Commercial nonfiction is a ghostwriting game, but the real ones don’t hide their help. New York Times bestselling writer Jodi Lipper talks content and chemistry in this peek behind the proverbial curtain.

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How’d you get into collaborative writing and how long have you been doing it?

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I’ve found that many/most ghostwriters/collaborative writers stumble into this work by accident, but I am somewhat unique or strange in that I intentionally sought it out. Way back in the aughts, I wrote a series of books with my dear friend and co-author Cerina Vincent, and I loved the process of collaborating with her. When we completed that series and I started thinking about my next chapter (pun intended), I knew that I wanted that sort of close collaboration to be a big part of it. It took some time, but I eventually found that there was a huge need for collaborative writers. I’ve now been doing this full-time for more than a decade!

You call yourself a collaborative writer rather than a ghostwriter. Is the g word now verboden?

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I use both terms interchangeably because most people have no idea what a collaborative writer is. But I feel that “collaborative writer” is more accurate and positive than “ghostwriter,” which still carries a sort of stigma. Collaborative writers aren’t shady figures, and we shouldn’t be kept hidden in the shadows. We play an extremely important role in a huge percentage of commercial non-fiction books being published, and there should be no shame or secrecy in that! The writing process is and has always been a collaboration, whether it’s between a team of writers, a writer and an editor, or an author and a collaborative writer.

What’s your favorite kind of book to work on and why?
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I made a decision a couple of years ago to start thinking less about the types of books I wanted to work on and more about the types of authors I wanted to work with. When choosing between multiple projects, I focused on looking for the kindest, most collaborative authors who were passionate about the story they wanted to tell. And because I work so closely with my authors for a long period of time, this has made a huge difference in my quality of life. That said, I do enjoy working on memoirs, all kinds of prescriptive non-fiction, and books where these two genres intersect.

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Least favorite and why?

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I don’t really have a least favorite type of book because if I had a problem with the content or the type of book, I wouldn’t take it on. I only want to work on books where I feel I can make a positive contribution.

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Have you ever dropped out of a project due to a lack of partner chemistry? What were the red flags that cropped up?

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Over the years, a couple of my projects have fallen apart, and looking back, I can see that a lack of chemistry was definitely a factor. It’s so hard to spot the red flags before it’s too late, but a big thing I look for now is whether or not an author has enough unique content to justify writing a book. Sometimes, an author with a large platform is encouraged to publish and feels they have a lot to say, but when I start to dig beneath the surface I find there isn’t a lot of there there. When this happens, it’s impossible to know if the author really doesn’t have a book in them or if another writer with stronger chemistry would have been able to pull it off. So, I try to make sure the content is there before I get on board.

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Conversely, what’s the key to a successful partnership? The green flags to look out for?

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I would say that self-awareness is the number one green flag in an author. It’s hard to put yourself out there in the pages of a book! And it can be especially challenging to trust someone else to put your story or life’s work into words. It’s extremely helpful when an author is aware of their triggers and what parts of the process might be difficult for them.

It’s also a huge green flag when the author is an avid reader!

How do you coat check your ego in service of the story?

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I’ve been doing this for so long that I don’t really have to think about this anymore. Or maybe I never would have gotten into this line of work if I had the kind of ego that I had to consciously check. As I’m working, I am always keenly aware that this is not my book. The author has hired me to do justice to their content and their voice, and that’s what I set out to do.

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Great collaborative writing is all about mastering tone and voice. Can you share some tips on how you manage this?

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This is the fun part! I try to really step into the author’s shoes and imagine how they would say something, almost like how an actor envisions how their character would read a line. Capturing an author’s voice has a lot to do with the rhythm of how they communicate, their sense of humor (or lack thereof), and individual quirks. The most important thing is honestly just to listen. I record all of my conversations with authors, and instead of having them transcribed, I listen to them multiple times. I want their voice to be alive in my head as I’m writing.

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Are you purposeful about your boundaries with your collaborator? Do you share details about your personal life or is that generally a mistake?
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I think that like in any professional relationship, there are going to be people that I connect with on a personal level and share details of my life with, and then there are others where there is naturally more of a courteous distance. Either way is fine, but when the book is more personal in nature, it’s important that the author trusts me enough to open up to me. As part of that relationship-building process, I often do end up sharing parts of my life that show I can relate to and/or empathize with what they’ve been through. I am tremendously grateful for my collaborators’ trust and never take it for granted.