Editors, ghostwriters, and trust

The relationship between an author and their collaborator — editor or ghostwriter — can be challenging at first.

The author is putting their creative vision in the hands of a stranger who is unfamiliar with their content and then asking for criticism. This is a very vulnerable position to be in.

There’s risk for the editor or ghostwriter, too. You could find yourself in a relationship with an author whose content is lame, repellant, or stolen. Even if their topic and writing are great, you might find them personally unpleasant to deal with. (All authors have quirks, but some have more extreme qualities that make them intolerable.) Parachuting out of a project that’s already begun is likely to be financially challenging, and could leave you with an unhappy client whose complaints will damage your reputation.

How to generate trust

Mutual trust is the key. If the author trusts their collaborator, they’ll be open suggestions and constructive criticism and will respond in ways that benefit the book. If the editor or ghostwriter trusts the author, they know that they’ll be treated with respect and that the author will work within the process, rather than subvert it.

But as we all know, trust is earned. How does that happen?

The first step happens before you even meet. You must curate your online persona to promote trust.

Editors and ghostwriters need to post as much as possible online about how they work. Your web site and your LinkedIn profile are two places where your best work should be on display. That’s doesn’t mean curating those places to focus on selling. It means being clear about the kind of work you do, with samples. For me, that means posting daily on my blog, sharing what I do on LinkedIn, maintaining my author profile on Amazon, writing books on writing, and making a sample book proposal free to download. If you want to know who I am, you can easily find out a lot with minimal research. All editors and ghostwriters should be able to say the same.

This also applies to potential author clients. When you connect with an editorial professional, they’re going to check you out on LinkedIn and the web. Your profile and web site should clearly communicate who you are and what you’ve done. I avoid working with clients whose online presence is mysterious or sloppy.

Go slow and try each other out.

What’s next for developing trust? Just as with any other relationship, you don’t jump into a full embrace right away.

Start with a free discovery call. The editor or ghostwriter’s job on that call is, first, to listen. Answer questions. Explain your process and your prices. If an editor or ghostwriter isn’t generous in the first exploratory call, that’s a sign that they’re not going to be a good partner.

On that call, the potential author client must also be organized and clear about what they want. Remember, the editor or ghostwriter is learning about you, too.

Your first project together should be something small. For example, get editorial feedback on one chapter. Or work together to write up the author’s idea.

Editorial professionals should do these exploratory projects economically, but not for free. Since this initial effort sets the stage for the editor or ghostwriter’s value to the client, it sets a precedent that they will be fairly compensated. This is also where you work out (or realize you can’t work out) relationship issues.

How to fail cheaply

My experience is that this get-started-slow approach sets the groundwork for a productive, trusting relationship. In 98% of the projects I do, that’s how things get started in a positive direction.

But starting slow also helps you to fail relatively painlessly when necessary.

I can think of two recent examples where the relationship fell apart after the initial effort.

In one, I learned that the author’s content was morally objectionable to me, and their process was sloppy and abusive. It rapidly became clear that this was not someone I wanted to work with, so I bowed out. That wasn’t great for my reputation, but I am certain that I avoided a long and painful experience. (I also got the impression that this client was used to people having trouble working with them, which reinforced for me that I’d made the right choice.)

In another, I agreed to start work on ghostwriting a memoir, even though that’s not my usual specialty. The client was dissatisfied with the initial work and pulled the plug. I think it would have been a bad match, but we managed to end things on positive terms and I’ve told the client I’m available for some free advice as they work through the process with someone else.

The result of all of this is that I’m generally happy. My clients trust me, I get to work on projects worth doing, and I escape quickly when it’s going to be a hassle. And my reputation is, for the most part, quite good.

Trust is a gift. Working without it is excruciating. So it’s worth some extra effort to develop it carefully with everyone you work with.