How I left journalism and doubled my salary – by accidentally becoming a ghostwriter
If you’d told me after I left university with my English Literature and Language degree that one day I’d be making a career out of writing books, I’d have believed it was a pipe dream. Becoming a ghostwriter wasn’t even on my radar because it wasn’t on anyone’s radar because it wasn’t a career path people knew about. Back then, my dream was clear: I was going to be a journalist.
So I did what you do when you want to make it in journalism: I cut my teeth at a local paper The Staines and Egham, got shortlisted for Young Journalist of the Year, and eventually landed jobs at Take a Break and The Sunday People. From there, I climbed up the women’s weekly ladder until I became an assistant editor.
Leaving journalism
The magazine world is nothing if not brutal. Redundancy struck not once, but twice in the space of two years (yes, I cried into a Pret sandwich). So I went freelance and wrote for The Guardian, The Mirror, The Telegraph and pretty much every women’s weekly you can name.
It was fabulous because I had the option of doing in-house shifts and also worked from home, staying pretty busy – until all of a sudden things changed. With the 2008 financial crash, freelancing turned into only being able to afford baked potatoes for dinner for weeks at a time. However, the idea of becoming a ghostwriter still hadn’t entered my mind.
‘I haven’t looked back since leaving journalism to become a ghostwriter.’
How I became a ghostwriter
Unexpectedly, my own plot twist happened. I was asked to ghostwrite Jade Goody’s final memoir, Forever in My Heart through an old contact at one of the newspapers I worked for. At the time, my understanding of ghostwriting was hazy at best. I knew celebs didn’t all bash out their own books in a café on their MacBooks, but I had no clue how the whole process involved – let alone the process of hiring a freelancer . Luckily for me, HarperCollins decided to take a punt on a complete unknown, which is how I landed my first ghostwriting job.
What followed was one of the most intense and heartbreaking projects of my life. Jade’s friends and family helped me piece together her final six months, while I was still grieving my own dad, who had died of cancer just months before. The book was emotional, raw, and—when it came out—an instant Sunday Times number one bestseller. Suddenly, I wasn’t just a journalist anymore. I had become a ghostwriter.
Securing an agent and ghostwriting book deals
Publishing is not an easy industry to exist in and I immediately had my bubble burst. A literary agent snapped me up, promised me the world but then ditched me by email after trying to sell a novel idea I had. When I tried to speak to her about the decision all I got was an out of office reply.
But instead of giving up, I found another agent, got another book deal, and within 18 months had four more titles under my belt (two of them were Sunday Times bestsellers).
Getting fair pay as a ghostwriter
That’s when I realised: ghostwriting wasn’t a side hustle. It could be a full-on career. So I set up a website, made contracts (thank you, fellow ghosts, for the advice), and figured out a payment structure that worked (A pro top is this: thirds work best—one at the start, one halfway, one on delivery). I also discovered private commissions often paid better than mainstream publishing deals, and that you don’t need to know a subject inside out before starting to write about it.
In fact, going in fresh helps, because you’re writing for readers who are just as new to it as you are. Over the years I have become an ‘amateur expert’ in all fields from the Tour de France, the Nigerian banking system, the illegal arms trade, how to build a business and even writing life from the perspective of a pug dog!
Ghostwriter: The best vareer you’ve never heard of
Fast forward to today and I’ve written over 30 books. My work’s been nominated for awards, hit Sunday Times and Amazon bestseller lists, and one book has even been turned into a Netflix film. I’ve written for billionaires, reality TV stars, broadcasters, celebrities, entrepreneurs, abuse survivors, doctors, psychologists, business owners,—and many utterly ordinary people with extraordinary stories. I specialise in memoir and autobiography, but branched out to self-help, business books, and survivor stories.
Ghostwriting isn’t an easy industry to break into. You need determination, curiosity, and the ability to connect with people who often are not sure what they want to say or how they want to say it. But it makes complete sense that former journalists often make the best ghostwriters and once you’ve got a few books under your belt, the possibilities are endless.
‘Ghostwriting fits around school runs, dinner, and deadlines, all while earning about double–or more– what I made as a freelance journalist.’
Are you a journalist interested in becoming a ghostwriter?
Given the recent redundancy announcements sweeping the publishing industry, many journalists may be considering new career paths. Since leaving journalism to become a ghostwriter, I can honestly say I’ve never looked back. The best part? It allows me to balance a busy family life. Ghostwriting fits around school runs, dinner, and deadlines, all while earning about double—or more—what I made as a freelance journalist. And this is for a career I didn’t even know existed when I started.
If you’d like to learn more about becoming a ghostwriter, get in touch to find out about our Ghostwriting Masterclass. The course features interviews with bestselling ghostwriters sharing invaluable tips on breaking into the industry. From landing your first client to running a ghostwriting business and managing contracts, the Masterclass covers everything you need to know. Contact us today – we’d love to hear from you!