Member Spotlight: Eric Braun

How did you land your first book ghostwriting project?

I’d been a developmental book editor for a couple decades, but I was in a rut. I was tired of the kind of projects I was getting, which was the kind of projects I’d built my career on! I’d long been attracted to ghostwriting, but I didn’t know how to start. So I went to a career counselor, and she helped me see that, if I didn’t want to go back to an office job (with a commute! and meetings! and a boss!), I was never going to break out of this rut unless I started to do this thing that I had heard about but did not want to do—network with people. She encouraged me, and I started to do it, and soon I realized that someone I’d worked with early in my career was now an established ghostwriter. I reached out to her, and she was amazing. Incredibly generous with her time and advice, encouraging, clear about how good the life is, and, “Oh by the way, I have this client I can’t take on right now, would you like me to send him your way?” You better believe I said yes. He was a DEI consultant, and I wrote his book for a terribly low fee—but I learned how to do it.

What is your favorite type of project or client?

I love working with content experts to build prescriptive nonfiction books with spine and character and charm that help people.

What’s your favorite question to ask clients during an interview?

When did you know this needed to be a book? In other words: Tell me about your inciting incident.

What are the best parts of this career?

Besides the obvious—which of course is taking naps whenever I want—the best part is the relationships I build. I feel so lucky to get to spend so much time with super-smart authors who are passionate about their topic. I learn a ton about those topics, which itself is cool, but I also love getting to know the clients. Sometimes they’re telling you really personal stuff, and it can be pretty intimate. You learn some of their stories, the things they care about, and how those stories intertwine with the story we’re telling in the book. It’s very rewarding—the trust we develop, the delivering of the book, both of us feeling great about how it turned out.

What’s one thing clients might be surprised to know about you?

I have a lot of plants and love caring for them.

How can people reach you?

Check out my website: heyericbraun.com