Writing-wise, there’s no difference, really. But in your association with your client, there is a world of difference.
Whether you’re the ghostwriter or co-author of a book, your job is to work with your client to get your messages across. It’s a collaboration. You can take their opinion and write the whole book yourself, if you have this degree of freedom. Or it can end up in a back-and-forth process: she gives you a draft, you modify it, and you send it back. She makes changes and additions and returns it. You edit the changes of it and add new material. And so it goes, each of you taking a turn until the final draft is done and you’re both satisfied with the end result. As a co-author or ghostwriter, you follow this process. Or develop whatever writing and review process works best for you and your client.
Where the difference comes in is how your client sees you. if you are the invisible and unknown writer behind the scenestechnically you are a ghost writer. if you are a publicly known collaborator of the authorthen you are considered a co-author.
The major distinction between the two roles involves a not-so-trivial matter called confidentiality. Some authors who hire professional writers don’t want others to know that they are getting help. It is a matter of image or perception. For various reasons, there is a genuine need to be perceived as the sole creator of the book. These authors will look for ghost writers who know how to be discreet. For other authors, confidentiality is not an issue, so having a visible co-author is perfectly acceptable.
A ghostwriter, then, must be adept at working behind the scenes. He must take confidentiality seriously, which means that he cannot tell people who he is writing for; he cannot reveal the name of his client or the details of the project. When the book is published, he cannot claim any ownership or association. On his resume, you can state generalities like “Ghost wrote a book on new gardening techniques.” But he cannot divulge the title of the book or the name of the author.
With a co-author, secrecy is not required. Since the co-author’s name appears on the cover next to the author’s name, there is no need to hide the collaboration. In their resume, the co-author is free to include the title of the book and the author.
Before you begin a book collaboration with a new client, find out what the confidentiality expectations are. Can you talk openly about the project, or does your client expect you to keep things secret forever? Knowing these conditions in advance will prevent you from putting your foot in the mouth and ruining your reputation. As a professional writer, it’s your job to work out all the terms, including confidentiality and whether you’re considered a ghostwriter or co-author, before you start writing.
