Social media, SEO, marketing and writingCollaborations and Ghost-Writing
When a professional author agrees to collaborate with a well-know person such as a celebrity on a book, a commitment is made usually to do the following:
- Work out a plan and structure for the book
- Ask probing questions that will bring the best responses from the expert, star, or celebrity. This helps to focus on choice material
- Steer the work in progress and strive to write a quality book
When a public figure, celebrity, or film star decides to do a book, a literary agency or publisher is contacted. Then the agent or publishing house looks for the right author to work with the celebrity. There must be rapport between the two if the resulting book is to be an effective one. According to publishing executives, “Finding the right author is vital and can spell the difference between a pretty fair book and an excellent one. The decisive factor about whether we do a project is often whether or not we can get the right writer.”
One author, Samm Sinclair Baker, who has done collaborative work, believes the arrangement between celebrity and author should be equal: “No partnership is any good that isn’t 50-50. Otherwise, the expert is saying the author is inferior.”
As you have no doubt seen in many bookstores, most well-known celebrities from the entertainment industry, broadcasting, politics, the government, and business world are unable to write their own books without help. There are some exceptions. Some film stars and well-known figures have done well writing their own books. Those who decide to collaborate work with professional authors. The resulting title covers read “as told to” or “with Kitty Kelly.”
The point is that the authors who choose to collaborate must work out an arrangement with the expert or celebrity. There should be a written agreement on how the author is to be compensated for his or her work on the book.
Keep this idea of collaborative writing in mind. Tell editors you know, or work with in the future, of your interest in collaborative work with celebrities and public figures including film stars. If you sign with an agent for representation, let him or her know that you would be glad to consider any collaborative writing deals.
All in all, collaborative and ghost writing have opened up additional options for today’s author. It might just give your career a boost that could land you on the bestseller lists.
