Mfonobong Inyang: We Should Appreciate The Genius of Ghostwriting More

Many factors that contribute to creativity, service delivery, or outcomes often go unnoticed. It is like the popular African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” which suggests that in a highly communal society, a child’s parents aren’t only biological progenitors but also social influencers. It can then be extrapolated to mean, in a wider sense, that it takes input from different sources to successfully bring an idea to maturity or fruition.

For example, many of the songs we enjoy today took a village to produce. Beyond the music artists we commonly associate with popular songs, there are several key roles involved in the music industry: A&R (Artists and Repertoire), Executive Producers, Producers, BGVs (Background Vocalists), Session Musicians and Instrumentalists, Songwriters, if needed, Mixing and Mastering Engineers and Business Managers. Each of these roles plays a crucial part in the creation and success of a musical work. In modern music, these creative inputs are not only recognised in terms of awards but also rewarded financially for their commercial value. Hence, the conversation around split-sheets, publishing and royalties.

It takes a person who understands the rudiments of project management to appreciate when other people bring in value to an idea. This is very important because around these parts, we tend to rate control over consensus. Hence, it’s not uncommon for people wanting to have complete control of a small pie to trade a bit of that for consensus in concert with others, even when it means they will get a slice of a much bigger pie. This logic applies to many things in life, including ghost-writing services. Many people believe that if they don’t write a book themselves, they aren’t worthy to be called authors – nothing could be further from the truth.

Here are selected popular myths about ghostwriting that I want to debunk:

Only Celebrities, HNIs & Famous People Use Ghostwriters

There is this notion that only people with certain social status or economic class engage the services of a ghostwriter. That’s not true. Yes, some ghostwriters have built their brand to a level such that it’s more likely that people from a certain tax bracket can chat to them. However, ghostwriting is generally an equal opportunity service. The most important thing is for a story or book idea to be established. Before you get a quote from a ghostwriter, try to sell your vision first. This doesn’t necessarily mean you will get a pro bono service, but a ghostwriter who sees the bigger picture may be willing to give you a discount or concession just to bring your stories to life. Celebrities or famous people use ghostwriters for many reasons, not just because they can afford to, but at a certain level of their careers, they surround themselves with experts and specialists. People who have a lot to lose always go the extra mile to protect their brands, and they know that ghostwriting, in a sense, is an insurance policy, especially in an age of people being accused of plagiarism.

Only Lazy People Hire Ghostwriters

Sometimes, people who can cook very well still go ahead and hire private chefs; the same goes for driving. Many people struggle with the concept of hard work, meaning that they have to do everything themselves. In fact, hardworking people are those who know how to optimise their resources by maximising their strengths and outsourcing or delegating their weaknesses. Take it from someone who has been in the game for more than a decade: most of my clients are top shots – people who work their socks off at the very height of the corporate ladder. Time is a limited resource, and they know that writing a book themselves doesn’t yield the best ROI. The title of a ghostwriter morphs depending on the industry: we have speechwriters for public office holders, scriptwriters for movies, songwriters for music and so on. Again, at a certain level, people understand trade-offs and leverage. It’s just common sense.

Only Those Who Don’t Know How to Use AI Hire Ghostwriters

I say this with every sense of responsibility: it’s mostly people who aren’t exposed or widely read that share this sentiment. The idea that you can write a consequential book entirely with artificial intelligence is one of the worst pieces of advice anyone could sell you. Emphasis on consequential. If there is anyone who can use AI to write tons of books, it would be yours truly, but me sef no small. So I have nothing against the use of AI, but I also understand ethical use and legal jeopardy. Again, it’s people who have nothing to lose that talk like this; if you have built your reputation brick by brick, you will not replace the human brain with a bot. A certain author recently lost a $2 million publishing deal simply because the editors had a suspicion of artificial intelligence being used. For emphasis, he wasn’t found guilty of plagiarism, but the suspicion alone was enough for the deal to be withdrawn, even though he explained that he didn’t use AI to generate text but an open-source tool for research purposes. Some internet garbage will sound cute until you enter the big league, where you find out that plagiarism is one of the unforgivable sins of written communication.

Only You Can Write What Is In Your Head

This is not correct. A book idea may be originally yours, but executing it requires expertise you may not have. Trauma manifests in different ways. For example, if a person gets hurt or defrauded, they have a tendency to extrapolate that bitter experience to others who have never hurt or defrauded them. Ghostwriting, like other enterprises, can be very lucrative, and once money is involved, all manner of people will enter the chat, including crooks. One of the ways to know whether a person is a great ghostwriter or not is to get on a discovery call with them. This is so important to me that I do this for free for prospects because a ghostwriter isn’t just someone who you dictate words to; a ghostwriter’s first job is to get into your mind. Once a telepathy is established and your pattern of thought or style of concatenating words is recognised, then you know you’re in good hands. I know we live in a low-trust society, but don’t allow your bias to sabotage your possibilities. Great ghostwriters are collaborators who help bring your idea to life in the most excellent manner. If you want to position your book in such a way that people take you seriously, engage someone who has a well-documented history of writing visions in plain terms so that those who read may appreciate that great idea of yours.

It's All Write - Get my brand new book for content creators, freelancers and remote workers on my Selar Store. Hope Is Not A Strategy; Faith Is Not A Business Model is still available in bookshops. Mfonobong Inyang is a creative genius who works with top individuals and institutions to achieve their media, tech and communication goals. He is a much sought-after public speaker and consummate culture connoisseur who brings uncanny insights and perspectives to contemporary issues. As a consummate writer, he offers ghostwriting, copy-writing and book consultancy services. A master storyteller that brilliantly churns out premium content for brands on corporate communications, book projects, scripts and social media. A graduate of Economics – he speaks the English, Ibibio, Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa languages. He appears to be a gentleman on the surface but the rumours are true - he get coconut head! Reach out to me let us work together on your content project(s) - [email protected].