Last week, the New York Times printed a claim made at the Gathering of the Ghosts that there is no clear path to a ghostwriting career.
Excuse me? Did they mean other than the nearly 100 careers launched through the award-winning Ghostwriting Professional Designation Program, which I’ve been teaching at CSULB since 2013??!
Guess so.
I make this announcement with a happy, albeit tremulous, heart.
I grew Ghostwriting Professional Designation Program into the only master class of its kind in the world from a desperate need to service clients after what looked like my imminent death. I constantly marvel at the dozens and dozens of writers who worked their way through my theories and methodologies.
And I kvell with pride when one of them tells me they’re enjoying a lucrative, satisfying career 😊!
But it’s time to move on. Ergo, I will teach one more—and only one more—cohort of students.
Period.
If you want to learn professional ghostwriting from me,
sign up for Introduction to Ghostwriting.
You can take either the Jan-Feb or the Mar-Apr session.
They’re exactly the same.If you DON’T successfully complete Introduction to Ghostwriting,
you WON’T get into the full Aug 2023 – July 2024 program.And I won’t be back next year with the same offer.
‘Cause this is it. I’m retiring. It’s now or never.
That said:
GPDP has been my life’s work and daily pleasure. I thoroughly enjoyed deconstructing it, codifying it, and teaching it. And I cannot adequately thank all the people in my life who have helped me bring it to life.
So I’ll do that when I write my memoir, MY LIFE AS A TURTLE: HOW I MADE OLD GEEZER BY LYING, HIDING, AND DENYING.
Not one-foot-in-the-grave old, but socially, demographically, and legally old. I may still be on the right side of dirt, but I’m on the wrong side of corporate and political viability. So when I say I’ve been ghostwriting for fully half my life, I’m talking about a long, long time. Long enough to see more changes in the book industry than I can enumerate. And long enough to see ghostwriting evolve from the purview of a select few who relied on their instincts into a respected field of study.
Yet despite all the passing years and myriad titles that bear my mark, I still find it more effective to demonstrate ghostwriting than describe it. So let’s look at a passage (reprinted with permission, of course) from an author who wanted to share a theory developed in an extremely restricted environment with both her colleagues and the general public. Here’s the original text: [Read more…]
I mentioned “Editorial Accountability” in a previous post, so I figured I oughta explain what that actually means. These days, digital publishers use algorithms to detect many of these issues and either reject or downgrade work accordingly.
So Just What is Editorial Accountability?
One of the most frequent complaints I’ve fielded from literary agents, acquisition editors, and general-trade reviewers over the thirty-plus years I’ve been in the book industry is that authors don’t know anything about the book business. And being mono-focused on their book, they’re don’t have the time or wherewithal to figure it out.
Let’s rectify that right now.
Editorial Accountability is an umbrella term that essentially refers to the objective quality of a book’s content, writing, editing, and presentation. Realize, that has nothing to do with the subjective take on whether a title is a “good book” or not. Rather, it’s all about whether a manuscript — or even published book — conforms to industry standards of professional work, both creatively and mechanically.
Does editorial accountability matter if you’re looking for a literary agent or traditional publisher? Yes, absatively. It demonstrates that you understand the difference between an author-vision first draft and a reader-satisfying second draft. Going by my experiences with and observations about hundreds of successful and missed-potential titles, I have to say that difference is one of, if not the most, important elements of a top-selling title.
Does editorial accountability matter if you’re going to self-publish? Once again, absatively yes. Amazon’s database contains literally billions — billions! — of titles. Why do some get read and most don’t? Editorial accountability.
Creative Accountability
If that sounds an awful lot like the difference between “Show” and “Tell,” that’s only because it’s exactly the same thing. But those terms are so trite at this point, they’ve become meaningless to most aspiring writers.
Mechanical Accountability
Mechanical accountability comes down to making sure the manuscript is:
Acquire Editorial Accountability
This part is simple: work with a pro or two. Or three.
Third-party oversight is key to transforming an author-vision first draft into a reader-satisfying second draft. In my firm, we start with thesis/premise, structure, and market placement. If you’re willing to put in the time and can sufficiently distance yourself from your work, you can learn to do that on your own. It ain’t easy, but it’s doable.
A developmental editor can help develop that all-important first draft. Look for someone who understands nonfiction/memoir templates, fiction architecture, and BISAC spread, and who knows how to keep their eye on the content and structure of the manuscript rather than get sidetracked by copy editing/proofing issues.
Once the first draft is finished to your complete satisfaction, find a musical line editor. MLEditors differentiate between narration and editorial, know how to manipulate mechanical and content impact, recognize flavor changes, and can both spot and rectify liability issues. They’ll review the manuscript with you line by line to ensure it has drive, punch, Slinky flow, and auto read.
Once you’re happy with the MLE, pay for a cold-eye copy editor, i.e., “someone sufficiently unfamiliar with the author that they do not ‘hear’ the author’s voice, cadence, accent, or flavor in the back of their head as they read.” Make sure they edit to CMS, not APA, MLA, BlueBook, or AP. Review their corrections carefully — you have the option to reject or discuss anything you don’t agree with or are unsure of.
Finally, pay for a cold-eye proofreader. At that point, your manuscript will have Editorial Accountability.
Claudia Suzanne is a ghostwriting expert, bestselling author, writing coach, teacher, and SMB owner. Her Ghostwriting Professional Designation Program (CPIE, CSULB) is the only book-ghostwriting Master Class in existence. Her ™ innovations include Creative Analysis, A&Rs, ghostwriting tools, Musical Line Editing, and Bestseller Strategy Plans.
claudiasuzanne@gmail.com | https://wambtac.com | https://ghostwritertraining.com | https://live.vcita.com/site/wambtac/online-scheduling
Basic Writing Conventions. Creative Analysis. History of Ghostwriting. Closed vs. Open-Purpose Interviewing.
There’s only one class in the world that teaches all that plus standards of the industry, the scope and limitations of book ghostwriting, and what it takes to attract and land $35,000, $45,000, $55,000, and higher-paying gigs.
Introduction to Book Ghostwriting
In six info-packed weeks, students find out if professional ghostwriting is right for them—and if they have what it takes to pursue an elite career in the most popular, lucrative career in the editorial field.
Online
Eye-opening
Captivating
Challenging
Fun!
Take advantage of our Holiday Special to get 10% off when you purchase a seat in the Jan 9 – Feb 13, 2023 class. That’s a savings of $57.50 for the best gift you could possibly give yourself or the writer in your life! (Offer good through December 31, 2022)
… over 171,000 Americans consider themselves writers or authors. They make an average of $63,607 per year and have -2.29 job-growth potential.
According to book-industry insiders, less than 200 of those writers are considered top professional ghostwriters. They average $35,000 to $120,000 per book, do three to five books per year —averaging $105,000 to $350,000 annually—and have enormous, albeit uncalculated growth potential.
Overall, my mind (and heart) are being blown open by the curriculum. To think if I weren’t be exposed to all you are teaching, I’d be walking around, a “ghostwriter” in total ignorance. I’m digesting all this at a very deep level.
Gail Harris, Co-author, Finding Zoe; author, Your Heart Knows the Answer, Award-Winning Copywriter
The first step toward leveling up from the crowd to that second class of elite, highly paid professionals is Introduction to Ghostwriting—the one-of-a-kind gateway into the captivating, challenging, satisfying, lucrative world of ghostwriting books.
Introduction to Ghostwriting is not merely the prerequisite to the only comprehensive, university-certified ghostwriter-training program in existence.
It’s also jam-packed with essential information, skills, and insights that every writer, author, editor, self-publisher, or even traditionally published author needs to put the power of knowledge behind their writing, their career, or their title.
If you’re ready to boost your potential and expand your mindset, you need Introduction to Ghostwriting.
Take advantage of our Holiday Special to get 10% off when you purchase a seat in the Jan 9 – Feb 13, 2023 class. That’s a savings of $57.50 for the best gift you could possibly give yourself! (Offer good through December 31, 2022)
I know, I know–I keep answering questions instead of posting about stuff. But since people want to know why I ghostwrite, here’s my answer:
Why I GhostwriteGhostwriting is a lucrative business for those who know the difference between putting someone else’s name on a manuscript they’ve written and actually ghostwriting another person’s book. I’ve ghosted more than 200 titles and mentored/coached countless writers over the last thirty-plus years to support the people in my life. It’s been a good run.
But I don’t do it for the money.
Ghostwriting is also an educational pursuit. I’ve acquired more knowledge about history, business, healthcare, psychology, addiction, neurodivergence, gender, marketing, religion, science, and just plain human nature from the books I’ve ghosted than I ever learned—our could have learned—in college.
But I don’t do it for the learning.
Ghostwriting is an intimate endeavor. I’ve been privy to the confidences of people along every spectrum: economic, political, gender, sexual-orientation, race, creed, religion, mental health, career, job, disability. Sharing slivers of so many people’s lives has been an extraordinary privilege and a remarkable journey.
But I don’t do it for the human connection.
I do it for the book.
I love books. How they smell when they’re new. How they open my eyes to ideas I never considered before. How they make me laugh, cry, cringe, gasp, or have to walk away. Books, even more than film or music, chronicle the slice of what the author was experiencing right then—a slice already gone, never to return. They preserve those miniscule, already past but cherished, rewarding, and instructional dots in the human experience we call life.
That’s why I ghostwrite. Because ghostwriting is, above all else, about the book.
I realize the impulse to write-it-all-out in analyses, proposals, query letters, and BSP is strong—oh, so so strong. But you must realize no author, agent, publisher, booker, host, etc. wants to have to read through all your verbiage.
Ghostwriting Psych 101: be concise but comprehensive. Just another reason why ghostwriting is the simplest, most complex endeavor a writer can undertake (and why we make the big bucks!).
