I've finished another edit. I've submitted another manuscript. That means I'm two-thirds of the way through my latest ghostwriting odyssey, with two novels of a middle-grade fantasy trilogy completed and one to go. Book One is due to be published this summer, with the sequels rolling out in 2016 and 2017 respectively. After finishing Book One, I … Continue reading Another Interview with the Ghostwriter

The novel I ghostwrote earlier this year will be published soon, under pseudonym. Today, I learned what that pseudonym is to be. It's a strange feeling, acquainting yourself with someone who doesn't exist … yet who is in many respects your own self. Like looking into a mirror and seeing a stranger staring back. The … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries – On Pseudonyms

Shortly before Christmas, I commenced ghostwriting a fantasy novel. Four months and 85,000 words later, the manuscript is finished. My work is done ... until I start on the sequel in September, that is. Before I turn my attention to my next project, I feel all of you who have stuck with me through this odyssey deserve some kind … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries – Final Entry

ONE DAY until submission! The manuscript is complete. Yes, four months after starting, and one day early, I've finished the fantasy novel I've been ghostwriting. All that remains is for me to compose an email to my client, attach the manuscript, and click Send. Do I feel good about that? What do you think? Today's final session has … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries 26 – Completion!

TWO DAYS until submission! Today, I haven't touched the manuscript at all. Even ghosts have to take time off occasionally.

THREE DAYS until submission! I haven't quite reached the peak of this ghostwriting mountain, but I have completed most of the final ascent. The steepest slopes are behind me. All that remains ahead is a short trek up the final ridge that ascends steadily to the summit. It doesn't look too arduous, but the ledges are precarious and it's a … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries 24

FOUR DAYS until submission! My ghostwriting marathon is nearly over. This morning, I dealt with all but the last ten pages of editorial notes on the MS. I had fewer issues to deal with than in previous chapters, although a couple of storyline tweaks meant rewriting several sections. A few tricky moments, but nothing terminal. … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries 23

FIVE DAYS until submission! My editing session this morning was smooth and strong, much like the coffee that fuelled it. Today's challenges included bringing an important secondary character a little more centre-stage (I'd inadvertantly sidelined him in the thick of the battle action). I also made a few changes in one chapter that needed foreshadowing … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries 22

SIX DAYS until submission! I had a better morning this morning, with two chapters edited before I descended into the bowels of the day job. In the narrative, the final battle has begun, which means my original prose had occasionally strayed away from my main characters' POVs and adopted a more omniscient, authorial perspective. It's … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries 21