Discovering Your Client’s Voice While Ghostwriting

It is not easy writing for someone else. This is because you have to assume the personality of the person you are writing for. There are a lot of writers who are very talented in and are actually living off being a ghostwriter. However, anyone who has the talent for writing can be a ghost writer. The key ingredient to be successful as a ghostwriter is discovering your client’s voice while ghostwriting.

Discover Your Client’s Speaking Style and Personality

According to popular ghostwriter Claudia Suzanne a person’s style of writing is a reflection of his speaking style and personality. Some people talk in short sentences while others use a lot of descriptive language when they speak. These things, according to Suzanne will reflect in how the person writes.

Discover More Through Research

Knowing your client well is very important for you to know his speaking style as well as his personality therefore it is important that you do your homework and research who the client really is. Before you write for that person, it is best if you can get to know the person.

To do this, you can read articles and other materials that the person has written in the past. However, if his past writings is not enough for you to get to know the client the next best thing for you is to speak to the person himself so you can listen to his voice and analyze the manner he speaks.

Discover the Language They Use

There are some people who use specific language when they speak. Again, this will be reflected in their writing style. This means that when you speak to your client, you have to be familiar with the type of words that the client uses in his speech and use them when you write for the client.

For instance, the client could be very formal even when he speaks and uses formal forms of words such as “silverware” instead of “spoons and forks.” This will tell you to write using formal words instead of informal language even when you are asked to write in a friendly tone. Deviating from the person’s speaking style is an easy giveaway that a ghostwriter wrote the piece and not your client.

Discover Through Feedback

Once you are comfortable that you have discovered the voice of your client, you can go ahead and write a draft of the material your client asked you to write. Once the draft is finished, send a copy to the client and ask him for feedback specifically on your writing style and how it fits with his own style. For clients who have dealt with ghostwriters in the past, you might not need to be specific about the type of feedback you want.

However, for those who are new at having ghostwriters, you will need to guide them through their feedback.
You can ask them if the draft you sent is how he would write the material and ask how close the style you adapted to his own style.

Ghostwriting can be a lucrative source of income for writers like you. Make sure however that you know how to reach out to your client, study his writing style and adapt his style to your writing. If you are new at ghostwriting you might find it difficult at first to let go of your own writing style in favor of that of a client. However, as you go along you will learn how easy it is and that you really do not have to abandon your own style of writing.

All you have to do is to incorporate your client’s voice and make sure that his voice is visible in the material you write.

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This article is a guest post by Carl Smith. Carl Smith is an avid tech blogger, web development and internet entrepreneur. Follow Carl @ Zinzz chat.

Discovering Your Client’s Voice While Ghostwriting