I Love It When I Spot A Writing Problem!

I’ve just started rewriting/ghosting a new project. In this case, the client has provided me with several draft chapters. I’ve managed to work through the first four pages of Chapter 1, rewriting, clarifying, editing like mad. But the last two-hundred words or so, I’ve bogged down. You know the symptoms – playing solitaire, checking email every five minutes, doing the wash….

At first I thought it was just fatigue, so I printed the chapter, made a fresh cappuccino and moved away from the computer to do my reading and editing by hand.

Voila! There on page 3 is my problem. I’m lacking some very basic understanding of the chapter’s main topic. I love this, because if I don’t understand it, it’s certain the reader won’t, and we are aiming for readers like me, not experts in the subject.

So, instead of sending the client a completed first chapter tomorrow, which was our original plan, I’ll email what I’ve gotten done today and ask the key questions I need answered in order to proceed.

Rewriting (sometimes called substantial editing), ghostwriting is a truly collaborative effort. I didn’t get hired because I already knew the subject, but for my writing and editing skills. The client is the expert and the quicker I recognize when I need information and clarification, and ask for it, the better.

Write well and often,

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