Trust me, I am a ghostwriter
Trust is the cornerstone of every ghostwriter/author relationship. Yet, if you are a would-be author searching for a co writer, the news headlines of early 2023 might leave you wondering if this can really be the case.
To begin with, there was the slew of coverage picking over the explosive revelations in Prince Harry’s biography Spare. In a strange new development, the Royal’s ghostwriter received almost as much attention as the author himself. Who is this J R Moehringer, the media demanded to know, picking over the ghost’s past work, methods, remuneration and even his own family issues? The attention surrounding the US-based writer broke the first rule of ghostwriting services, the rule that authors can always rely on; that the book will belong entirely to the author.
Fast forward just a few weeks following the publication of Spare, and the once little-known world of ghostwriting was pushed even further into the limelight with The Daily Telegraph’s publication of the Lockdown Files. Isabel Oakeshott, the ghostwriter who worked with former health secretary Matt Hancock on his Pandemic Diaries, released more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages to the newspaper, containing hugely damaging analysis, speculation, comment and opinion relating to the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown.
The headlines resulting from the Lockdown Files were, naturally, mostly about the content of the messages, but more than one political commentator raised the issue of trust. Was Oakeshott right to betray the author/ghost bond and release the material she’d been given to write Hancock’s account? Oakeshott’s defence was that what she’d done was ‘overwhelmingly’ in the public interest, but many ghostwriters did wince at her actions, particularly those who are former journalists (of which there are many) who have been trained to protect the confidentiality of their sources.
What, then, does this mean for future author and ghost collaborations? The first thing to say is: situations like the breakdown of trust between Hancock and Oakeshott are extremely rare. Interestingly, among the previous instances that there have been, a fair few have been with Oakeshott herself! In 2016, she worked with Arron Banks on his book, The Bad Boys of Brexit, relating his story of the EU referendum. Banks provided his co-writer with texts and emails from the period, which later appeared in The Sunday Times, revealing that the named author had far more details with Russian officials than he had previously admitted. Another, earlier, incident occurred while Oakeshott was still a journalist at The Sunday Times, and wrote a story about Vicky Pryce, the ex-wife of Liberal Democrat minister Chris Huhne. Pryce had separated from her husband, following his affair with his PR advisor, and revealed she had taken points on her driving license for a speeding offence Huhne had committed. In the resulting fall-out from the story, both Pryce and Huhne were sentenced to eight months in prison.
As for the Prince Harry and J R Moehringer situation, this is very likely to be a bit of a one-off too. The publication ofSpare was a huge story and the media was hungry for new angles, any new angles. It was inevitable that they would turn to the ghostwriter to fill in the blanks on the backstory. Generally, unless a ghost really pushes themselves into the foreground, they are largely ignored, which is exactly as it should be. In fact, the only other instance that really comes to mind of a ghost becoming an important part of the news cycle concerns Tony Schwartz who helped one Donald Trump pen The Art of The Deal. During the Trump presidency, Schwartz became a regular media commentator on his former writing partner, ‘helping’ viewers unravel what the controversial businessman ‘really thought’.
The message to any author would be to choose their ghostwriter carefully. Track record is very important. The Ghostwriters Agency ghosts don’t just come with a guaranteed record of bestsellers, they are also discrete and professional. Authors shouldn’t simply take our, or their, word for it though. When checking out individual ghostwriters and their pitches, they should ask for details of their previous work. While ghostwriters are not always able to disclose who they’ve worked with in the past, they are permitted to talk about some authors. Even the briefest of Google searches will reveal whether or not the ghost is publicly connected with an author, or has quietly faded into the background as they should. Evidence of repeat work with authors is always a very good sign too. Established ghosts will also be able to provide referrals, or testimonials, from previous collaborations.
Trust will always be an important foundation of a solid author and ghost relationship because authors will most likely be sharing sensitive information. It is a ghost’s job to help an author get their story on the page in as compelling and readable way as possible. It isnottheir job to become the story.