Member Spotlight: Alison Kilian

How did you land your first book ghostwriting project?
I was working in pharmaceutical communications in Brussels, Belgium, and the organization’s C-suite always turned to me (a native English speaker) for drafting their speeches, blogs, whitepapers, etc. I didn’t call what I was doing “ghostwriting” at the time, but that was technically the beginning! Thanks to my pharma background, my first book projects were in the healthcare space, an area that has since become my specialty.

What is your favorite type of project or client?
I love working with people in healthcare—they tend to be extremely passionate about what they do. I’m also a big fan of medical dramas, so I’m always intrigued by the stories healthcare professionals have to tell. With that said, the subject area is less important to me than the person. The dream client is anyone who is excited about the prospect of seeing their story take shape and committed to the process needed to make that happen.

What’s your favorite question to ask clients during an interview?
I like to push my clients to get into the more scenic and sensory details of their stories. They tend to just give me the bullet-point-style action beats of their experiences, and my job is to slow them down and help them create a scene on the page. I don’t want to just know that every Sunday was family dinner—I want to know what they ate, who cooked, how it smelled, what was talked about at the table, etc.

What are the best parts of this career?
The best part about ghostwriting is undoubtedly the people I get to meet. My clients span an interesting range of people and professions, so it never gets boring. I also adore the people I get to work with in publishing. It’s an industry of people who love what they do.

What’s one thing clients might be surprised to know about you?
I used to ghostwrite romance novels! I’ve been focusing on nonfiction for over a decade but in my earlier ghostwriting days, I also took on fiction projects, primarily romance. And yes, some of the books were steamy!

How can people reach you?
My website is a good starting point: https://www.ask-communications.com/. I am also always happy to connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonkilian/.