5 Things I Will Not Do As A Ghostwriter and Book Editor (That I recommend you don’t do as an author)
As an editor, I hear a lot of weird requests. Some I can handle, and others that are a hard NO!
As a ghostwriter and copy/book editor, I do get a lot of authors with mildly weird requests for how they want their book written, structured, formatted or edited. Oftentimes, that’s okay.
I can roll with the punches, and generally, they’re pretty easy to implement. Just because I wouldn’t do it doesn’t mean I can’t integrate it into their book.
But there are the occasional times when I’m asked to do something that’s definitely a hard no from me. There are just a few things that I do not recommend authors do, no matter the circumstances. There is a big difference between what you do on social media and even for your brand and what you can get away with in a published book.
I’ve said this before, and I will say it again… Writing a book is not a marketing scheme.
It’s not a longer version of a blog or social media post. You can’t just take what you say in a webinar and slap a “buy now” at the end and expect it to be a bestseller. That’s not how books work. That’s not why people buy books.
5 Things I will not do as a ghostwriter/book editor (and mistakes I see authors make):
Ask for their ghostwriter (or editor) to write in all lowercase or use no/limit punctuation
This is probably my biggest no. I’ve heard before, “using all lowercase is part of my brand.” Great, I wouldn’t recommend doing this even as part of your brand or on social media, but you can get away with a lot more there. In a published book? Nope. You cannot get away with this.
I will definitely not be writing a book in all lowercase or without punctuation. Grammar has rules for a reason. That is to ensure the reader’s experience is easy and enjoyable. If you have a 500-page book that is all lowercase or is missing a lot of punctuation (I see you anti-comma people!), that will create friction with your readers.
If your book is difficult to read, your readers will immediately DNF it. Books that don’t get finished or are returned don’t get reviews, and if they do… they’re probably negative, which will definitely impact your sales. Using only lowercase or not using proper punctuation leads to confusion for your readers. They have to slow down to understand and process what you’re saying. If they have to focus too much, they’re immediately going to be turned off.
Don’t do this if you’re writing a book or having a ghostwriter write it. Your job to to make their reading experience as easy and friction-free as possible. Sticking to this part of your brand is less important than your reader getting through your book, getting a good result, or enjoying it and then leaving a good review.
2. Using self-editing as the final editing
So, I know this is not something that I would do specifically, but it’s definitely something I do not recommend that authors do. I completely understand the challenges of indie authors. Editing services can be expensive, and not all editors are created equal. No matter what service you buy (editing, social media, VA, graphic design, etc.), you’ll run into a variety of skillsets and pricing packages. Some that are worth the price and others that are not.
But I don’t think book editing is a luxury; I think it’s a necessity.
I’m also an avid reader, and I’m on BookTok. So, I see a lot of books in different books; some that are super professional and some that you can tell the author didn’t take as much time as care. There are many people who want to be authors and pour their heart and soul into their book, but there are also a lot of authors who want to get a book out as quickly as possible.
Self-editing, I see, as the first step. You should definitely do a read over before sending it to your editor. But the problem with only doing a self-edit before you send it out into the world is that no matter how good an editor you are, you will miss things. I learned this in university—Since you wrote it, you know what you wrote and what it’s supposed to say. You’re also emotionally invested in your book. Since you know what it’s supposed to say, your brain naturally misses common mistakes. You need an objective person who is able to look for both common mistakes, but also analyze it for flow and continuity.
Editors hire editors. Self-editing is the start of the process, not the whole process. If you want to put out a professional book, that’s as good as you can get it… hire the editor. Trust me.
3. Use ChatGPT to edit
I have heard about this a lot (either from the authors… or heaven forbid, the editors). I don’t recommend it on either front. It feels like there are a lot of authors who are trying to get things out quickly. But here’s the thing about writing a book: you should enjoy the process. Writing a book is so cool; not everyone can do it. Take your time to do it right, to make it as good as you can, and don’t take shortcuts.
There are just some things that AI should not be included in. I feel like book editing is definitely one of those things. Book editing requires a human touch. There is so much more that goes into it that a robot won’t pick up. It doesn’t pick up the emotion or the overall feeling from the flow and structure. It can’t pick up the subtle nuances of character development or narrative arc, or how effectively concepts transition in a non-fiction.
Proofreading is not the only part of book editing, even in a non-fiction book. There are some really great programs that help you proofread that use AI technology and that’s fine. It’s a good way to ensure you avoid typos. But ChatGPT is not your be-all-end-all.
I will not use ChatGPT in my editing practice because I just my brain and the feelings I get while reading the manuscript more than I trust the robot. As an author, I suggest finding a real human editor… Not ChatGPT.
4. Fully write the book
Yes, as a ghostwriter, I do write for people. But I will not have a client simply give me a topic and write it entirely on my own. That is not ghostwriting… That is authoring.
Ghostwriting is a collaboratie effort. It still takes work and effort on the part of the author. I’m not just going out and taking my own ideas and letting you slap your name on it. We work together to get your ideas onto the page.
Sometimes people love sending me content they’ve created and written, an outline with bullet points, voice memos, a full video recording. The more information you send, the better the book will be. Combine all of these. If I can read about your ideas but also listen to you speaking (I like to write the way you speak), I can make sure what I write is accurate and thorough.
I don’t write the entire book from scratch with no input from you. A ghostwriter takes your knowledge, content, systems, ideas, etc. and shapes them into a book. There are some people who can speak better than they can write. So, they love making video recordings or voice memos and allowing me to turn them into organized and accurate content.
But you can’t just give me a topic and say, “Now write me a book!” That’s not ghostwriting.
5. Write a book just as a marketing ploy
Here is probably my biggest pet peeve currently. People are “writing books” just so they can use them as a marketing ploy. I’ve seen ads saying, “If you wrote a book but didn’t make a course, you did it wrong.” Give me a break.
Here’s the thing: Books can definitely help you market your business, but when you don’t have a desire to be an author and you write it just to use it as a giant sales page your book ends up not being valuable.
Typically, people who are only using it as a marketing ploy are far more likely to let ChatGPT write it for them (gag me) or write it quickly. This is an issue for two reasons. 1. No one wants to read a robot written book. They’ll know. If you’re not willing to put in the work to write it, chances are they’re not willing to put in the work to read it. 2. The likelihood of people DNF-ing your book is high. If they don’t finish it they’re not getting to the end where you “sales pitch.” So, you’re book ends up not even being effective for marketing.
Also, I find that books made just as a marketing ploy hoping to sell their high ticket services end up being written more like a social media post. You get to the end and realize you haven’t actually gotten any value or results, they just spent 15 chapters convincing you of something. I’ve read a number of books like this that are like you need to do XYZ and then you make it to the end and realize they didn’t tell you how to do XYZ, they just convinced you that XYZ was the best option.
People aren’t buying books simply to be sold at the end. That’s not how blogs or books work. That’s how social media posts work. Social media posts are trying to get your buy-in so they can sell to you. But people read blogs or books to find answers or to learn things. They need to give value. People need to feel like they got the result the book promised. If the book title is, “Make a million dollars in 30 days,” they need to at least have the actual tools and action steps to be able to start working toward making a million dollars. Don’t just say, “If you implement our Millionaire Framework, you’ll reach a million dollars in 30 days.” That gives your readers no real information. They don’t know what your millionaire framework is. Readers aren’t interested in being convinced of the value of your millionaire framework for 10 pages, they’re there for the juicy details.
If you don’t want to give the actual information in your book, then a book is probably not the right move for you. That might be harsh, but so is charging someone the price of a book and giving them no real information. A book is not just for marketing your business. There are lots of other avenues to do that, but if you’re going to write a book… Give your readers the juicy information. Otherwise, you’re looking at some not great reviews.
As an editor and ghostwriter (and reader!) I’ve seen a lot. There are some things that are a no from me and an “I definitely don’t recommend that” to you.
While I’m highly supportive of peoples dreams of becoming an author, just remember: Writing a book takes time. Slow down, enjoy the process, and do whatever you can to ensure your book (whether that’s fiction or non-fiction) is professional, valuable, and as good as you can get it. Don’t skip steps, don’t try to do it as quick as possible (but don’t doddle! I see that WIP), and surround yourself with the right people. Editors and publishers can be increidbly helpful, even if you’re self-publishing.
My suggestion… Make sure your book is top-tier before you publish it. Don’t put it out to the world with just a self-edit/AI-edit because you might accidently leave the ChatGPT prompt in it. Your readers might make it a game to see if they can find the typos and continuity errors.
Your job is to give value and enjoy the process!
Have you written a book and it’s time to get it edited?
Get your baby professionally edited. You worked hard, and you don’t want all of that hard work to go down the drain because you tried to take a short cut with editing. Let’s make your manuscript a masterpiece!
I have one spot remaining in 2025 for a full book edit (proofreading, copy editing, developmental editing, etc.). Let’s see if we’re a good fit, and get your book publish ready!
Need some extra support? Check out these resources.
How to know when your manuscript is ready for editing
A realistic timeline for publishing a non-fiction book
The #1 question to ask before starting to write your book
