How I Went From Ghostwriter to Published Author
The point of a ghostwriter is not to take credit. We write to our client’s specifications, sign on the dotted line of those intimidating NDAs, and … That’s it. We let it go. There’s no launch party, no recognition. We’ve probably already moved on to the next project by the time the book is listed for pre-order.
(From Ghosting to Vampires: A Writer’s Journey.)
The truth of the matter is that my novels have been out there for years, my words devoured by thousands of voracious readers. Like a proud parent standing in the wings, I’ve watched in silence (and overwhelming pride, of course) as a handful of my stories have climbed the bestseller lists—and no one will ever know that I was the one who breathed them to life.
I stumbled into the mysterious world of ghostwriting sometime after college. I’d been working a 9-to-5 (the safe and sensible thing to do, I’d been told), but I craved to create. Ever since I was a child, writing had been my creative outlet of choice. I’d always dreamt of becoming an author. I loved nothing more than to click-click-clack on my laptop, lost in a world constructed entirely of my own imagination.
While I toiled away in my office cubical counting down the seconds until I could clock-out, I yearned to write something—anything—just so I could put words down on a page. That’s how, with the help of my trusty old friend Google, I happened across an ad on a freelance job board: Copywriter Wanted for Mommy Blog.
The starting rate was $0.005 per word, which meant an article a thousand words in length would score me a whopping five bucks! I, in my starry-eyed 23-year-old optimism, thought, “They want me to write about the top ten at-home spa day ideas for busy moms? And they’re willing to pay me for it? Dude, that’s so cool!”
The only hitch was that the client wanted to see a portfolio of previous work, of which I had exactly none. Thankfully, I had a can-do attitude and a hunger to try something new, so I spent that evening writing up a handful of articles that I believed would appeal specifically to their readership’s demographic. (And before anyone tries to give me flack, have you seen the state of the economy? Fake it until you make it, as the kids say.)
A week later, there was an email in my inbox. They offered me the contract. I was over the moon.
Was I able to make a living writing articles? No. Not even close, actually. I still had to work my 9-to-5, but at least now I had the opportunity to do something I loved and have a little extra pocket money to show for it. As my portfolio (of actual work) expanded, I reached out to more and more potential clients. The snowball was growing, gaining momentum.
Before long, I had a healthy rotation of clients requesting new articles on a regular basis. I’d bang out an SEO-optimized listicle before breakfast, head off to my day job, then come home and write more articles after dinner. It wasn’t until six months in that one of my clients messaged me: Hey Kat, are you by any chance interested in writing fiction?
Absolutely, I replied within five seconds of reading the text.
Writing articles was fine and all, but as I said, I’d always dreamed of being an author. Publishing stories, having people read them, and getting paid upfront for my work was a dream come true. After a referral and a couple of emails back and forth, I officially had my first contract as a romance ghostwriter. Little did I know that this was an entirely different ballgame.
I say this with the utmost respect and sincerity: The world of ghostwriting is a fascinating beast. The amount of organization and coordination that goes into producing books at the speeds that they do is mind-boggling. The clients that I’ve worked for often had multiple pen names that they managed, as well as several ghostwriters writing under the same name at the same time to ensure rapid-fire production. I’m talking about release schedules where they had a new book every month to maintain readership retention.
Some of my clients had dedicated outliners, who’d then give their outlines to the ghostwriting team to put everything together. Other clients of mine wanted me to outline and start from scratch, often providing me with a list of tropes and character archetypes that they knew (from statistical data they’d collected) would appeal most to their readers. I don’t mean to sound dramatic, but I swear they had it down to a science.
Deadlines were tight, but the pay was higher (and that’s always nice, isn’t it?). They needed an 80,000-word book from me every month to a month and a half. I had a client who required a writing speed of 20k words a week, or they would release me from the next project. There were several times throughout my ghostwriting career where I was juggling three different books at one time. To say that it was mentally taxing was an understatement, but I loved my work.
Near the end of 2018, I quit my 9-to-5 to pivot to ghostwriting full-time. When people asked, I could tell them (with the utmost glee) that I was a writer for a living. I thrived under the pressure, grateful for the chance to dive into my imagination every single day. Sometimes it felt impossible to meet writing minimums, but I did it. Over and over again, because when you’re doing something you love, it doesn’t feel like work at all.
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For six years, I wrote romance novels in a variety of different genres. Contemporary, erotica, and queer romances. Paranormal, rom-coms, and dark romantic thrillers. I wrote standalone novels and series about brooding firefighters/ex-marines/mobsters. If I had a nickel for every ‘bad boy billionaire alpha male’ I wrote at my client’s behest, I’d … Well, I’d have a lot of nickels. (Don’t worry, they always had hearts of gold.)
Yet there came a point when I started to crave again. I spent six years of writing stories for others. Six years of seeing someone else’s name on the front cover—someone who didn’t even exist in the first place. I had my own stories to tell, tales I wanted to explore, and that’s how, little by little, I began to write my own novel in my spare time—what would later become my debut adult fantasy, The Last Dragon of the East.
Thus began my adventure into the querying trenches, all while I continued to ghostwrite. I’d been working professionally on my craft for a little over half a decade, yet the thought of taking credit for my work for the very first time left me nervously excited. At least with ghostwriting, I could hide behind my anonymity. To put my name on a manuscript felt like a stamp of approval. For the very first time, I’d be stepping out from the wings and out under the spotlight.
The Last Dragon of the East was my way of reconnecting with the myths and legends my parents and grandparents would have heard growing up. There are parts of my book where I bare my soul, entire sections I used as my confessional. I wasn’t sure if anyone was going to want to read it.
Imagine my surprise when I got my first full-request, and then several offers of representation, and then I signed with my amazing agent! Within two months of debut adult fantasy being on sub, we had a couple of offers. Now I’m pleased to say that The Last Dragon of the East will be coming October 8, 2024 from Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
They say there’s no standard path to becoming an author, and I couldn’t agree more. That snowball I’d been building up—it kept on rolling, even after I forgot about it. I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who’s supported me on this journey. It took me years of writing novels for other people before I finally had the chance to write stories under my own name, and now that I’m here, I sincerely hope I get to keep writing for the rest of my days.
Check out Katrina Kwan’s The Last Dragon of the East here:
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