The Process
It’s true that every project is different, but there are some constants.
1) Every project requires an initial meeting, phone or video conference. Daniel’s desire is ensuring that there is working chemistry between the parties and to get an understanding of the client’s goals in order to accurately capture their ideas. That initial meeting will include several clarifying questions about the project’s overview.
2) After gleaning the necessary information, Daniel provides the client with a customized project proposal. If the proposal is satisfactory, the client is provided a tailored contract for review and signature.
3) Daniel will then begin a series of 1-3 recorded interviews with the client. From these interviews he develops a short book outline which he reviews with the client for accuracy and inclusiveness. The outline may be reworked several times until the client is comfortable with its content.
4) Interviews begin in earnest for each chapter with Daniel drawing the thoughts out of the client. All of these conversations will be recorded, and the client’s words transcribed which often results in documents containing hundreds of thousands of words before the book is completed.
5) Per the book outline, Daniel will deal with each chapter in sequence. After each chapter’s interview, those words will be transcribed and organized before any writing process begins.
6) In the course of writing, emails may be exchanged between Ghost and client, or short telephone conversations may be necessary in order to clarify or gain additional information.
7) When the chapter’s writing is complete, a chapter draft will be presented to the client for review. Another conversation will then take place as the client clarifies or adds information to include in the chapter.
8) After Daniel completes the revisions on the previous chapter, the process starts all over again for the next chapter.
9) The results of these incremental efforts will eventually lead to a complete manuscript draft presented to the client for their review.
10) The client will then review the book in its totality to ensure that the Ghost has captured the client’s voice, ideas, passions and information with clarity, and ensure that the work adequately represents those issues to both client and reader.
11) Another conversation will take place between Ghost and client as the two fine tune the book to the satisfaction of the client.
12) At the end of this process, a final manuscript is turned over to the client at the project’s completion. Depending on the size of the book, the whole process can take anywhere from 10 to 12 months. It can take less time, but it also depends on the client’s needs. Again, every project is different.
