John Harman’s speciality is ghostwriting. A ghostwriter will write your book, whether it’s a novel, biography, corporate history, family history or a self-help inspirational book, the way you want it written and take none of the credit. Of course, a ghostwriter gets paid. But it’s your name on the book.
John has been ghostwriting other peoples’ stories for 30 years or more and though he has ghostwritten many books for well-known people, it isn’t only politicians, sports stars, business leaders, celebrities, and other high-profile personalities who use ghostwriters to author their books.
Many other people also hire a ghostwriter and if you have a business book, a self-help book, a personal story or…
- if you have a personal or family history that you wish to tell
- if you have a business idea or have successfully run a business and wish to share your knowledge and experience
- if you have a story to tell but don’t know how to tell it
- if you’ve had strange, wondrous or even terrible things happen to you and feel your story would be of interest or inspiration to others
- if you have boxes of notes and cuttings and papers that you just know should be turned into a book then…
Some of the books John has ghostwritten were ‘authored’ by…
- an eminent Chinese Banker in Hong Kong
- a UK marketing and sales guru
- an international soldier of fortune
- a senior British soldier who rose through the ranks
- a successful American entrepreneur
- a singing celebrity
- an international Feng Shui consultant
- an international Reiki practitioner
- a newspaper tycoon
- a successful businessman who had been on the run from the authorities for fifty years
- a woman who wanted to become a famous novelist
In all cases these were written in the authentic ‘voice’ of the client and only in those cases where John had an acknowledgement is it known that he actually wrote the book.
The Skills of a Ghostwriter
Ghostwriting requires a combination of skills: not only the talent to write but also the ability to listen carefully, to collaborate closely, to share a vision and, most of all, to take on the personal viewpoint and voice of the principal in the partnership – the client.
Ghost writing is really teamwork and in most cases the collaborative process starts with a series of interviews, usually via the internet and/or phone, (in more than half the cases John only met the client after the book had been published).
Hiring a Ghostwriter
John does not start the ghostwriting project until he is sure he understands the client author’s intention for the book; until he knows the story line or the message intimately and has agreed the tone the book should take.
The next stage is for John to produce a detailed story outline and/or synopsis with a chapter breakdown and notes on the message, voice, point-of-view, style, etc to be agreed on by the client.
After agreement is reached John starts the book. Though he only ever handles one ghostwriting project at a time, a ghostwritten book of 60,000 words will typically take about six months from start to finish.
When the project has been completed and the final draft of the manuscript handed over, all rights in the work then belong exclusively to the client – who can count on John’s confidentiality.
You may download this PDF – Using a Ghostwriter by John-Harman.
Ghostwriting Confidentiality Agreement
John neither talks about nor gives out any information on his contributions to ghostwritten work unless he has received acknowledgement or permission from the client author.
For further details about John’s ghostwriting and to discuss rates, contact John
