Ghost Writing

1. Ghost Writing Procedures and Processes www.helloharsh.com | www.theghostwriters.in

2. 72% of the writers are not able to complete writing their manuscripts. Out of 28 percent who can, a bare minimum are actually able to publish it.

3. What is Ghost Writing Ghost Writing implies writing for someone and not taking any credit/royalty for it.  The concept is popular in all art forms including the music industry.  In India, concept of Ghost Writing is relatively new and is picking up The Ghost Writing services are availed by folks who want to pen down fiction, non-fiction, personal experiences et al

4. Why Ghost Writing Ghost Writing services are usually availed because the client doesn't have enough time or confidence to do the book on his/her own but have a solid idea which he/she feels must go out in the market. Mostly, the clients also have the right ideas to position the book in the market to fulfil their objectives with it. More often than not, the reason to write a book is :

5. Become Authority  on Subject To get known or attain fame Make money out of it To achieve Personal Goals

6. Our clients are: Experts  Celebrities CEOs/CXOs Politicians

7. HOW WE SEE GHOST WRITING We see Ghost Writing as a holistic process of creating a product (Book) and become an end to end solution to it. More than that, we see writing as a science rather than art and employ multiple techniques to complete the project. 

8. STAGES GHOST WRITING As indicated before, we see this as a holistic process and take our clients on a journey which are distinctly divided into multiple stages. Each stage has its own significance and makes the process smoother and seamless. That being said, the chronological order of these stages is not rigid per say. Every project is unique and demands a new perspective in context of processes and timelines.

9. QUERY STAGE 1 We receive your query via email or phone call and talk about you and your project along with our existing portfolio and how we do the complete process. It is an important stage for us to learn about how serious the client is for the project and if we sync well. Since Ghost Writing is a very intimate personal experience, it is important that the energies match.

10. PRE-CONTRACT STAGE 2 At the pre-contracting stage, we share the kind of work we have done and a projected cost for the project along with the time- lines. In case the client is in the same city or we have a representative in the respective city, we have a face to face meeting. Here, we also share a sample contract which outlines the delivery model and payment schedules. 

11. CONTRACTING              STAGE 3 We sign a white label agreement with the client after due considerations from both the sides - clearly indicating the roles and responsibilities of both the parties. The contract also has modified mile-stones (sub-stages). With this contracting, we also take the signing amount which is usually the 20 percent of the total project cost. 

12. THE IDEA STAGE 4 This is the brainstorming session where we ask multiple questions from the client and try to set the objective straight around the idea of the book. Clients usually have ideas and objectives that don't match. We help them make sense out of what they have in mind and what they want to achieve via various questions and quiz formats. We also research on the uniqueness of the idea and work around the alterations.

13. CLIENT MAPPING STAGE 5 Further to the idea/concept of the book, our objective is to understand the client for which we do a different set of exercises. We ask questions about the life of the client to get a sense of how he/she perceives the world and what kind of opinions are held by the client. This helps to know client which in turns makes it easy to replicate the personality of the client.

14. WRITER SELECTION STAGE 6 Once we have a sense of the idea and the client, we start the selection of the writer who would actually write this book eventually. This can be an in-house writer or an ad hoc writer - depending on the nature of project and bandwidth. More often than not, we talk to a client and identify the right writer instantaneously. 

15. RESEARCH STAGE 7 While the writer is on board, we start the preliminary level of research to gather the material around the idea. In case of non- fiction, a higher level of research is required. In case of biographical books, collecting the experiences of the clients in a tangible format is part of the research. For fiction, this stage is coupled with next one and consists of character building exercises.

16. PLANNING STAGE 8 This happens to be one of the most critical stages and might involve heavy iteration. We start defining chapters and flow of the book and break it down to the minutest detail possible. This forms the blue-print of the book which needs to be followed to be on track. However, this can be modified during the next stage. At this stage, we also decide the treatment and tonality of the book. 

17. WRITING STAGE 9 It is amusing that actual writing is the ninth stage - but if all previous stages are handled carefully, this becomes the easiest. While we start writing, we prefer to finish the first draft in a go without much editing. We do take note of the feedback but might or might not incorporate and focus only on finishing the first draft. 

18. EDITING STAGE 10 After completing the first draft, we start the editing and incorporate the feedback of the client. Usually, we suggest the clients to finally get it reviewed by an external editor to be sure. From our end, we edit as per the mutual discussions and the feasibility of feedback requests.

19. PUBLISHING STAGE 11 While we don't take the onus to publish your book, we consult you for the same and assist you to find the right publisher and the right deal for your book. We suggest the publishing models (Self, traditional, hybrid) and help you make the right choice. We also develop the proposal elements (Synopsis, Chapter Breakdown, Blurb, Author Bio et al)

20. MARKETING STAGE 12 We consult and help you choose the right marketing trajectories. We can also refer different agencies and inform you on what has worked with various clients so that the marketing budget is spent rightly and realistically.

21. REMEMBER WHAT IS GHOST WRITING? Ghost Writing is a mutual process. While you hire us, it doesn't mean that your job has ended. Most of the successful ghost writing projects have right kind of client involvement which is encouraging and motivating.  Ghost Writing doesn't mean giving away the idea and expecting a final product which will perfectly resonate with the requirements. 

22. TO DO WHILE ENGAGING IN A PROJECT Remain Patient Cooperate and Communicate Work towards the solution Provide feedback with right tone Communicate via emails Discuss Trust the writer and the blue-print Stick to contract guidelines

23. NOT TO DO WHILE ENGAGING IN A PROJECT Don't show dismissive behavior Do not criticise the writer Don't provide feedback on phone Don't dictate Don't bring too many external people Don't get swayed by others' opinion Don't act impulsively

24. PORTFOLIO WHOM HAVE WE WORKED WITH ? We have worked with top level management of various corporate houses, family owned/managed business, politicians and thought leaders. We have successfully completed projects with clients in USA, Dubai & Australia.

25. THE MAN BEHIND  Harsh Agarwal started his writing career at the age of 19 by publishing his first book. He published two more with his own name and ventured into ghost writing. A TedX Speaker, social activist and more - Harsh believes in being a creative problem solver.

26. THANK YOU! looking forward to work with you. HARSH7LIAN@GMAIL.COM