Halloween – Official Ghostwriting Day?
I’d never put Halloween together with the ghostwriting I do, but this morning I heard an audio essay by Barbara Feinman-Todd titled It’s Time to Put Ghost Writing in its Place. Apparently she’s done a lot of ghostwriting and she’s giving it up!
If I understand the why, it’s because it somehow feels false to her. Obviously, Barbara and I have a totally different experience.
When I ghost, I don’t feel like I’m impersonating my client. Instead, my sense is my client and I are in partnership with the goal of getting what’s in the client’s head onto paper in their voice and in a manner that will interest and even excite the reader.
The fact that my name won’t appear on the cover and I won’t appear on book tours doesn’t bother me at all. Often I’m ghosting about topics I couldn’t give a good talk on anyway – after all, I’m capturing someone else’s experience, not my own.
A good writer friend of mine expressed real surprise that I didn’t seem to mind my name isn’t associated with the books I ghost. I was surprised she was surprised, for I’ve come to ghosting in a natural, organic way.
Besides, I have my own writing that is under my name. Ghosting is just part of what I do.
Write well and often – oh, and have a happy Halloween!
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Tags: freelance-writing, Ghostwriting, writingRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Musings From A Freelance Writer
5 opinions for Halloween – Official Ghostwriting Day?
Karen
Nov 1, 2006 at 10:00 pm
I’ve been telling people that my job as a ghostwriter is to get as close to my client as possible–to understand his head and his heart–so that I can write with his voice.
This is an interesting process. The book is a memoir and so when I write “I,” I have to be sure of whose voice it is!
Anne Wayman
Nov 2, 2006 at 9:54 am
Yes, I find the relationship I develop with the folks I ghost for is intimate in ways most relationships never are. I’m actually duplicating them in some sort of mysterious fashion… and I don’t totally get how I do that… I also know I can’t ghost for anyone or everyone… for many, but not for all.
Karen
Nov 2, 2006 at 10:51 am
Right, Anne. I hesitated using the word for fear of being misunderstood, but it is an intimate relationship. As a copyeditor, I do a similar thing; that is, I get inside my clients’ heads and hearts so that my comments and suggestions will (hopefully) be in tune with their writing voice and their intentions for the manuscript. I feel that my experience as an editor has helped me to get in the groove for this ghostwriting project. Do you find that it’s gotten easier over the years? I mean as far as understanding how you achieve this closeness?
Anne Wayman
Nov 4, 2006 at 9:42 am
Karen, exactly how I do what I do is a mystery to me… I know my listening skills have gotten better over time… real listening and that makes a tremendous difference. I wonder if listening isn’t key to all relationships?
A
Karen
Nov 4, 2006 at 11:33 am
Yep, I’d say listening is key . . . to all relationships, yep.
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