Why You’re Not Getting Responses from Ghostwriting Prospects and What to Do About It

I’ve had a few conversations with Association of Ghostwriters (AOG) members recently about job leads and how best to respond to increase your chances of hearing back.

Whether you’ve heard about a project through the AOG, ASJA, Author’s Guild, EFA, or through a colleague or agency, here are some recommendations to help your response be given serious consideration.

Keep in mind that the potential client generally has no idea how ghostwriting works, what the process looks like, and what skills and experience they should prioritize. So, the more educating you can do as you pitch your services, the better.

Specifically, here are some do’s and don’ts:

DO

Respond using the prospect’s email address listed in the form.

When AOG leads are shared from the Find a Ghostwriter form on the website, some members instinctively hit “Reply.” Unfortunately, their response then comes to me rather than the prospect. (The potential client shares their email address on the form itself.)

I try to let you know when that happens, but I get so many emails that I may miss some. Be sure that the prospect hears from you by checking that their email is in your “To” field. Otherwise, there’s no guarantee that they’ll see it.

Express interest

Explain why their topic intrigues you. Authors like to hear that you may be as excited about their book as they are. They infer that if you’re excited about it, you’ll give it your heart and soul and the finished product will be the best it could be.

Granted, that may or may not be true, but don’t just say that you want the work — tell them what it is about their idea that you want to learn more about. For example, if it’s a book about ADHD, do you know someone who has it? If it’s about horses, did you ride growing up? What is your connection?

Explain why you’re an excellent choice

Now is your opportunity to pitch your services, so tell them all about your experience, your successes, your satisfied clients, awards — you name it if it’s relevant. Even better, if you have an honor related to their topic, tell them!

For example, if the client is in agriculture and you did 4-H through high school, share that. Or if their business is headquartered in a city where you have ties, tell them that. Look for commonalities and point them out.

Make sure you answer all of the most common questions you hear from prospects right upfront.

Invite a phone or Zoom conversation

As a conclusion to your message, offer to jump on a call to talk about the prospect’s project. Not only does this signal your sincere interest, but it’s a call-to-action that can help you gauge how serious the potential client is.

In addition to these recommendations for what you should do, there are also some things I’ve seen ghostwriters do that I would advise against. These are the don’ts:

DON’T

Say “Call me”

Put yourself in the prospect’s shoes. They know very little about how ghostwriting works and they’re receiving dozens of responses from writers about their project; one recent AOG lead (who hired an AOG member) received more than 100. That’s overwhelming.

With so much competition, you need to hit hard from the first sentence. Don’t just suggest that you jump on a call to discuss their project. Why should they give you their time? Instead, tell them about your experience and why you’d be a strong choice.

Get their name wrong

When responding to an inquiry or request for information, make sure your greeting includes the prospect’s correct name.

I’m not sure if it’s because writers are being efficient and using copy-paste to fill in a standard response, but I’ve been surprised by how many times I’ve seen ghostwriters either misspell a prospect’s name or use the wrong name altogether. Don’t expect a response if you do that.

Send attachments

Unless you’ve been told that the potential client wants to see a résumé or writing samples at the outset, don’t send attachments. Some people won’t ever open them for fear it’s a virus.

A better option is a link to an online portfolio or a space on your website where your information resides.

In general, I strongly urge you to offer a response that states you’re very interested, includes a sentence or two about why you’re interested, another sentence or two about why you’d be an excellent choice, and then invites a follow-up conversation.

I suspect you’re going to be hearing back from more potential clients if you make these tweaks to your message or your process.