radio broadcasts, webinars, and podcasts. Claudia was an invited expert on Penguin’s Author Solutions Expert Video series and a featured entrepreneur in Orange County Business Journal and Norwegian Business Daily. Her signature title, This Business of Books: A Complete Overview of the Industry from Concept through Sales, earned her a 2018 Author of Influence Award from Connected Women of Influence.
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