“A ghostwriter’s superpower isn’t writing in their OWN voice—it’s disappearing into someone ELSE’s voice so completely that even the client forgets they didn’t write it.”
— L.A. Walton, The Book Maven
Ghostwriting is the ultimate creative shape-shift. You’re not writing as yourself—you’re writing as someone else, channeling their thoughts, their speech patterns, their perspective, and their personality onto the page. It requires empathy, skill, and the ability to park your own ego at the door.
Finding the Client’s Voice
| Step | What to Do | Why It Works |
| 1. Deep interview | Record 2–3 hours of conversation. | You hear their natural rhythm, vocabulary, and speech patterns. |
| 2. Read their existing content | Emails, social media, prior writing. | Shows you how they naturally express themselves in writing. |
| 3. Identify verbal fingerprints | Catchphrases, favorite metaphors, sentence length. | These are the details that make the voice feel authentic. |
| 4. Write a test chapter | Send 5–10 pages for voice approval. | Catches misalignment early before you’ve written 50,000 words. |
| 5. Iterate | Revise based on client feedback. | Voice matching is a process, not a one-shot skill. |
Ghostwriting Best Practices
- Listen more than you write. The client’s stories, anecdotes, and way of explaining things are your raw material.
- Ask: ‘Would they say it this way?’ For every sentence, run it through the client filter. If it sounds like YOU, rewrite it.
- Protect the relationship. Clear contracts, regular check-ins, and transparent communication keep both parties happy.
- Keep a ‘voice document.’ A cheat sheet of the client’s preferred words, avoided words, tone, and style. Reference it constantly.
- Check your ego. Your name won’t be on the cover. That’s okay. Your skill is what made the cover possible.
Your Move, Creative
If you want to practice ghostwriting, pick a public figure you admire. Read three of their interviews. Then write a 500-word blog post ‘in their voice.’ How close can you get? That’s the ghost muscle.
Stop letting your stories stay stuck.
