One of the reasons I love my job as a ghostwriter is that I get to learn so many unexpected things. Although there are times I wish I hadn’t learned them, because some stories are painful. Yet those are the ones which make me feel grateful – and lucky. Other stories are hilarious and make me laugh out loud, and they too engender gratitude. All stories – yes all of them – will teach me something. Stories are like that. Here are just seven of the many interesting tidbits I’ve learned from my clients. Since I only ghostwrite non-fiction, they must be true, right?   1.  Did you know that it is important to teach your child to always close the lid before they flush the toilet, because billions of small water drops full of nasty bacteria are released into the air with each flush? These water drops are capable of aerolizing twenty feet from the center of the flush, if they are not stopped by the toilet lid. So close that lid. Or at least rinse your toothbrush in peroxide be...

It’s usually the first question I am asked: “How much do you charge?” It is also the hardest question for a ghostwriter to answer.That’s because ghostwriting fees can have an extensive range, depending on a host of factors. Costs are unique to each project. Some of the factors which may determine the price are: the probable length of the manuscript what kind of book it is (memoir, business or financial, technical, scholarly, how-to, children, fiction, and so on) how much, if any, research needs to be done, and what kind of research it is how much, if any, material already exists (such as articles, blog posts, speeches or speaker notes, class notes or scripts, audios and videos, diaries, napkin jottings, etc.) how many interviews with how many people will be needed if there is travel involved if there are tables, graphs, or unusual formatting when the book needs to be finished and many more The next most popular question I am asked is whether I will ghostwrite a book in exchan...

So if someone wants to write a book, why don’t they just write it? Why do they need you, the ghostwriter? Of course, the answer is that not everyone who wants to write a book does need you. They might be able to write their book themselves, thank you very much. But it’s equally true that there are many people who’d love to be an author, but don’t think they can be, because of three main reasons: 1. They’re not a writer, or they lack confidence in their writing skills. 2. They hate to write – some would rather clean the bathroom than write. 3. They don’t have the time. These are not empty excuses. Writing a book is hard. It does take time. Writing talent and skill do help a great deal. That is exactly why authors are given respect. Yet just because someone is not a writer or doesn’t have time to write, doesn’t mean that their ideas, methods, systems, tips or tricks, or stories don’t deserve to be in a book. In my experience, the number one reason people want to hire a ghost...

Last month I wrote about how to make your internal critics go away by writing about them, and told you that my critic was named Ed.  But Ed is only one of them – like most of us, I have several internal critics, nearly all of them nasty.  Here is a piece I wrote about Cousin Irene, the voice inside my head who is in charge of procrastination, laziness, and all the addictive distractions there are.     Cousin Irene lurches into the room, trailing leavings from her purse – a dried-up lipstick, a wallet with a broken zipper, a scarf that has gum wadded in it, and of course those old used Kleenexes. She doesn’t pick anything up, because that is my job. She says she is tired because she played so many games of computer solitaire. She plops down on the most comfortable chair in the room. Her bulk overflows the cushion and her dress rides up on her thighs; she is wearing nylon socks that only reach halfway up her meaty calves. She tells me it’s too hot to write t...