Mr. Hammett, How Do I Become a Ghostwriter?

I get many queries throughout the year, but many are not asking for my services.  With each passing year, I get more and more emails from men and women asking for advice on how to become a ghostwriter.  They usually tell me that they have helped a friend write a book or that they feel they'd be good at it.  They cite some minor credentials and proceed to ask me how to build a clientele and conduct such a business. 

Here's the problem: if they need to ask how to become a ghostwriter, they don't belong in the profession.  One becomes a ghostwriter because he or she understands the publishing industry and knows what ghostwriters do.  More importantly, a person becomes a ghostwriter because of extensive experience writing and editing manuscripts in a capacity that transcends helping a friend.

Here's an example used by permission.

Dear Mr. Hammett:

I would like to ask if you can provide me with any advice on becoming a ghostwriter.  I have written several articles and helped various friends edit their books.  I am very good with the written word and last year I ghostwrote a book on health.  Can you give me some tips on making this a full time job?

Sincerely,

(Name withheld by request)

Regrettably, I can no longer provide people with advice, even at the expense of becoming a curmudgeon who looks down at aspiring writers.  When someone tells me that he or she has helped a friend write a book, I have no idea if the book was good or bad.  And a few articles does not a ghostwriter make.  I paid my dues for twenty-five years as a writer and editor before advertising my services, and I was familiar with publishing. 

The bottom line is that if you need to ask how to become a ghostwriter, you haven't gained enough experience to know the logical, self-explanatory steps to make the desire a reality.  I am all for lending people a helping hand, but I can no longer, in good conscience, give streamlined advice that puts people on a fast track to providing mediocre services in a complex, little-understood profession.

~William Hammett

Contact wmhammett@aol.com

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