This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Loren Stephens, a ghostwriter based in Los Angeles. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I studied English literature, government, and international relations. After graduate school, I worked as an economics editor in Boston before pivoting to banking, where I stayed for eight years.
I moved to Los Angeles in 1980 and took a job in corporate development before moving to theater and documentary production, where my strength was raising money.
Now, I’m a ghostwriter for celebrities and leaders in business.
I wrote my mom’s life story first
My mom was an opera singer, and I wrote a book about her life for her. She got so much pleasure from it, and I did, too. I didn’t even know what a ghostwriter was or if there was a business for it.
I told some of my biggest donors that I was going to try something completely different. Some of them became my first ghostwriting clients.
I started my company, Write Wisdom, in 2007
I have seven writers who work for me on a per-book basis. I negotiate the fees, collect payments, and distribute payments to our writers. The writers set the interview and writing schedule with the client.
I spend around five hours per day writing, and I often manage multiple projects simultaneously.
The business revenue is in the 6-figures annually
The fee I charge for one book depends on the genre and length but ranges between $65,000 and $150,000. It’s typically paid in increments as we sign the agreement, write the first draft, and complete the final draft.
We’ll also enter a follow-up agreement if the client wants us to help select a publisher and a book publicist.
I work with a lot of CEOs and entrepreneurs
Some of my clients have been businessmen and philanthropist Al Azus, actor and music industry executive Aki Gonzalez Aleong, and Jeff Margolis, a director for major Hollywood awards ceremonies, including the Oscars.
They hire me because they know that I understand their language. From my time making documentaries, I know how to put together a good story and juice the emotion out of them.
If the client and I feel it will help the book succeed, we add my name. Most of the time, however, my name isn’t on the cover. The wording is usually “with” rather than “and” since the story is theirs.
We do 10 two-hour interviews with our client
The interviews are recorded and transcribed and become the basis for the first draft. Part of the writing also includes research and fact-checking, which is usually a collaborative effort.
Once the client looks at the first draft, it often prompts them to think of things they’ve forgotten. We do further interviews and incorporate that material into the book. After that, we do another edit, which is more of a polish.
The manuscript should typically be completed in about a year. Working with successful people usually means they’re extremely busy, so sometimes we have to wait for them to find time for everything.
Finding the emotional hook is the most important part of ghostwriting
There’s usually a moment when it’s obvious that a question has touched a nerve, and the floodgates open.
I don’t advocate for becoming Barbara Walters, but rather to gently shape questions that will lead to highly charged emotions everyone can relate to.
I establish what readers can identify with, like how they felt when they almost went bankrupt. People like to read about how others have faced hardships and come out the other end because it’s inspiring.
Sometimes the interview process can be difficult for clients
When we address topics like trauma and relationships, it can be a lot for the client to process. I’ve had clients struggle with things in the interview, so I’ll suggest that we put something to the side and come back to it later.
Very often, as they go through the interview process, they become more comfortable talking about difficult things later on.
Pushing someone into a corner is the worst thing you can do. If they’re adamant they don’t want something in the book, I don’t force them to speak about it.
I’ve had to delicately try to talk clients into leaving some things out
Generally, these tend to be boring items. Often, it’s an A-Z list of family and friends. I usually try to find a photo of the friend and them together to judge whether it’s worth keeping them in the story.
Sometimes when something is really important to them, I have to make a judgment call. They’re hiring us because we’re the experts. At the same time, they’re the experts on their own life.
I’ve only had one client who wasn’t happy with the first draft
“Talmage Farm,” by former North Carolina State Rep. Leo Daughtry, turned into one of my favorite books I’ve worked on.
It’s set in the 50s and 60s in a farming area of North Carolina. I’m from LA, and I struggled to understand the politics and economics of the area. I resorted to cliché a little too much.
I was worried I would lose the assignment, but I took a few steps back and ate some humble pie. I listened to their objections and went deeper into the issues they raised with further interviews and research.
My goal is to get the client’s story onto the page, hook the reader, educate, entertain, and enlighten
I recently received an email from the son of one of my clients, who said he learned a great deal about his father from reading the manuscript. Even with my mother’s book, my son read it and said he wished he had known some of the things she revealed.
The greatest compliment we can receive is when our client tells us: “I gave my book to so and so, and they said that they heard my voice on every page.”
That is the true test of success. Of course, good reviews are the cherry on top.
Want to share your story? Email Lauryn Haas at lhaas@businessinsider.com