In the The Ghost Writer, the 2010 political thriller directed by Roman Polanski, the film’s hero, Ewan McGregor, is hired to ghostwrite the memoir of England’s former Prime Minister, played by Pierce Brosnan.
As McGregor’s character eventually discovers, the ghostwriter who preceded him was murdered on the job, while the Prime Minister is later assassinated in the film.
Let that be a warning! (Just kidding.) Neither a client nor a ghostwriter should be mortally wounded by the end of any project. (And most ghostwriters, unlike the McGregor character, don’t wind up in bed with the boss’s secretary.)
But chemistry does count. After all, your ghostwriter becomes your muse, someone who can get inside your head and transform your life experience into a compelling narrative. He or she is creating a work customized for you, capturing your unique voice and intention.
Just as 18th century European royalty would commission court composers, including the young Mozart, to write chamber music and symphonic works, hiring someone to write a book is not much different. You’re engaging someone to produce an expression of your thoughts and feelings in a form that is considered an art.
Young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart playing one of his compositions at Court
Choosing your ghostwriter is like choosing someone you’d want to date–minus the romance. Your writer becomes a trusted friend, a confidante, someone with whom you’ll have almost daily contact. For that to work, you must have personal chemistry, a subject I’ve written about.
I remember once flying to Chicago for an interview with a prospective client, who happened to be a Pastor. From the minute I walked in the room, there was instant rapport. The interview lasted 3 hours! And I was hired. Likeability, one of my favorite subjects, is almost always a factor in creating an effective team.
And one key component of likeability is a shared sense of humor. The Pastor and I were always laughing and telling jokes, and it was this easy rapport that allowed us to produce the book in record time. Laughter was a tonic that dissolved tension.
Whereas, I recently met a Wall Streeter (who had been charged with insider trading and wanted to write a book about it), and there was zero chemistry. Shall we say it was no laughing matter, a true mismatch. And I wasn’t hired.
In short, the ghostwriter and client must feel a genuine connection, a meeting of the minds. It’s all a matter of personality. And it’s not predictable or predicated on someone’s resume. But you’ll know it when you see and feel it.
The result can be stellar–a bestseller that becomes part of your legacy. And equally important, left behind is the experience of writing the book, a fun process that becomes a treasured memory.
