How I Write, Coauthor, or Ghostwrite a Book

 

By Robert W. Bly

 

Clients who want me to write, coauthor, or ghostwrite a book with or for them want to know the steps involved. They are as follows:

 

1. If you have written all or part of a book manuscript, or even just notes, or bits and pieces, send it all to me at rwbly@bly.com. (Please don't do this unless we have already talked and agreed to work on the project together.)

 

2. Also send me any and all background material and research you have collected, e.g., clippings of articles, Web sites, reference books, interviews, videos, audiotapes, etc.

 

3. We will then have a long talk to flesh out the topic, slant, audience, and contents of the book. After that, I will submit a detailed table of contents for your approval.

 

4. Once the table of contents is approved, I will begin writing the book if you are self-publishing it. If you want to sell it to a trade publisher, I can write a book proposal and, if needed, one or two samples chapters.

 

5. As I write the book, I may call or email you to ask questions from time to time. The more thoroughly and quickly you respond, the better the book and the faster it gets done.

 

6. I will submit the first draft of each chapter for you to read and comment on as soon as it is ready. You can give me your comments over the phone or via e-mail.

 

7. The best method of making revisions is to type your comments into the Word file of my draft using the Word Tracking feature. (I can help you with this if you are unfamiliar with it.) Or you can simply write your comments on the manuscript and mail it back to me.

 

8. As I revise the current chapter, I will also be writing the next one.

 

9. I submit all chapters to you and revise them this way. Once all the chapters are finished, I put it together into a manuscript for the completed book. You get this as a Word file so you can print your own book or submit it to your editor at the publishing house.