Are there differences between a ghostwriter and an author? With the advance of the information revolution – written content is now more available to us and easier to share than ever (e.g., printed materials, blogs, internet pages, e-books, social media, etc.), so naturally there is a demand for more writers!
But just because someone can write, doesn’t mean they have a story or important message to share and vice versa.
As a society, we are leaning more and more into the importance of storytelling, and ghostwriting has made it possible for many celebrities and world leaders to author content, share their story and connect with others in a compelling way.
So, if a ghostwriter writes the content – who is the author?
You may be familiar with the following commonly used definition of author: a writer of a book, article, or document (Oxford Dictionary).
However, depending on the context, author can also be defined as the originator of a plan or idea. This lends to the notion that the author is not necessarily the person who writes the book, article, or document, but rather the individual who has an idea or experience that they feel was worthy of being shared.
Here are a key differences between an author and a ghostwriter:
- the author is the individual who has lived the experiences, or created the ideas/key concepts that are being written about; in some cases, this is also the individual that writes the book, article, or document. This is the person whose name (or pseudonym) will ultimately be published on the final work.
- the ghostwriter is hired for their expertise in writing, they collect the required information from the author and convert it into a written format. The ghostwriter works in the background and their name is not included on the published work. While useful, it is not necessary for the ghostwriter to have proficiency on the subject matter they are writing about. A ghostwriter supports the author in sharing important messages, lessons and teachings that they may not have been able to eloquently express in a written format on their own.
There is also the concept of a co-author, who may work closely with the author in idea generation and/or writing. Unlike a ghostwriter, the co-author shares the limelight with the author and their name is mentioned as part of the published work.
In summary, the same way you are the author of your own life, whether someone writes their own story or hires a ghostwriter to do it for them – they are the author of that written work.
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Email: catherine@catherinenikkel.comNeed help telling your story in your own voice? Let’s make it happen. Schedule a consultation with me hereCatherine Nikkel is a content creator, ghostwriter and the founder of Mindful Media. She specializes in helping CEOs, entrepreneurs and influencers create copy that engages and converts. Her work has appeared in Forbes, Huffington Post, Yahoo!, Authority Magazine, FemFounder and more.
