What Is Ghostwriting? An Overview for CEOs
In the business world, ghostwriting is when someone hires a professional writer to write a book or memoir to be published under the name of the person paying for the service—in this case, you. You’re channeling your stories and ideas through a professional writer, who can skillfully emulate your unique voice, so the book remains wholly yours. Ghostwriting is becoming an increasingly popular service among CEOs and entrepreneurs who want to publish their own books but don’t have the time or writing experience to do it themselves.
Personal branding is becoming an integral element of the success of a business, and memoirs and books are the perfect way to position oneself as an expert in a specific field or an outstanding persona in a particular industry. While many successful businesspeople have published their own books, the overwhelming majority have outsourced the writing process to professional ghostwriters.
Time-strapped CEOs and entrepreneurs are collaborating with ghostwriters to produce high-quality books under their names. If you’ve got a story to tell or knowledge to share and are ready to put it all into a riveting book, check out our ghostwriting services for CEOs and get a free consultation to begin your publishing journey today.
When should you hire a ghostwriter?
A ghostwriter can help you write a book or a memoir—without asking for a share of the credit.
If you want to publish a book
Business books can cover a huge array of nonfiction topics and styles, including how-to books on launching a new business or building a brand, insightful books about leadership and management, and guides on economics and insider knowledge on specific niches and industries. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, you may even want to publish multiple books on different aspects of your success and expertise. Whatever knowledge you want to impart to your audience, or whatever personal image you want to portray, publishing a high-quality book is a great way to position yourself as a thought leader and gain clout in your industry. A published book offers added credibility to your claims and enhances your image as a respected professional. It may even be a great way to draw uninitiated people to your brand.
A good ghostwriter will know how to extract the best advice and anecdotes from your interviews to craft a compelling story that matches your voice and style while establishing you as a trusted source of knowledge. You want a professional who understands your field and who you click with on a personal level—that’s the formula for the most successful ghostwritten books.
If you want to write a memoir
Writing a memoir is particularly time intensive because it requires the subject to go deep into their memories, experiences, and knowledge before structuring and writing the manuscript. Writing an industry-standard book that will sell well and make you look good also requires creative skills. Plenty of people have riveting stories to tell but lack the creative writing skills to successfully engage their audience.
A professional memoir ghostwriter will interview you, ask the right questions (usually the tough ones), and find a compelling angle and narrative to tell your life story. This is much harder to do objectively when we’re writing about ourselves. A third-party opinion can also lead you to insights you may have overlooked if writing your book on your own.
If you don’t want to share the writing credit
Not only people in business hire ghostwriters for their memoirs: celebrities and public personas do it all the time. Usually, the book is published as an autobiography and the ghostwriter is not credited as a coauthor. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly ethical—the ghostwriter is simply taking your words and ideas and making them more palatable for your target audience. If your ghostwriter wanted to receive public credit for their writing, they wouldn’t have become a ghostwriter.
For many savvy entrepreneurs and CEOs, hiring a ghostwriter can be a smart business investment. They save time on publishing an authentic, high-quality book about themselves, their businesses, or their expertise—something that will leave a mark and position them as an interesting person to watch and learn from. A published book can help a busy CEO grow their business to new heights, attract new customers to their brand, earn respect among their peers, and schedule speaking engagements centered around their industry expertise.
If you’re ready to start working with a team of experts who will take care of your ghostwriting needs from start to finish, head over to our ghostwriting services for successful CEOs and get a free consultation today.
