Permission to Write
I’ve been a ghostwriter since before I knew what it was called. I was the writer in the shadows shaping the voices of arts, nonprofit, and spiritual leaders. Newsletters. Speeches. Interviews. Op-eds. Books. Few things offered me the thrill of taking on someone’s voice or expanding their thoughts and stories. By 2022 I officially owned my role with a literary agent, writing samples, and a community of peers backing me up. I sat down with a branding specialist to identify my true audience and crank out my “step into the light” writing persona. It. Was. Hard. So much so that my internal spark fizzled more than once. I’d been doing this for years, but it still felt like I was brand new. Fast forward to January 2023 and New York Times writer Elizabeth A. Harris releases When the Writing Demands Talent and Discretion, Call the Ghostwriter, an article that finally feels like validation. Thanks to Prince Harry’s upcoming memoir, Spare*, a light was shed into the dark corner of an age-old profession, ghostwriting.
“Ghostwriters channel someone else’s voice — often, someone else’s very recognizable voice — and construct with it a book that has shape and texture, narrative arc and memorable characters, all without leaving fingerprints. Doing it well requires a tremendous amount of technical skill and an ego that is, at a minimum, flexible.” Elizabeth A. Harris, New York Times
The article sparked something in me. It was the permission to write that I didn’t know I needed. I knew and understood the benefits of ghostwriting. My clients totally get it. Yet there still seemed to be a stigma around ghostwriting, especially if you weren’t a crazy busy, high profile individual. My early years as a ghostwriter were “hush, hush”. Every ghostwriter I knew personally was fighting the same battle - how to get our names and works out there while still remaining a “ghost”. In the last quarter of 2022 I had several meetings with people in the traditional publishing spaces. More than once I heard some variation of “where have you been all this time?” Ghostwriting is a need experience to get the job, but job needed to get the experience field. Like many others once I got the experience, I was unsure of how to share it. Add on being a Black woman in a traditionally white male dominated industry and it moves from “it’s complicated” to a full on “entanglement”. Finding clients. Demonstrating credibility. Justifying pricing. All of this made advocating for myself that much harder. And quite frankly, it was exhausting.
Harris’ article put some air back into the room. It was a reminder that ghostwriting is both a noble and necessary profession. She also highlighted some of the ghostwriters who’ve been on the storytelling journey for decades. What a joy for writers’ worth to be shared and celebrated before they’re gone! Today I write with a renewed sense of joy and fuel to continue the journey. Today I give myself permission to write. And you too! Even if you’re not a writer, you can still be an author. Your story still matters. And that’s where ghostwriters matter. This is your permission to write your story.
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