Ghostwriting

In honor of Halloween, I thought I would touch on the topic of ghostwriting, pun intended.

I actually do some steady ghostwriting for a client and while I had initial reservations about not getting credit in print for my work, the gig has turned into one of my favorites. The assignments are usually interesting and vary varied and the pieces themselves are shorter than magazine stories. They do not necessarily require any less research on my part or any less time drafting and crafting but the pay is good and prompt and the work is fairly continuous. What more could a freelancer want?

Some people thrive on seeing their name in print. I think the recognition sometimes makes up for low fees especially when one is starting out and accumulating the all important clippings file. At this point in my career, I have enough clippings to paper a house so the lack of recognition does not bother me. In addition, there is nothing stopping me from listing the ghostwriting on my resume as just that, which I do. And I have the anonymous clippings to prove it, if anyone ever asked, which they haven't.

I have never ghostwritten a book, although I have toyed with the idea. I guess if the price was right, I might consider it especially if the client was high profile enough to potentially generate more work. With a book, there is the issue of copyright, which a ghostwriter would not retain. I don't retain it on my magazine articles either but since I do not feel the same pride of ownership as I might with a longer and more substantive work, I rarely have qualms signing my rights away. I might feel more possessive towards a book, even if it wasn't my story.

All of which goes to show you that things are not always what they seem. Chances are you have read ghostwriting without ever realizing it.