I’ve ghosted books on nearly every conceivable subject. The first question every new ghostwriting client asks is, “Are you an expert or do you know anything about [fill in the blank]?” My answer is usually always the same: “No.”
So how do I do what I do? Furthermore, why do these people hire me nonetheless?
Answer: While it is somewhat helpful to know a little about a subject before ghostwriting about it, it is absolutely unnecessary to be an expert. Why? Because the client is the expert. If I were both the expert as well as the professional writer, why the heck would I need the client in the first place?
Every field of interest has that dreaded thing called “jargon.” Experts use jargon endlessly and without pause. It is the language of their field. Fortunately or unfortunately, when people reach out for a ghostwriter, it is because they are looking for an audience beyond the narrowness of their field and its accepted experts.
Enter The Dejargonizer. This is my superhero name. When my client rambles on about “Invertilizing the DRC of the SMU, we econometrically strafe the LLG, which leaves us in a much better astrometrical situation,” I get to stand up and scream, “Enough! What the hell does that mean?” As The Dejargonizer, I get to revel in my ignorance. My lack of expertise is my greatest weapon. When a client says, “Wow, you really are stupid,” I get to respond by saying, “Thank you.”
I take jargon and make it understandable. This is not “dumbing down.” I hate that phrase. It is “universalizing.” You can be a genius expert in one field and totally lost in the jargon of another. This is not a measure of IQ. Writing is communication. I am hired by those who are often relatively poor communicators to those outside their field.
Yes, conveying this at an initial hiring interview is dicey, but since I am a paid communicator, my first job, my proving ground, is to get my potential client to understand all this. If I am successful, I am hired.
It also helps that I am old enough to be referred to as “mature.” Ghostwriting is actually one of the few occupations where, I believe, somewhat older practitioners are at an advantage. When I am asked if I know anything about [fill in the blank], there is a far greater chance that I at least have a nodding knowledge of it simply through life experience. A long life has also taught me humility. I used to be really, really smart, but now I’m dumb as a tree stump. This ingratiates me to people; don’t ask me why. I seem less apt to try to take over someone else’s dream project and make it my own. I don’t feel the need to do such things. In the end, this is the client’s dream, not mine. When I was younger, I doubt I would have understood that.
Should you ask a potential ghostwriter or editor if they know much about your topic? Sure. But do it more as a way of finding out if they have any interest or feel for it at all. If you’re an expert on Australian Rules Football, your ghost or editor should at least have a passing knowledge or interest in sports in general. That’s often as good as it gets. Beware the writer who says, “I know nothing about that, and in general I hate sports. But I have lots of bills this month so I’ll write just about anything.”
Also, see if you personally connect with the writer. You’ll be spending a lot of time with him or her. Many of your friends have no expertise in what you do in life, but you’re still able to bond with them because they take an interest in you and have inquiring minds. The same holds true when hiring a writer.
Look for a writer you connect with, who maybe has a tangential knowledge or interest in your topic, and really wants to spend weeks or months immersing themselves in it with you. Find that, and you’ve found your writer/editor.
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Hi Kerry,
As a medical professional who believes in speaking non jargon so that my patients understand what I’m telling, them I was very enlightened by your article and totally agree.
Suzanne Andrews
Host of Functional Fitness on Public Television
Good post– love the “universalizing” idea. Clients that hire ghostwriters usually know exactly what they want their book to be, just not how to get there—which is where we come in:) Like you, I don’t think it is too important that we are experts on every topic we write about. We’ll get the information from the clients and research we do.
Excellent point especially on the “universalizing”. It is normally stereotypical for any hired professional to become an expert but this makes it an exception, a good exception in fact.