Ghostwriting – where a professional writer such as myself produces content on behalf of another person, who receives the author credit – is everywhere and we consume it without even realising. It’s a bedrock of the media and publishing industries.

But why?

Why would someone use a ghostwriter?

Two key reasons: time and writing expertise.

Whether you’re writing a book, media article or newsletter, it takes up vast quantities of a precious resource: time. If you’re a CEO, setting aside three hours of your hectic day to write an 800-word article is unrealistic. Using a ghostwriter, whose sole purpose is to write content in your voice, is an effective time-saving alternative.

Meanwhile, even if you have the time, you still need writing expertise to ensure your content is publishable. If submitting a media opinion piece, for example, all outlets have editorial standards: so the article needs good structural flow, factual accuracy and relevance to its audience. Getting these right is also the task of a ghostwriter.

How does ghostwriting work?

The ghostwriting process revolves around building a rapport with the author. When a partnership starts, the ghostwriter will carry out an extensive interview (or interviews) with the author, establishing their personal background and talking points on a range of topics. After a while, the ghostwriter will have a vast bank of notes to refer to, and should have established a level of familiarity which allows them to write in the author’s unique “voice” and accurately convey and structure the author’s expertise or insight.

While the author may not have typed out the copy on a word document, the content is still their personal thoughts, and therefore it’s still their work. In any case, the author always has the final say over a ghostwriter’s copy, meaning they have to be fully satisfied it captures their viewpoints before it is submitted.

Do the ghostwriter and author need to be from the same field of expertise?

Absolutely not. While a ghostwriter having knowledge of the author’s field of expertise can clearly help, the best collaborations can often be between two people from different backgrounds.

I always use two of my favourite autobiographies by footballers - Roy Keane’s The Second Half and Rio Ferdinand’s Thinking Out Loud - as examples of this. Both employed ghostwriters… and neither were football journalists. Ferdinand’s was ghostwritten by Decca Aitkenhead, a feature writer known for profiles of leaders and celebrities in The Sunday Times. Keane’s was written by Roddy Doyle, a novelist and screenwriter.

Keane later reflected on Doyle’s ability to “soften me up” and open up on difficult subject matters, while Aitkenhead wrote of how she overcame Ferdinand’s instinctive reluctance to talk about his emotions. My point is that neither Doyle or Aitkenhead needed to be in the football “bubble” to ghostwrite these excellent books. More important was their ability to listen, probe and write skilfully on behalf of the author.

The same applies to the ghostwriting work I do. As I mention on the homepage of this website, I have worked with clients ranging from leadership coaches to ophthalmologists. Do I pretend to be an expert in these fields? No. And it would be ridiculous if I did.

Instead, I use my interviewing and writing expertise to capture clients’ voices and transmit their messages in a structure and tone that works for their audience… while suggesting the odd idea myself. This way, the final product is accessible - and hopefully interesting - to the widest possible audience, while never compromising the integrity of the client’s viewpoints. That is the role of a ghostwriter.

*This is an adapted version of a 2022 article I wrote for Thought Leadership PR, where I worked as an in-house ghostwriter and media consultant between January 2022 and January 2024 (and still do as a freelancer).