How Did You Become a Ghostwriter?

I started by working as an editor and author first at Time-Life and later in nonfiction school and library publishing. I spent decades breaking down a wide range of subjects into books that were lively and informative. I learned that you don't need complex language or structures to explain even the most arcane historical, cultural, philosophical, and scientific information.

When the North American school and library business began to contract,
I thought about ghost writing. It uses the same skills: conveying specific knowledge in a way that's easy for the reader to digest.

An agent in London pointed out that it was far easier to become a ghostwriter if you already were a ghostwriter.

I went online and stumbled across a large ghostwriting agency in Texas named Scribe Media. I got through the interview process on the basis that I had ghostwritten parts of books in the past as part of being an editor.

After my first couple of Scribe clients, I became one of their Elite scribes, working with higher value clients, including traveling overseas to spend days working with them face to face.

About four years later, Scribe vanished overnight, leaving hundreds of clients, staffers, and freelancers to find their own way forward. Including me.

(I suspect you'll read lots more about Scribe on LinkedIn in the next couple of weeks as the anniversary approaches.)

After a couple of months floundering, I decided to hang my shingle and start Cooke the Book, ghostwriting business books and memoirs.

Being a true freelancer works well in that I get to set my own prices and schedule, and I only work with people I want to work with. But it adds extra pressure in terms of finding clients and keeping my profile high (which is why I tend to write guff like this on LinkedIn).

That's my story. All my colleagues' stories are different, but they all tend to share two key elements:

1. Persuade someone to let you write something in their voice and under their name. Anything. Then leverage the heck out of the fact that you've done it … because the vast majority of writers never have.

2. Make sure everyone knows what you do. No-one will ever guess you're a ghostwriter unless you tell them. (Not just on social media, but also face to face.)