Anna Mitchael on the Lessons of Ghostwriting

This first appeared in Lit Hub’s Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here.

I fell into ghostwriting like one might fall into a hole. When I saw how deep and dark the hole was, my immediate reaction was to get the hell out. I climbed and clawed, but nope. Stuck. Needed the paycheck. So I stayed, slightly panicky. As usual, eventually the writing offered enough clarity that I could prop myself up and return to the light. Now, from time to time, since I know what happens in the hole and can bring better perspective, I willingly jump in.

Maybe you’ve never thought about ghostwriting, but I bet if you got close to the edge, you might find yourself falling in too. The trappings are delicious. A definable start and end to the book project, right there in front of your face in contract form. There’s the idea that you’ll be helping another human who will appreciate the effort. Perhaps best of all, for anyone who has spent time and sweat mining their own story, there’s the act of getting to go deep into a story without upside-downing your own soul in the process. All the joy of the excavation without the subsequent therapy bills. As far as writing jobs go, the pay can be decent. And if your client is fun, kind, and glad to have you around (i.e., not on a mandate from their manager or brand supervisor) it’s a great working environment. 

With so many positives, why the dark hole? In a nutshell (for the record, also a dark environment to be trapped inside) with the exception of a handful of clients, no one is going to care about the book like you do. Assuming you are a writer first, and a ghostwriter second, you’re there because you believe in words and the power to transform people through story. You believe books are ways of creating shared space where people feel at home, included, and seen. That they are reminders of the frailty and worthwhileness of humanity packaged in a way that they can go in bookbags, on subways, and next to nightstands—the most intimate places no one, not even our closest people, can always be.

Should you walk into a ghostwriting assignment assuming the person with the story has these goals, in today’s market and with the book environment as it is—disappointment will come. Books are the beautiful things listed above, but to many they are also platform builders. Stepping stones. One of many wheels on a marketing vehicle. 

As if the hole couldn’t get any darker, when face to face with these people, when sitting in the room listening to their goals, you will eventually come to see that in many ways, in these current days, they’re right. For themselves, at least. 

When I realized that last bit—that this understanding of books is true for some people but not all—I saw the light. Just because someone is valued enough by a publishing company to get a six- or seven-figure book deal, it doesn’t mean they hold greater truths of the universe. Unique wisdom is not only given to those with powerful marketing teams.

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They Will Tell You the World Is Yours by Anna Mitchael is available via Convergent Books.