Conundrum
Maybe you have the answer
Ghostwriting Professional Designation Program (GPDP), comprising nearly 80 individual lessons on the art, psychology, politics, professionalism, and business of ghostwriting books, is the only comprehensive, award-winning direct path into the rewarding, lucrative world of professional book ghostwriting.
The curriculum is unique, what with its emphasis on mindset transitions, recognizing and manipulating human nature, thought exercises for getting inside another person’s head, and project managing books’ myriad facets.
It doesn’t teach writing per se, but it does provide a plethora of processes and insights for writing nonfiction, memoir, and fiction.
And while the program isn’t about marketing books, since being an elite ghostwriter requires understanding the full scope of the industry, we do dive into the inner-workings of supply chains, marketing realities, and promotion strategies.
My team at Wambtac Communications LLC (WCLLC) and I have always fought an uphill battle when it comes to filling the next year’s GPDP student roster, because most talented and experienced writers don’t wanna be ghostwriters. I learned that back in the 1990s, when a ghostwriter named Dick Coté made it his business to find all the full-time ghostwriters in the country. He was sure he’d find hundreds, if not thousands.
I was the last he discovered, number forty-five. Today, New York literary circles claim there are no more than 200, 250 professional book ghosts at the most.
But why??
At any given time, millions of people work as writers, and more than 2 million are published authors. If over 5 million professional nurses are out there helping people who don’t feel well and nearly 76,800 car dealerships out there helping people find the economy, midsized, or luxury vehicle of their choice, why aren’t there more than 250 professionals ghosts out there helping people fulfill their literary dream, leave their societal mark, or create their archival timestamp?
It’s not for lack of need. An estimated 4.2 billion potential authors struggle to find skilled book ghostwriters. But let’s say that figure is statistical hyperbole, which is likely the case. We in the biz know that 81% of the adult American public feels they have a book in them, that only 10% of them are seriously considering writing one, and that at most, 10% of those folks likely have the desire and means to hire a professional ghostwriter. Roughly 260 to 280 million Americans are over 18 right now. Let’s play with 270 million.
81% of 270 million = 218,700,000 (218.7 million)
10% of 218,700,000 = 21,870,000 (21.87 million)
10% of 21,870,000 = 2,187,000 (2.187 million)
My potential market = 87,480 potential clients (equally divided amongst us 250)
Not that many, huh? Of course, I can only ghost three, maybe four titles per year. And this being 2025 and my reach being global....
Some AI sources (questionable at best) project the global ghostwriting services market to reach $1.2 billion by 2027. That’s more than I have in all my checking and savings accounts combined.
Bottom line: the demand for professional ghostwriters far exceeds the supply.
So why don’t more people want to be professional book ghostwriters? Could it be they just don’t like helping other people? Nah, that doesn’t seem reasonable.
Is it because, as some wag said, there’s no direct path to learning how to ghostwrite? Uh, may I direct your attention to the first line of this article? I’ll repeat it here:
Ghostwriting Professional Designation Program (GPDP), comprising nearly 80 individual lessons on the art, psychology, politics, professionalism, and business of ghostwriting books, is the only comprehensive, award-winning direct path into the rewarding, lucrative world of professional book ghostwriting.
Nope; lack of a direct path ain’t the reason, either. Is it because book ghosts don’t/can’t really make decent money? That’s only true for people who think ghosting means doing all the work without getting any of the credit. Yeah, there are lots of those folks. I see them on various social media sites bemoaning their fate.
But they’re not professional ghostwriters. They’re at-will, work-for-hire employees with no benefits who think writing a good book is the key to landing a good publishing deal. Freelancers, damn it, and proud of it. Been there, nearly starved doing that.
Certified Ghostwriters and pros like me and those in the NY literary circles do not freelance; we provide high-end editorial services to our select clientele. Lots of them specialize in leadership books and C-Suite chronicles, because they’re relatively easy to land, write, and game onto the traditional bestseller lists. Others prefer to ghost memoirs, health-and-fitness, relationship, self-help, or true crime titles, all of which are in perpetual demand. Those fees run anywhere from $40,000 to $85,000 or $95,000 per book.
I just finished two projects that earned a combined $149,000. So no, it’s not because you can’t make decent money.
So why the resistance to becoming a professional ghostwriter? We enjoy an elite industry identity. We set our own price and terms. We work with clients who value our expertise.
It’s pride, isn’t it?Pride of association, of accomplishment, of authorship, of exclusivity, coupled with that number one opportunity killer, expectation of deference. Those apocalyptic horsemen kill off more careers—and manuscripts—than anything else I’ve ever encountered.
I mean, come on: we both know you can bounce nouns against verbs. We both know you’d love to earn serious money working with words, detangling content puzzles, sussing out hidden meanings, and bringing heartfelt, penetrating, powerful, or just plain fun literary works to life. We both know you could do the job if you wanted to do the job.
Or maybe it’s that you don’t wanna let go of your familiar and comfortable habits. You can’t abide the idea that all that you know isn’t all there is to know. You’re just not up to stretching your gray matter, expanding your perspective, or challenging your own belief system(s). Right? Really??
So even though you actually do like helping people, and you do have better-than-average wordsmith abilities, and you do (theoretically) love acquiring new knowledge, and you do want to live life on your own terms... learning professional book ghostwriting is too big a leap. Too much of a risk. Too hard.
Okay, I get it. Sorry to disturb, as the British would say. Just remember, though, I’m getting up there. When my time is over—when I head off to that great big library in the sky—who’s going to be the new number 250 elite ghostwriter... if not you?
In the event you want to learn whether professional book ghostwriting is right for your future, opt in for WCLLC’s Holiday Collection at https://wambtac.gumroad.com. It’s not about writing. It’s not even about editing. It’s a first peek into the $150 billion global book business that desperately needs new ghostwriters.
P.S. The above article has 1.6% passive sentences. Do you know how I pulled that off? A professional book ghostwriter would.