Dianne Sagan on Ghost writing!

Dianne Sagan is back with us today as promised. Today we’re going to learn all about her.
Good morning Dianne.

D: Good morning Zebee and everyone else. Thank you for having me as your guest again today. I’m ready to answer all your questions Zebee. I’m eager to share my life story with your viewers, uh, readers.

Z: Great. Okay, we know you have a cute little dog and live in Texas. What we want to know is, what is ghostwriting? Is it writing about ghosts?

D: Ghostwriting isn't what you might think. I don't like scary stories so I leave ghosts to other people. Ghostwriting is writing a book for someone else who has a great story or message they want to get out to people but doesn't have the time or isn't a writer. They pay me, a ghostwriter, to write what they want to say. So, I help people write books they might not otherwise write.


Z: I’m glad to know it’s not writing about ghosts. They scare me. So, how do you do this type of writing? Does someone give you an outline and then you fill in the blanks?

D: I get basic information about the content from the client and then do an in-depth interview with them over the phone to help me better understand what they want to say. I listen to how they speak and read how they structure their sentences and then write the book in their vocabulary and phrasing so that it sounds like them. We talk several times during the process of writing. I submit an outline for their approval and then we work our way through chapter by chapter together until we have a manuscript that says what they want it to. Sometimes I have to do extra research in addition.

Z: You make it sound really interesting. Can you tell us what got you interested in this type of writing?

D: I have a friend in the Panhandle Professional Writer's organization that was ghostwriting for a small publisher and she got so much work that she needed help. I gave it a try and decided I enjoy it and it is a great way to have a pretty good income that supports my own byline.

Z: Do you ghost write for children, or just adults?

D: So far, I've only written books for adults. I did write one that was to help children learn about finances. It was fun. We worked from the premise of his Kids club to teach children and teenagers about saving, paying yourself, and paying your bills as well as using some of your savings for investments that will keep paying you all the time - even when you're on vacation or asleep. We included some exercises and boxes for them to use in learning to budget.

Z: Thanks Dianne for this lesson in ghostwriting. I know I learned a lot and bet that my readers did too. If someone wanted to read more about what you do, where should they look on the internet?

D: You are most welcome. You can go to any or all three of these places to learn more about me and what I do.

Dianne Sagan - Writer

My blog

Dianne at Author’s Den

Okay, that’s it for today. Thursday we’ll be back with more from Dianne. We’re going to talk about what she writes using her own name. See you then!