Texas Ghost Writer Reveals Myths and Misunderstandings About What Ghostwriters Really Do

Texas ghost writer Sharon Dotson says myths and misunderstandings abound about her profession. “The life of a ghostwriter may be the most misunderstood job there is,” says Dotson.

Exactly what is a ghost writer? “We’re writers-for-hire, experienced professionals who create articles and books in the name of someone who pays us. People call me a ghostwriter because I am unseen – but I’m very much there.”

Dotson says one of the biggest myths circulating about ghostwriters “is that celebrities and movie stars are the only people who hire us. I hear this one all the time,” she laughs. “But that isn’t so. The fact is,” says Dotson, “in a state like Texas, a ghost writer gets most of her work from the business world – after all, this is not Hollywood.”

Small business owners are especially interested in hiring ghostwriters, she says. “Unlike big corporations, small companies don’t have the luxury of a professional writer on staff. So, if small companies need help writing articles for trade publications or newspapers, they call someone like me.”

Dotson says business ghostwriters write about everything. “One Texas ghost writer I know specializes in writing scholarly articles for medical journals. All of them are published with the bylines of the research physicians who hire her. She is a specialty ghost writer because she has to be conversant in all manner of obtuse medical terms – as well as know how to spell them correctly. She’s better at that than the doctors.”

Another problem when you’re a ghost writer,” says Dotson” is that some people feel guilty about hiring you. They sort of feel like they’re cheating. They’ll tell me, ‘I can’t sign my name to something somebody else wrote. That’s unethical!’”

Dotson says she tells them it’s unethical only if they believe the President of the United States and every member of the U.S. Senate and Congress is unethical.

“I don’t come right out and say this to people because I’m not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings or make them angry – but let’s be honest – writing requires know-how. And it requires talent. That’s why very few people write well enough to be paid for it. A professional ghost writer knows how to research a client’s business and industry, and then communicate that information convincingly in the client’s name.
“Besides, even if you’re a fantastic writer, how much time do you have and still keep your business operating? Let’s face it,” says the Texas ghost writer, “writing takes time as well as talent. Put another way,” she says, “ghost writers are handy to have around because they make the person who hired them look like they have the time and talent to do it themselves.”
Dotson says there are three reasons you hire a ghostwriter.

“You want to write something but you don’t have time to do it; you want to write something but you don’t have time to do it plus you hate to write; and you want to write something but you’re a poor writer.”

Dotson suggests asking the following questions when making a decision about hiring a ghost writer:

• How much experience does this writer have? Can the writer provide references?
• Can the writer provide numerous examples of his or her work? Does this work appear on the writer’s website?
• Can this writer listen carefully to my needs?
• Does this writer have the credentials to do the job?
• Is this writer willing to write “the way-I-want-to-sound?”

Texas ghost writer Sharon Dotson, a former newspaper reporter and magazine editor, owns Houston-based Bayou City Public Relations. For more information about ghostwriters and how they help business owners get more recognition with the written word, call her at (281) 859-9800 or visit the company website at www.bayoucitypr.com.


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