Member Spotlight: Jeffrey Raderstrong

How did you land your first book ghostwriting project?

My boss at the time had been interested in writing a book, and reached out to a hybrid publisher, who connected her with a ghostwriter. I had been writing in my boss’s voice for several years at that point (for op-eds and blogs and similar written products), but I did not yet fully understand what I had been doing was “ghostwriting.” When she started working with this ghostwriter, we quickly realized that I was a better fit for helping my boss write the book than the other ghostwriter. I essentially re-wrote the book for her to be more aligned with her voice and her thought leadership. After that book was released, we were able to secure another book deal with a traditional publisher, which I also ghostwrote, and that book had much larger success – helping her meet her yearly revenue targets in just three months and being shortlisted for an Andy Award.

What has been your secret to building a steady stream of ghostwriting clients?

 I’m still working on the “steady” part! But I have been able to cobble together a decent pipeline through referrals as well as connections to agencies and publishers like Reedsy, Kevin Anderson and Associates, and Amplify.

What do you wish clients understood about the ghostwriting process?

 For my clients, which are mostly business leaders, they do not fully understand how much of book writing is actually a process of leadership coaching and discovery, almost more like a mix of strategy planning and storytelling. Much of the time we spend is figuring out what the client wants to say, and why, and how that connects to what they want to achieve with their business. I find that this process gets clients more of an ROI, but many people struggle to get into that mindset.

How would you describe your favorite type of project and client?

 Someone who is collaborative and iterative. To find a client’s voice, or to co-create that voice with them, as well as to determine their unique thought leadership, we need to be able to work together quickly and through open communication. Some people I’ve worked with have sent me an outline and told me to write the book from that – no communication necessary. I can certainly do that, but I find a deeper partnership, with more feedback, helps me create a better product and also deliver more value for the client.

What are the best parts of this career?

Getting to work with such fascinating people and learning about so many different subjects that I would have never had any exposure to without this job.

How can people reach you?

Check out my website, www.raderstrong.com, and sign up for updates from my blog, where I post regularly about the craft of writing and ghostwriting.