Giving It Substance: Add and Rewrite Content


After a rough draft is created, a professional ghostwriter adds more material to create a fuller, more complete book. In addition, the ghostwriter may rewrite content from the rough draft to include information that was left out, or to elaborate on certain subjects. The rough draft is the skeleton of a book. A ghostwriter will flesh out the framework to make a book that’s informative, compelling and accurate.

Using your words and sources that you’ve provided, the ghostwriter will add and rewrite content to fill in any holes. Maybe you’ve conducted a seminar on the same topic as your book, and you’ve given handouts to the people who attended your seminar. Those can be included in the book. Or if you’re writing a memoir, maybe you’ve got a letter from a relative that should be included in the book. A ghostwriter will add that in now.

The book will go through several rewrites as the ghostwriter tightens the prose so that it flows more smoothly. Other parts of the book might be expanded further during the writing and rewriting. Some sections might be moved to other parts of the book where they more logically fit.

Many business or how-to books are in a workbook format, with lots of charts and graphs to help readers understand the material and use it themselves. The ghostwriter will create the charts so they complement your material, and write the text so that readers will understand the charts they’re seeing.

The work of rewriting content and putting a book together can be a tedious job, but you won’t have to do it. You’ll get to see the result of that work at several steps along the way and offer suggestions to the ghostwriter on what you want your book to be.



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