Should I Hire A Ghostwriter?
Whether or Not to Use a Ghostwriter
This may seem crazy, but when young professionals ask me for advice, I always recommend they find a quality ghostwriter. When I was first starting out in my career, only journalists and novelists needed to write for their profession. Nowadays, even business professionals need to be producing content, whether it’s a blog, a book, or just posts on social media. Providing content in your field of expertise makes you highly valuable to your company and your industry, and it ensures you have solid proof that you are good at what you do and you truly know what you are talking about. It can also help provide guidance for up-and-comers in your field.
How Does Having a Ghostwriter Work?
There are actually a variety of ways in which you can utilize a ghostwriter, and it all depends on your level of skill and comfort with writing and editing. If you are completely confident in your writing abilities and want to take on the bulk of the work yourself, you can hire a ghostwriter to simply edit, fine tune, and offer advice on your work. Or, if you are not so sure you have the ability or time to successfully write an entire book, you can hire a ghostwriter to draft it from start to finish.
You can also simply give the ghostwriter your idea and let them run with it. For example, you set a deadline, they write, and then you get final say over the finished product. If you want to give them more direction, you can provide them with an outline and let them develop the book based on that. You could even provide a rough draft and have them revise it for you. There are many different levels of ghostwriting, so you can completely customize your own experience.
Why Do I Need a Ghostwriter?
Just because we should all be writing and publishing content, it doesn’t mean we are all good writers. For this reason, finding a ghostwriter to either write all of your content or to collaborate with and help fine tune your content is extremely important. They can make sure your ideas and stories come to life in the clearest and most concise way possible.
What Are My Needs?
Knowing what you want from a ghostwriter before you begin looking for one is key. Think about what you hope to accomplish: Do you want an ongoing blog? Do you want a book? Do you want several books? Do you want to work with a ghostwriter short-term, or create a long-term relationship where they assist you over the course of many projects? Knowing these things in advance will help you find the right person.
Once you know what type of project you are working on, you can start your search for your ghostwriter. Consider the logistics of your project, and if their experience matches your needs. Ask if this ghostwriter has the right tone of voice and if they follow through with their deadlines. Make sure this is someone you could realistically work with for the entire course of a project, and perhaps continue to work with on future projects.
Do I Really Need a Ghostwriter?
While I always recommend a ghostwriter to young professionals, not everyone really needs one. Publishing content is important for the careers of many people, but it may not be for you. Think about if writing a book or creating a blog would truly help your career or if it would just be one more thing on your plate.
If you have a background in writing and you know what you are doing, go for it! If you don’t feel like you need help writing your content, you can go the more traditional route and write your project yourself and simply hire an editor.
These are all valid options; you just have to determine what will ultimately benefit your career and your time the most.
Originally published at Chris A. Petersen.
