After five years as a ghostwriter, I can pretty much predict how most people will react when I mention my profession. Fifty percent of people know what it is and fifty percent have no idea. I often get references either to Ghost Rider or to the ’90s kid’s show about a literal crime-solving ghost that can only communicate by writing. Yet regardless of prior knowledge of the job (or lack thereof), after explaining what a ghostwriter does, the follow-up comments are always variations on two questions: 1) “So if we went to a bookstore, could you point out stuff you’ve worked on?” and 2) “Who hires you?” The former we usually can’t answer; ghostwriters operate with confidentiality agreements, and no amount of teasing and prodding by acquaintances will get us to give up private client information. The second question, however, is a good one and easily answered. There is only one prerequisite for hiring a ghostwriter: you have a story to tell.
Whether you’ve compiled drafts for decades or you just have this idea that’s been simmering in the back of your mind, you could potentially benefit from a ghostwriter’s help. You might assume you can only hire us when you have an entire book to write from scratch, but ghostwriters actually perform a number of functions at various stages of the writing process. We can help you sketch out an outline, organizing your points and giving you guidance before letting you take it from there. We can evaluate and critique an existing manuscript to polish it off, proofreading for grammar, word choices, or dialogue. Sometimes we just help with the finishing touches to prepare for publication, such as drafting book proposals or query letters, and compiling a list of literary agents who represent certain genres. Ghostwriters are as involved as you want us to be, working with whatever story you have in mind in whatever form it currently takes.
In other words, the people who hire ghostwriters are already storytellers. Some clients claim they have no creative talent, bringing up their ideas with self-deprecating jokes or nervous hesitance. However, having worked with people from all professions and backgrounds for half a decade, I can tell you that, in my professional opinion, all of them were creative. They described their narratives with detail, imagination, and passion. They told me what the story was, and I simply helped get it where they needed it to be.
If you’ve always had an idea you wanted to tell the world, whether a wild fictional dream, a deep experience from your personal life, or a notion to help promote your business, make no mistake: you are a storyteller. And while I don’t have a flaming head and demon powers or much crime-solving experience, I am passionate about promoting your story. Contact Trellis today to get started. I always love meeting a fellow storyteller.