ASJA’s Chicago Conference November 17 (“Spotlight on Ghostwriting”) and 18 (“Boosting Your Content IQ”). Sign up for one or both days. Register here.
Jenna Glatzer has written/ghostwritten 28 books and hundreds of articles for magazines and online publications. While her main interests are biographies and memoirs as well as health, parenting and business leadership, she also enjoys writing for children and humor. Jenna, a single mom who juggles various award-winning projects with home maintenance challenges, took a few minutes out of her hectic day to talk with ASJA member Pamela DeLoatch.
Ghostwriter, collaborator, co-author—what do you call yourself and is there a difference in those titles?
I don’t draw the line all that strictly—they can call me an editor as far as I care! Anything in the third person perspective where I’ve added my own thoughts and research is collaborating or co-authoring, but when I’m writing in that person’s voice, it’s ghostwriting. The line does get pretty blurry.
You started your career as an author but then ventured into ghostwriting. How did that happen?
By accident…. I had panic disorder and agoraphobia. As I was going through that, I was at a point when I thought I would never leave the house again and my life was basically over. I was searching for positive stories about people who had been as low as I had and had overcome it and wasn’t finding anything. So when I did come out of it, I didn’t want to just share my success story but also that of others. So I put out a call for people with anxiety disorders and heard back from those who had overcome social anxiety, OCD and more. I put together an anthology, which was released by a mid-size publishing house.
One of the people who read that book was Jamie Blyth from the first season of The Bachelorette. He contacted me and said he, too, had overcome social anxiety/panic disorder and wanted to tell his story. I’d never written anything with someone before, but said, “If you’re willing to take a chance, I will.” We sold the book to McGraw-Hill and the agent and the editor for that project referred me for other work. It became word of mouth from there almost immediately. At this point, I’m lucky that I get to pick and choose projects. I know where my sweet spot lies —books with inspirational, gritty, overcoming kind of themes.
But ghostwriting is much more than organizing someone’s thoughts and ideas. How do you make sure you’re getting to the real details—ones that the author may not even realize are there?
A lot of my job is to help steer conversations into the most interesting parts of a story and to get away from the minutiae. Especially in a memoir, people think they have to tell their story from the day of their birth. I do a lot of listening and try to keep the author focused on what will keep the reader turning the pages. The reader needs only what’s relevant, but they need very deep details on that.
I wrote a book with Susan Markowitz, whose son was kidnapped and murdered, and in court trials, she had to relive the events over and over. She was numb. In retelling the story to me, she was not emotional about it; she was giving me the facts. Part of the challenge was: how do I bring back the emotions without traumatizing her? You have to ask, “At that moment, where were you standing when you heard the news?” and “What were you feeling?”
It’s difficult to do but she was amazing. That’s the kind of thing I have to tap into for the reader.
Part of your success may be in your selection of clients. How do you know whose “ghost” you want to be?
I primarily work with the five major publishers and generally avoid people whose books could only be self-published. It’s very rare that a self-published individual knows what they’re getting into, and I don’t want to disappoint anyone if they pay my fees and then sales are low. No matter who I work with, I try to keep it very aboveboard and truthful. I’ve been at this for almost 20 years and have a pretty good sense now of what publishers will buy. When selecting clients, I ask myself: Can I sell the book? Am I really interested in the topic? Even if it might be successful, the subject could be very dry or against my beliefs. Also do I like the person enough to get intimately involved with them for six months to a year?
You ghostwrote Celine Dion’s biography. OMG! How did you get over “celebrity awe”?
I can’t say that I did! She was amazing. She is one of the greatest people I’ve ever had the chance to meet. I was terrified. I was just coming out of my agoraphobia when I started her book and she was so maternal, kind and wonderful. You forget she’s a huge celebrity because she doesn’t act like one. She acted more like a family friend.
When I do celebrity books I tell myself, I’ve got to get to the real story. What are the key points? I try to talk to the celebrity’s fans to see what they want to learn. And fans turned out to be great supporters who bought books! So you want them to be happy with the outcome. It’s important to draw them in.
What’s the most surprising thing about your ghostwriting career?
Initially I expected to feel a little like someone shoved into the background. But that hasn’t been the case at all. Part of it is my clients; they’re the nicest group. They’re so kind to me and publicly thankful. I feel very appreciated for the work that I do. And the pay can be excellent.
What skills do you need to be a successful ghostwriter?
It’s not something beginners can get into—you should have already published a book or two of your own. Along with great writing skills:
- Be a good listener and be willing to poke and prod when you need information.
- Be organized with your time because you’re responsible for the project meeting its deadlines.
- Have a collaborative spirit because you’re working with publishers, agents, editors and copyeditors.
- You may end up in a mediating role—when a client doesn’t really understand the publishing business and you need to explain it to them, or when they want take something in a direction the editor won’t approve of or isn’t compelling for the reader.
- Learn how to fact check, because the accuracy of everything the client tells you regarding names and dates is on you. And people’s memories can get fuzzy. For self-help health books, you will need to be able to understand medical journals and assess studies. There’s a lot of research.
Editor’s note: This is the first of a series about ASJA—rock star writers who also happen to be members of ASJA. Know of anyone who might be qualified or should be profiled (including yourself)? Please email suggestions to ASJAConfidential@gmail.com.
Realizing she did not have a hard enough nose to be Woodward or Bernstein, Pamela DeLoatch found her passion in B2B and B2C marketing content writing. With a journalism degree, an MBA and 10+ years freelance experience, she specializes in writing white papers, articles, blog posts and case studies for companies focusing on customer and employee engagement.