How to fix a ghostwriting (or other freelance) project that’s gone awry

I may or may not have struck out on my current ghostwriting project. We’re in the early stages, and it’s not yet committed. And so far, the client has suggested some very challenging objectives for the writing, and rejected significant elements of the tone I’ve been using.

When problems arise in any freelance project, it’s time to think hard about what’s working and what’s not, because blindly following the path you’re on is not going work.

Any freelancer facing a challenge like this needs to ask three questions.

Is this project still worth pursing?

The easiest thing to do is bail. Just because you started a project doesn’t mean you should do everything possible to finish it.

To determine if it’s still worth doing the project, I ask these questions:

• Is it a project I’m still excited about? Ask yourself, if the project were to go forward to completion, would you be proud of your work on it? In this case, the answer is an enthusiastic yes; the things that attracted me to the project and the client remain powerful incentives.
• Is the client behaving in a problematic way? All freelancers become sensitive about “red flags,” such as clients who are abusive, ghost you for long periods, or flip-flop on their opinions about your work. In this case, the client has been consistently complimentary about my effort and results — they can see the value of what I’ve created, but it doesn’t fit their vision.
• Are you engaging productively? If there’s a dialogue about what’s working and what’s not with mutual respect on each side, then there’s hope for the project. If the client has ceased to communicate productively, then there isn’t.
• Did you get paid? Even in the initial stages of a project, freelancers deserve to get paid for their work. In this case, I got paid for everything I billed for. If you’ve agreed on milestones and payments, you should get paid for hitting those milestones; anything else is a reason to leave. (If you never asked to get paid for your initial work, then the fault lies with you.)

What parts of the process can you improve?

All successful freelancers, including ghostwriters, are expert in their chosen fields. But smart freelancers also apply their intelligence to designing and revising the process by which the project moves forward.

For ghostwriters, here are some process issues worth revisiting if the project has stalled.

• Does the client understand how much work they need to put in? In my experience, the biggest misconception that ghostwriting clients have is about how much time and effort needs to come from them. However, it’s the ghostwriter’s responsibility to be thoughtful about what they need from the client. That might include more source material or more timely feedback.
• Is there a regular cadence of meetings? In the client’s imagination, the project may look like “Listen to me talk or read some stuff I send you, then go off and write something.” And sometimes that works. But more frequently, you’ll need to spend time with the client on planning, and then again to get feedback and make course corrections on your work. Setting up a regular meeting can help the client and you to put some structure around the project. In my experience, meeting once every two weeks for an hour is productive. To make this work, the ghostwriter must be responsible for coming to those meetings prepared with agenda items and questions, following up immediately with action items, and delivering promised material for review soon after.
• What elements (other than manuscript pages) can you exchange ideas on? The simplest process is just: define a chapter, gather information on the chapter, then write the chapter. But if that’s not working, consider more granular elements for feedback. Exchange ideas on a fat outline for the chapter before writing. Write and get feedback on a charter for the whole project. Create a menu of writing samples with different tones to get an idea which the client feels most comfortable with. Ask the client to write something and observe what elements of that you can adopt.
• Are the roles of others in the process clear? My ghostwriting clients are generally busy executives. They’re used to delegating and collaborating. So, as a ghostwriter, you end up working with a team, not just an individual. That’s fine so long as the team is small — at most three or four people — and everyone knows their role and takes it seriously. A process where the client’s colleagues just sort of review things on their own schedule without a clear idea of why, or how important their review is, is a process that needs clarification. That needs to be worked out with the ghostwriter, not just among the client and their team.
• Do the prices or the milestones need to be adjusted? If the project is going to be more work than you originally expected, or will take longer, then the payment terms need a closer look. This is one reason to do a smaller pilot project first; it allows everyone to reset their expectations for the budget and milestones for the full project.

What shouldn’t you change?

All freelancers have a core identity: the things they believe in and don’t want to change. Projects shouldn’t require you to change that core identity. If you have to be someone different to get the job done, then you’ll be unhappy and the work will be crap. That’s no way to earn a living.

In my case as a nonfiction writer, here are some elements of my core identity:

• Books I write, on my own or for clients, must above all serve the reader. Serving the author is important but secondary.
• Books should contribute to the world in a positive way.
• I will not write things I believe are wrong.
• Writing should be lively and interesting but not silly.
• Have a sense of humor. Wit makes books better.
• Clarity and logic should drive the organization of content.
• My writing tells the truth. Books I work on should contain no lies.
• We obey grammar rules. We obey mathematical rules.
• When we use the idea of others, we give credit. Where we use their words, we quote them and give credit.
• I listen to you, the client, carefully. I expect you to listen to me, too.
• Weekends, evenings, holidays, and vacation days belong to me. I sometimes work in these time periods, but that’s my decision.
• Use the Oxford comma.

If a client expects me to change any of this, we’re not a good match. (Okay, I guess I could compromise on the Oxford comma, but the rest of it is non-negotiable.)

Taken together, this tells you how to save your project (or not)

Here’s what this adds up to:

If it’s a good project, we have mutual respect, and you don’t need me to change who I am to complete it, I will work tirelessly to get it right. I will apply my creativity to creating a product and process that will work.

Otherwise, I’ll figure out how to wind things down and you’ll need to find someone else.

This makes sense for me. How about you?