Our first December WriterAccess podcast features Andrew Crofts, one of the world’s most well-known and respected ghostwriters. Crofts has ghostwritten more than eighty books, including twelve best-sellers in his native England. He’s literally written the book on ghostwriting. His how-to guide, Ghostwriting, is essential reading for anyone interested in the craft. Crofts’ Confessions of a Ghostwriter is a memoir of twenty-five years spent riding the highs and lows of that profession.
Perhaps more than anyone else, Crofts knows what makes a great ghostwriter. A lack of ego is a must, as is a sense of adventure. “You need to have the curiosity to ask questions,” Crofts explains. That sense of adventure serves the writer far beyond the client-writer relationship. In particular, Crofts has found inspiration for several fiction novels from his experiences.
Crofts states that the relationship between ghostwriter and client is crucial. A bad fit can derail a project before it starts. Crofts discusses that a writer has to be the voice of reason in this relationship. It’s up to the writer to manage expectations and uncover the client’s real motivation for commissioning the project. And if that motivation is purely financial, Crofts suggests that maybe the writer should consider a different project.
This podcast is vital for anyone with an interest in professional ghostwriting. Crofts gives his take on:
- Why ghostwriters are like lawyers for their clients
- The difference between fees and royalties from a ghostwriter’s perspective
- The importance of juggling multiple projects
- Whether or not a ghostwriter needs personal experience to write about a given topic
- Andrew Crofts’ own process for ghostwriting, including how much he gets paid to ghostwrite
You’ll learn all of this, and much more, when you listen to the WriterAccess podcast with Andrew Crofts. To download the podcast, click here. To learn more about Andrew Crofts, visit his website at http://www.andrewcrofts.com.
