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Some of the most successful books turn out so well because they are the product of brilliant ideas and expert writing.
Most business leaders have the experience, stories, observations, insights, lessons learned, and vision to make a great book, but they don’t always have the publishing familiarity to be able to shape it into a successful read.
That’s often why they get stuck. Some aspiring authors are unable to proceed with writing a book because they’re not sure of the first step, or the step after that. They don’t know what the process of writing and publishing a book looks like.
Fortunately, that is exactly the type of knowledge and expertise that a professional ghostwriter brings to the table.
Of course, the success of such publishing partnerships depends on how well you collaborate. In many cases, the success or failure of a partnership or collaboration comes down to clear communication and expectation-setting.
Setting the Foundation for Success
The best collaborations begin with a plan, a roadmap for how the writing journey should go.
Before you dig into the writing process, it’s a smart idea to clarify exactly what each person is going to contribute to the project.
Set clear expectations for who will do what. Usually, that happens as part of a ghostwriting agreement.
Typically, you’ll offer the big-picture vision of the book and the defining purpose, as well as the subject-matter expertise and stories and examples that bring your insights to life. Your ghostwriter will bring their knowledge of how books are prepared, what publishers expect to receive, their familiarity with storytelling, and their ability to take complex concepts and turn them into easy-to-understand prose.
To ensure you both stay on course, put these understandings and expectations into a document. In the marketing communications world, this document is often referred to as a creative brief. Briefs lay out who the target audience for the book is, what the book’s bigger purpose is, what you want readers to understand or know by the end, when you’ve both agreed it will be done, and which publisher will be releasing it, among other things. You can fill it with as many particulars as you both prefer.
The goal of this brief, or roadmap, is to keep everything on course in terms of contributions to the narrative and the schedule. It also helps prevent scope creep, such as if you decide halfway through that instead of 60,000 words, you think 80,000 is a better length. You may be right, but that will require a renegotiation of your agreement with your ghostwriter. Likewise, if you both realize partway through that you need an outside researcher to dig for lesser-known case studies, you’ll want to update your blueprint to reflect how that work will be done and by whom.
You’ll also want to be clear about communication expectations. Will you schedule regular Zoom meetings? Will you share information via email, or will you create a Google Doc or a Slack channel? What is acceptable for a response time? Should you both agree to at least acknowledge a message within 24 hours? Or is 48 more reasonable? How about weekend communication? Is that okay or overstepping?
There’s no right or wrong answer here. However, you two need to agree on how and when you’ll collaborate. If you’re a morning person and your ghostwriter is a night owl, you probably won’t be receiving immediate email responses, though you may spot files landing in your inbox late at night.
If you talk about it upfront, no one will be surprised or disappointed by the timing of communications. That helps keep the work progressing well.
The Discovery Phase
Ultimately, the quality of your finished product will depend in large part on how well you transfer what you know to your ghostwriter.
You’ll do that by providing background materials you’ve probably been gathering for ages, as well as writing samples and videos of you presenting relevant material, as well as through the meetings you’ll have where you talk through the book’s content.
Before we start having phone or Zoom meetings, I prefer to send along questions in advance so that clients know what we’ll be discussing and can give the topic some thought. That frequently helps with recalling relevant stories or examples, which can be difficult to come up with on the spot. You might ask your ghostwriter to do that for you.
As you’re talking through content, be sure to share what you can about your preferred writing voice. How do you want to come across on the page?
Are you more comfortable with a conversational tone, to make your material more accessible, or would you rather take a more scholarly or professional tone, to convey your mastery of the subject? Telling your ghostwriter what you like helps them figure out how to match it in the writing.
Build Trust
Successful collaborations are based on mutual respect and transparency. Really, what that means is being honest.
Yes, you should express any concerns about whether you can actually make the deadline you’ve committed to in your publishing contract. Yes, you should share helpful pieces of information about you, such as that you’re hard of hearing, for example, or you’re nervous about sharing some personal stories publicly.
Professional ghostwriters value and appreciate clients who are willing to be open with them. They won’t judge you and they’ll be much better able to meet your needs or address your concerns if you let them know what they are.
When you’re just getting to know each other, it may be hard for your ghost to recognize when you’re joking, for example. Tell them, to be sure.
Be kind and thoughtful when providing feedback. Your ghostwriter is nervous and wants to give you exactly what you’re after, which can be difficult initially. So, when you provide feedback on chapters or section drafts, know that you will encourage your collaborator to continue to strive to do their best if you can be compassionate and clear when you offer input.
If you’re harsh or mean, they may shut down. They certainly won’t be able to give you a better product, and they may opt not to continue working with you.
Remember that your ghostwriter is your writing partner and not your employee. Consider them your equal and you will have a much more collaborative relationship built on mutual respect.
A collaboration blueprint can be as formal or informal as you both choose. However, you’ll want to be sure you establish clear expectations, maintain regular communication, demonstrate mutual respect, and express excitement for the chance to work together.
If you do that, your writing partnership will have the best chance of resulting in a manuscript that is even better than you had hoped.