The entire aspect of ghostwriting is writing for a client and it is the entire job of the professional ghostwriter.
However, within the job comes the most difficult aspect of writing for a client and it is the aspect of always maintaining authenticity while writing for a client.
So, how does a professional ghostwriter maintain authenticity while writing for a client?
We are going to find out just that in this blog as we try to decode what it takes to be authentic to the client and produce content that is authentic to the voice and message as well as the intention of the client.
We will understand the art of creating narratives and we will also understand how professional ghostwriters manage to maintain the essence of the individual or the brand when they are working for a client and delivering impactful content.
So, here are the ways in which ghostwriters maintain authenticity in writing for clients.
Techniques Utilised by Ghostwriters for Maintaining Authenticity While Writing for Clients
The Client’s Voice
The first big challenge in this journey of authenticity is to actually understand the client’s voice because it is the cornerstone of authentic content creation.
Every client has a unique voice that highlights how they express ideas and this is the voice that will differentiate one individual from another even if they have the same ideas.
If a ghostwriter needs to find out this voice, then the very first course of action is going to be very detailed interviews with the clients in order to understand their thought process primarily.
This detailed interview will also help the professional ghostwriter understand other important aspects of the client’s voice such as their vocabulary and tone.
After the interviews, the ghostwriter can take some time in order to study the client’s past works and we are not just talking about similar written content because in most cases the client might not have similar content.
We are talking about everything the client has written from emails to speeches and even social media posts and this will also help the ghostwriter understand the client’s voice.
And finally comes communication because nothing is better than communication when you are trying to understand someone’s voice and that is also the case with the client.
This is because if the ghostwriter pays attention to how the client speaks then they can find out a lot of important details such as humour and emotions and more that will also help the ghostwriter determine the client’s voice.
The Client’s Intentions
The second very important element to maintaining authenticity is to find out the intentions of the client with the project.
The ghostwriter has to find out what the client wants the project to be like because every client has at least some idea of how they want the project to look.
In order to find that out, the ghostwriter only has one solution and it is collaboration. One of the best tools for collaboration is collaborative brainstorming where the ghostwriter stays in continuous communication with the client in order to understand their intention with the project.
For example, if the client wants the ghostwriter to write a novel with a lot of fantasy characters, then the ghostwriter should plan out those fantasy characters in the presence of the client.
The second thing the ghostwriter can do in order to find out the intention of the client is to create detailed outlines of the project and have the client verify that outline and it will be a good point of feedback in order to understand the intention of the client.
The other thing the ghostwriter can do is to always send out updates to the client and the feedback on these updates will be a good indication of the client’s intent so that the ghostwriter can maintain authenticity according to the client’s vision.
Ethical Boundaries
We are all humans and it is quite natural for us to have personal biases but if a professional ghostwriter lets those biases come between their work, then that can be quite unethical.
This is because there are some ethical boundaries that the ghostwriter must maintain in order to produce the most authentic content for the client.
This includes the removal of any personal bias the ghostwriter might have because it is not the ghostwriter’s project, it is the client’s project and the client owns the project.
This means that the ghostwriter should remove any and all semblance to themselves and their ideas from the project so that it is only focused on the client’s opinions and experiences.
The ghostwriter must also maintain the ethical boundary of automatically fact-checking all details in order to maintain credibility for the client.
It is very hard to recall facts from your life especially if it has happened years ago and it might just be the case that the client might have said something that is factually inaccurate.
The ghostwriters must take it upon themselves to correct that.
The final ethical boundary should be to always be transparent with the client in order to maintain the best level of trust with the client and only once trust is maintained can you expect accuracy of the highest order in terms of authenticity.
Emotion and Perspective
If the ghostwriter really wants to maintain authenticity when it comes to the voice and vision of the client then their writing approach should be driven by empathy and emotion and not by accuracy alone.
Accuracy is good but the ghostwriter is not trying to go out on a fact-finding mission or create a documentary because they are trying to represent the client’s ideas and the client’s perspective and most importantly their emotion to the audience.
One of the ways in which ghostwriters do that is to look at everything from the client’s perspective with the help of the client’s worldview. It is like putting on the client’s shoes and wearing their glasses to write the content.
This ensures authenticity because that is how the clients see their topic or idea and the ghostwriter should also balance professionalism along with personality when it comes to portraying the unique voice of the client.
This will make the content feel personal but also very professional.
Research and Expertise
Maintaining authenticity is not just about conducting a lot of client interviews in order to understand what they have to say but it is also about being an expert in that specific industry and topic.
This is because if you want to properly represent your client and write content on behalf of their name you must be well acquainted with the topic they want to write on.
For example, if your client is an aeronautical engineer and they want you to write content for their book on aerodynamics, you as the ghostwriter should be able to understand things that are industry-specific such as the meaning of drag coefficient and the meaning of other aeronautics related jargon.
Authenticity is as much about expressing the emotions of the client as it is about expressing the knowledge of the client and this can only be done with research and of course expertise.
Expertise is important simply because if you get a project as a ghostwriter on aerodynamics then you just can’t start reading about aerodynamics for one or two weeks and expect to write professional content on that, you will need prior knowledge and experience regarding the topic.
If you already have that basic level of expertise, let’s say for this example an engineering degree, then you can very well understand the concepts of aerodynamics within a month just enough to write the content.
However, there are still going to be topics the ghostwriter might not be an expert at and this is where client communication comes into the picture because the client has the ability to help you get in-depth knowledge and understanding about the topic.
This is where a skilled ghostwriter utilises their communication skills for authenticity.
Feedback Loops
Even after following all that, there might be certain deficiencies within the aspect of authenticity in how the client actually wants the project to go and how the ghostwriter represents it.
In a situation like this, there is this very powerful tool called the feedback loop that will ensure the best level of accuracy for the ghostwriter when it comes to representing their client’s ideas in the content.
This includes the providing of continuous samples to the client throughout the project so that the client keeps on getting an idea regarding how the ghostwriter is presenting them.
While this is time-consuming but this ensures the best level of accuracy.
However, content samples are not always possible and that is why sharing drafts with the client is a much more practical approach this helps the client look at progress and also understand the situation of the progress.
This is followed by post-project support where the client might have even accepted the content and finalized it but they might still change their mind regarding certain adjustments to the content.
If the ghostwriter wants to maintain the best level of authenticity, then they must be available to make minor adjustments to the content even after the contract has been closed and the client has accepted the content.
When it comes to the aspect of updates, this will be different from client to client as some clients are going to prefer they get updates all the time 24/7, 365 days a year and there will be other clients who are just too busy for regular continuous updates.
This is where the skill of communication comes into the picture because the ghostwriter can just communicate with the client in order to find out their preferences regarding updates.
Personalizing the Narrative
If you want to be authentic in your portrayal of the client then you need specifics that will make the content authentic and that is why ghostwriters often like to include a lot of interesting and unique details in the content in order for that content to feel very authentic.
This includes different anecdotes from the life of the client including stories that only the client will have experienced and also stories that reflect the client’s cultural background and their roots.
Additionally, the ghostwriter also includes different visual details to make the narrative very accurate and much more vivid and realistic.
For instance, if you look at the example of the client being an aeronautical engineer then you can add certain details in their book such as how the client enjoyed the smell of morning wildflowers that were growing beside the aeroplane hangar they used to work at.
You can also add other details such as how these engineers once found a puppy near the aircraft hangar they used to work in and how they adopted and kept the puppy in the aircraft hangar so that they could care for it and it was before the time of very strict rules and regulations on airports.
In order to emulate your client, you can replicate high-quality content and you can even replicate their work experience and technical knowledge but in order to bring out the best level of authenticity, you need anecdotes.
Adding these stories are a great way to add that high level of authenticity and accuracy that is otherwise not possible with any other technique.
We hope this blog has been helpful for you to understand how ghostwriters maintain authenticity when it comes to writing content for clients.
We understand how ghostwriters do it simply because we are professional ghostwriters ourselves and we utilise all these techniques and much more when it comes to producing authentic content for our clients in accordance with their voice and their intent.
We are Ghostwriting India and if you are looking for one of the fastest-growing and one of the most popular ghostwriters for hire agencies in India then we are here for you.
We have some of the finest ghostwriting talent in the industry ready to go to any lengths to produce the most authentic content for our clients.
We do it all when it comes to ghostwriting whether it is online web content writing or traditional content in the form of books and novels.
We also have extensive experience in children’s content and we also do screenplay writing and a whole lot more. We welcome you to visit our website and check out everything we do.
