How to Not be Afraid of Ghosts

I just read the stupidest post ever. No, not here on beBee. It was on a Big Name content marketing site. It was about ghosts. Not the undead type of ghosts, but the writer type of ghosts. It was about my kind of Ghost. It pissed me off. 

It pissed me off enough to write this.

Maybe it’s the name, "Ghostwriting." Maybe it’s the entire concept. Maybe it's because so many of my contacts are writers themselves. Whatever it is, people don’t think much of ghostwriting. 

Most don't even understand what it is. Sure as Hell, the author of that stupidity had no clue at all.

Okay, I'm biased. I'm a ghostwriter. That said, I still think the prejudice against my profession is silly. Some say that thought-leaders should write their own material. Why? 

Do supermodels sew their own clothes? 

Do you cut your own hair? 

Did you build your own house?

Maybe it would be more "honest" if you took out your own appendix?

Gimme a break!

If anything, thought-leaders need ghostwriters more than most. The ideas are there. Those ideas need to be formed in a way that gets that message across to the most people. That's where we come in.

This is my take on why we shouldn’t be so quick to condemn ghostwriting. I'll try to keep it civil. 

I'll try to keep it civil. 

Possible Origins 

Ghostwriting was likely born of the nom de plume, or pen name. The nom de plume, in turn, was plausibly a cynical adaptation of the nom de guerre or war name.

That practice started with the Condottieri.

The Condottieri were captains of private mercenary companies. They often used a nom de guerre.  They did so to instill a proper sense of fear and foreboding in their enemies.

If Percy Trufflebottom threatened your villa, you might giggle. 

If the Blood Eagle threatened it, you would be much more concerned.

Don’t Google either name, I made them up. Any similarity to anyone, alive or dead is purely coincidental. But funny.

I like the name, "Percy Trufflebottom." It has a nice ring to it.

Writers adopted noms de plume for similar reasons. No one particularly cares that Mark Twain never wrote a single word. Don’t get excited. I am not suggesting that Mark Twain used a ghostwriter. 

Mark Twain never wrote anything because he never existed. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

That doesn’t change how much you like Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn does it?

Besides, "Mark Twain" sounds so much cooler than "Samuel Langhorne Clemens." That's probably why he used it. 

It is not a stretch to go from writing under a pen name to hiring someone to write on your behalf. In effect, a real person became the pen name.

A profession was born.

Ghostwriting in Fiction

There is a recent trend in fiction that annoys me. Famous writers are collaborating with relative unknowns on new novels. Some of these novels are much different from their usual styles.

It makes me wonder if those novels are honestly collaborative. Or are they just a marketing stratagem, a royalty grab, or both. I wonder even more when such novels have the famous name in large type and a small “with ...” near the bottom.

Would I still love Robert Ludlum’s “Bourne Trilogy” if Percy Trufflebottom had written it? Yes, I would. I doubt I would ever have read the novels in the first place, though.

That makes me understand why this practice is so common.

Just because I understand it doesn’t mean I like it.

This form of ghostwriting is so minor that I doubt many would even call it that. I don’t like this minor form of ghostwriting. Pen names aside, I certainly can’t abide any larger application of ghostwriting in fiction.

Enough said.

Ghostwriting in Non-Fiction

I see less of an issue with ghostwriting in non-fiction. To me, it depends on where the ideas come from. I don’t care so much about whose name is on the work. I've written hundreds of blog posts, case studies, white papers etc. You will never see my name anywhere except LinkedIn and beBee.

I do care about whose ideas make up the work.

Let’s look at some examples.

Case 1: Zero Client Involvement

Someone hires a writer to write stuff in a general subject family. He then puts his name to the writer's work.

This is not very cool.

That is not to say a ghostwriter doesn't participate in content strategy discussions. We can and do. Often, we lead them. 

It still isn’t cool.

We can’t call it plagiarism since there is mutual consent. It isn’t a copyright violation either. The terms of use were surely spelled out in advance.

Readers believe that the thoughts and opinions presented are those of the implied author. They may well be, but that would be a mere coincidence. The words are not his, that's ok. The thoughts the words describe are not his either. That's much less Ok.

Some Ghosts can work from a germ of an idea. I know I've done it. The client must be involved. He or she must have input. Otherwise, how can I possibly speak in their voice? 

This form of ghostwriting is the exception, not the rule.

Usually, it only happens when there is a tight time constraint. Examples might be breaking news stories or other rapidly unfolding situations. There is no time to collaborate. The Ghost must work from a germ of an idea.

In nearly all cases, the final product is a collaboration between the thought-creator (client) and the content-creator (writer). 

I like to say that I'm a translator who translates English into Better English.

Case 2: Edited Content

Someone writes a piece on a subject they know well. Maybe English is not their main language. Maybe their writing skills are not strong enough (most aren't). Maybe they lack the time or inclination to dress it up. 

They hire a ghostwriter to make the piece readable, relatable and engaging.

I see this case like sending a written piece on a spa day. Everything gets tweaked, tweezed, and massaged. Nails are buffed and lacquered. Hair and make-up is put just so.

A rough document enters the Word-Spa. A finished beauty comes out. 

I have no issue with this type of ghostwriting. The ghostwriter may have added proofs for statements. He may have strengthened or weakened positions. He may even have re-arranged points for impact.

He may have cut redundant stuff. He may have cut stuff out to make it fit.

But, he did not add ideas.

The thoughts are those of the person whose name is on the piece. It's more ghost-editing than ghost-writing.

I’m perfectly OK with that. In fact, recently, most of my services fall under this category. Many were originally in other languages and roughly translated to English. I take the rough English and polish it.

If cost is an issue, (and when is it not?) this method is the least costly way to proceed.

Case 3: Point-Form Content

Someone selects a topic and provides bullet points on that topic. They may also provide background data, studies, or other supporting documents. They may include a series of web links. They hire a ghostwriter for much the same reasons as Case 2, but they add another.

They understand that Content is NOT King. Good Content is King.

They have their strengths. The ghostwriter has his/hers. They use ghostwriters as part of an overall plan. Ghostwriters are another link in the resource chain. We are no different than their lawyers or accountants. We're just another specialized professional resource.

The ghostwriter has his/hers. They use ghostwriters as part of an overall plan. Ghostwriters are another link in the resource chain. We are no different than their lawyers or accountants. We're just another specialized professional resource.

They use ghostwriters as part of an overall plan. Ghostwriters are another link in the resource chain. We are no different than lawyers or accountants. We're just another specialized professional resource.

This arrangement offers the greatest degree of flexibility to the ghostwriter. We use the point forms like an outline. We can maintain the basic purity of the original thoughts. There is much less client interaction. The creation time is greatly sped up.

The client benefits because they can zip out four to six bullet points in no time. They can then sit back and wait for a built-up, well-written piece.

I’m more than OK with this.

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