Confessions of a CEO Ghostwriter
By Henry DeVries
I have a confession to make.
After ghostwriting hundreds of books and articles for CEOs, I can tell you I once was tempted to kowtow and let them tell their story the same drab way: with too many facts, too many insights, and no overarching story. But that became, as the cliché goes, “the hill I was willing to die on.”
Because here’s the truth—readers are not moved by facts and figures. Take a cue from Hollywood, the “emotion” picture capital of the world. People are moved by stories that touch the emotional part of their brains.
In my work as a ghostwriter and as a freelance contributor to Forbes and the California Business Journal, I’ve seen firsthand that trying to persuade with logic alone falls flat.
If you’re a ghostwriter tasked with turning a CEO’s expertise into a compelling book or article, let me offer some hard-earned advice: stop writing words that only make people think.
Recently, an editor at Forbes told me that writers who can tell compelling stories need not worry about being replaced by AI.
To be a better storyteller, let one of the eight great stories be your guide (this was inspired by the classic book by British journalist Christopher Booker, The Seven Plots).
Human beings are hardwired for narrative. Across cultures and centuries, we return again and again to the same core story types. In my book Persuade With a Story!, I call them the eight great meta-stories: the monster, the underdog, the comedy solution, the tragic solution, the mystery, the quest, the escape, and the rebirth.
Every successful CEO book you admire fits one of these patterns—whether the author realizes it or not.
Your job as a ghostwriter is to figure out which one.
When you choose the right story structure, everything else gets easier. The message becomes clearer. The examples become sharper. And most importantly, the reader becomes engaged.
You also need to tell smaller stories within the overarching story. When it comes to these smaller stories, I confess that formulas are my writing friends. Here is my six-step formula for telling a tale:
One. Start with a main character. Every story starts with the name of a character who wants something. This is your client. Make your main characters likable so the listeners will root for them. To make them likable, describe some of their good qualities or attributes.
Two. Have a nemesis character. Stories need conflict to be interesting. What person, institution, or condition stands in the character’s way? The villain in the story might be a challenge in the business environment, such as the pandemic, tariffs, or new IRS regulations (the government is always a classic nemesis character).
Three. Bring in a mentor character. Heroes need help on their journey. They need to work with a wise person, such as your CEO. This is where you come in. Be the voice of wisdom and experience. The hero does not succeed alone, they succeed because of the help you provided.
Four. Know what story you are telling. Human brains are programmed to relate to one of eight great meta stories. If the story is about overcoming a huge problem, that is a monster problem story. If the company was like a David that overcame an industry Goliath, that is an underdog story.
Five. Have the hero succeed. Typically, the main character needs to succeed, with one exception: tragedy. The tragic story is told as a cautionary tale. Great for teaching lessons, but not great for attracting clients.
Six. Give the listeners the moral of the story. Take a cue from Aesop, the man who gave us fables like The Tortoise and the Hare (the moral: slow and steady wins the race). Another confession: I used to forget to include the moral. Don’t count on the reader to figure out the right moral to the story on their own.
Also, keep your stories, as one of my crusty magazine editors once said, “Light, tight, and bright.” Provide just enough detail to spark imagination, not overwhelm it. I like the adage:“Be brief, be brilliant, and be gone.”
Or to quote a Hollywood Classic, Ocean’s Eleven, “Don’t use seven words when four will do.”
So here is my closing confession: the best ghostwriters aren’t really writers at all. They are storytellers, which a Disney executive once told me is “a long and noble profession.”
A business leader, heading out the door for a speech, once asked me for advice. “Oh, it’s simple,” I said. “Just tell stories that make them think, laugh, and cry.”
Henry DeVries is the author, ghostwriter, or editor of more than 200 business books, including his international bestseller, How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett—now in China! He is the chief book architect and ghostwriter at Indie Books International in Oceanside, California.
