The Difference Between Ghostwriters and Co-writers

We are going to discuss the differences between ghostwriting and co-writing and which one is right for your book.

Many people struggle with the idea of ghostwriting and whether or not it is okay not to give a ghostwriter credit or whether they should take credit for the ideas themselves.

The problem is that the issue of ‘credit’ can be a slippery slope.

There are often cases in fiction writing (especially in Hollywood) where a writer will do large rewrites of the plot, structure and characters and not get credit for it.

These types of writers are called script doctors – which to be fair is a much cooler term than ghostwriter.

There are legendary tales of famous script doctors coming in, being paid millions to lift a story out of the doldrums and to Oscar glory.

Ghostwriting In Fiction

Some famous fiction writers who openly use co-writers to help write their books are Wilbur Smith, Tom Clancy, (even posthumously) and James Patterson.

This shouldn’t come as a big surprise to anyone, even if the authors were not so candid about it. Patterson, for example, has written more than 147 novels since 1976.

In one of those years, he wrote ten books (almost one a month) earning him millions of dollars.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out he had help. No writer can be that prolific, however good they are.

Patterson says he teams up with other writers to deliver his manuscripts because he is more skilled at coming up with intricate plot lines, rather than being concerned about crafting each sentence.

Co-authors pen the first drafts and then he takes over for the second one.

There is no dishonesty here either.

The books all feature James Patterson’s name prominently, but the co-author also gets credit.

When people lick up a James Patterson novel, they know what they are getting. They understand that it was a collaborative effort.

Essentially, it is a marketing decision.

The celebrity author brings their name to the book as well as the plot, and the co-author sells their writing skills.

It is not very different from a celebrity putting their name to a new clothing line.

It is fairly unlikely that they made any creative decisions about cut, style or colours. They are just there to sell it.

Ghostwriting In Non-Fiction

Ghostwriting is a business transaction, where people sell their writing skills to an author.

The author may have many reasons for writing their book: maybe it’s a record of their life, a business book or maybe they want to help others around them.

The author may not have the time, talent or patience to finish a book and so it makes perfect sense to contract an expert like a ghostwriter.

When you hire a ghostwriter, he or she can serve you in one of two capacities–as a traditional ghostwriter, or as a co-writer/ editor.

You look on the covers of many celebrities’ books and you’ll see a co-writer but you’re probably wondering what their role is and what they did exactly.

If you want a list of books that you might be surprised were ghostwritten click HERE

Here is how I split the difference up.

What Is A Ghostwriter

A ghostwriter is someone who writes a book on behalf of an author but does not get credit for his or her work.

Oftentimes an agreement is made that the writer will never reveal that he or she helped write the book–for marketing purposes or because the author would rather not reveal that he or required help writing the book.

A ghostwriter generally does everything except comes up with the ideas – he or she handles all the research, writing, and proofreading.

The ghostwriter interviews the subject thoroughly and then produces your book based on those interviews.

Usually, a ghostwriter will then need no more than a couple of hours per week of your time to make sure he or she is on track as they complete your book over the next 6-12 months depending on the length of the book.

The great thing about a ghostwriter is you can focus on other tasks while the ghostwriter works, leveraging your time and in the end your book has your name on it.

What Is A Co-Writer?

A co-writer tends to receive some level of credit for helping write the book.

We’ve all seen autobiographies sporting bylines like this one: “Famous athlete with John Doe.”

A writer functioning as a co-writer or editor will help you write the book.

Perhaps you are confident in your writing ability or style but you’re not so confident about organizing your material, checking your facts or self-editing.

As an editor, they can make sure you stay on point and focus your material to the needs of your audience, the publisher, or agent.

When a publishing house offers you a contract, they also assign you to an editor that performs a similar task as an employee of the publisher.

This person has the interests of the publishing house in mind, however, so they will want things changed to be sellable. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but keep in mind that they may twist your original intention of writing the book.

If you have no contract, hiring an editor to cover this function for you can help make sure your book measures up to professional standards before submission to a publisher or agent.

A co-writer can also handle research and feed you information for the book.

If you feel less confident in your writing but very confident about how to say what you want to say, your co-writer can do the writing under your careful guidance rather than independently.

A co-writer will also generally get credit on the book with you and share in the royalties, which may mean slightly lower upfront fees.

The co-writer relationship is much more intimate, time-consuming, and collaborative. Where a ghostwriter is basically an employee, a co-writer shares ideas and is more involved in the creative process.

You partner with your co-writer for the 6-12 months (or however long it takes given your schedule) to complete the book.

In other words, both your time commitment and the amount of work you do is significantly higher with a co-writer.

If you want to know more about how ghostwriters and co-writers get credit head over to this blog post HERE

The Downsides Of Using a Co-writer  

One of problems using someone as a co-writer is that they now have to consider their own personal branding.

For example, the co-writer has to think of whether your book falls within the genres and markets he desires to be known for writing.

In such cases, a writer may choose to use “as told to” or “with” on the cover or may choose to decline the co-writer opportunity.

Of course, if you have a contract with a publishing house, the publishing house will usually find the ghostwriter to help you with the book or may assign one of their editors the job of co-writing the book with you.

Another common problem is that with any partnership, people have conflicting ideas and when a co-writer is asked to submit ideas or is involved in the creative process, arguments can arise. When you have a clear contract and expectations then this is less likely to happen.

It is not hard to find a proliferation of co-writers in the bestseller lists.

One of the best known today (unfortunately for all the wrong reasons) is Tony Schwartz who co-wrote Donald Trump’s book The Art of the Deal. His name is on the cover, in equal billing: Donald J. Trump and Tony Schwartz.

Unusually, it was not a subtle collaboration either.

Schwartz regularly pops up as a commentator on what Trump may or may not be feeling or thinking.

It’s something that most professional co-writers and ghostwriters would feel uncomfortable about doing but it may work for your book.

The moral of the story is that the writer and the co-writer (or ghostwriter) need to be able to demonstrate that they can work together.

Do You Need A Co-Writer Or Ghostwriter?

Well of course not.

But when it comes to writing a book, it is smart to seek help before you even start.

Whether you decide to work with a ghostwriter as a  co-writer, to complete the book for you, your chances of securing a contract for publication or having the book received well in the market improve greatly with the help of a professional writer.

You’ll need help at some point in time. Writing a book is never a singular effort, no matter what people tell you.

It takes the help of many people for it to be successful so why not get help beforehand?

Trust me, it will save you a lot of time and probably some heartache as well.

If you need advice on how to hire a ghostwriter head over to this blog post HERE

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, any book you read will have had dozens of eyes on it before it goes into production.

It really is a team effort which, as well as the named author, may include a co-writer or ghost, editor, proofreaders, publishers, artists and so on.

Sometimes the list can be pretty long and not everyone will get all the credit they may well deserve.

The important thing is the end product and that it reads like a cohesive reading experience.

Ultimately the only thing that really matters is that the reader enjoys the book.

The creative process is only important to those who write the books and usually little interest to the reader.

Both professional ghostwriters and co-writers can also help get your book published.

Hiring a ghostwriter is the easiest way to get your book completed in the shortest amount of time and with the least effort.

Utilizing a ghostwriter or a co-writer can broaden the audience of the book and allow you to make more money. With two people putting their marketing muscles behind the book, it will be that much more successful.

If you’re thinking about hiring a ghostwriter get in contact with us today and we will support you in your creative process.