Getting Off To A Good Start
When I’m ghostwriting a book for a client, probably the most important thing I do after getting clear on the client’s purpose for the book, is to get the first chapter right. Sometimes that means working the first couple of pages over and over again until the client is happy with the way I’m writing the book and its tone.
This came to mind because I’m on the third draft of a first page and am waiting for the client to call. The multiple, rapid rewrites can be maddening if I let them be, but I know we are actually setting the tone and voice for the whole project. Once we’ve got this settled, the rest of the project will start to flow.
Actually, it’s not the writing and rewriting I mind so much as the waiting for the feedback. People who hire ghostwriters tend to be busy people, and the books are rarely the most important thing on their daily plates. Sometimes I feel like I’m jumping up and down in the back of a crowd trying to get the author’s attention.
It’s all part of the ghostwriting game and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
How do you start writing projects?
Write well and often,
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POSTED IN: Ghostwriting
5 opinions for Getting Off To A Good Start
Lori
Feb 27, 2008 at 12:56 pm
You bring up a point, Anne. What’s a good process for editing/revising with a client? I’ve managed to keep it contained, but there are times when we both get confused.
Kristen King
Feb 27, 2008 at 1:20 pm
I think the most important aspect of getting off to a good start is making sure everyone is on the same page before a single word is edited or written. Anne, I use your letter-of-agreement advice to ensure that everyone has the same understanding of who’s doing what, when, and for what price.
kk
Lori
Feb 28, 2008 at 7:46 am
Good advice, Kristen. I have modified my agreement to spell out the difference between editing and rewriting so there’s no confusion. What I’m running up against is being two chapters ahead and the client is still stuck on the prologue… oy!
John Clausen
Feb 28, 2008 at 6:48 pm
One of the things I do when I’m ghostwriting is record my interviews with the client. I typically have a list of questions or points I want to cover and I ask them in an order that makes it easiest to follow our outline. Then I transcribe the interview and study the voice of the client so that the book comes off sounding like the client wrote it. This has worked very well for me in the past; one editor was shocked at how well I had captured her client’s voice.
Anne Wayman
Feb 29, 2008 at 9:16 am
All those suggestions work… and some starts are rougher than others…
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