Ghostwriting: Essential guide for desperate authors (Part 2)

No matter how you decide to look for a ghostwriter, you will have to sort out the top candidates from not-so-qualified ones. If a writer lacks ghostwriting skills, even the fact that their personality matches yours perfectly won't make any difference. 

Ghostwriting master: Criteria 

Fortunately, you can determine a ghostwriter's competence before the start of the work. For this, you should examine their: 

• Cost

• Professional experience

• Ghostwriting Skills 

1. Cost 

You shouldn't entrust your book (and reputation) to a cheap writer in the same way that you wouldn't entrust your life to a cheap doctor or attorney. 

Consider ghostwriters as exclusive service providers.

2. Professional experience

This is a simple part. You can use the following factors to gauge a candidate's standing and proficiency:

• The quantity and calibre of books they have written 

• The prominence of former clients

This information will typically be available on the websites and social media of writers.

Most trustworthy ghostwriters have produced at least 5 books. 

They have collaborated with authors who are influential in their field or sector. Additionally, the novels they've authored have received positive reviews and are usually regarded as composed in a skilful manner. 

If a candidate lacks these qualities, their work is likely to be of poorer quality. Otherwise, you should add them to possible candidates.

3. Ghostwriting Skills 

The final test is to familiarize yourself with their work and assess their writing skills. 

This is particularly crucial if your budget is tight and you have to choose from candidates with less of a reputation to be judged by.

The inquiries you should make after reading a ghostwriter's work are:

How accurately do they convey the author's tone? 

The best ghostwriters are capable of correctly expressing the author's thoughts and tone on the page. Moreover, the readers should be able to follow the narration smoothly, without feeling like the book was written by several people. 

For instance, writing a story the author shared themselves doesn’t really present any difficulties. However, using that same voice to bridge the gaps between stories is significantly more challenging.

The candidate didn't perform their job if the voice appears genuine in some passages of the book but different in others. A skilled ghostwriter will produce a piece that feels genuine across all pages.

How immersed are you while reading? 

The indication of effective writing is how enthusiastic you are about the narration and if you look forward to continuing reading it. 

Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly – they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.

― Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

Don’t hire a person if you find yourself nodding off while reading their work. That’s the biggest red flag that points out to a poor storyteller. 

On the contrary, if you find it difficult to put the book down because you are so engrossed in it, the writer is definitely a skilled storyteller. This is the type of ghostwriting specialist you need.

Is it easy to keep up with their ghostwriting? 

Readers can easily follow the narrative in the greatest works. It's a clue the candidate didn't properly structure the plot if you got lost while reading their work. 

When a ghostwriting master composes a story, you will never stop understanding what is going on and why.

“A lack of narrative structure, as you know, will cause anxiety.”

― John Dufresne

While selecting possible writers, concentrate on those that are able to keep you interested and, at the same time, make the reading effortless.

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Any problem? Our Freelancers are here to save you time. 

On Insolvo, you can ask for help with both searching for the perfect match for your book and direct ghostwriting services. 

We will locate the best professional for you in no time. Our AI algorithms take into account a wide range of factors, including freelance ghostwriters’ experience with similar kinds of tasks, reviews from other customers, the number of times they failed to finish the task correctly, etc. 

Trust your book to Insolvo and you won’t leave disappointed.

Read also Ghostwriting: Essential guide for desperate authors (Part 1)