We usually start our interviews by asking the author to list their books and talk about them. As a ghostwriter, you have to be a bit more discreet about many of your titles, we assume?
Yes, that is true! Most clients do not like to divulge the fact that they’ve hired a ghostwriter. When I started this career I had a lot of trouble proving experience, because I couldn’t discuss prior work, nor could I give samples. It was a bit of a problem.

However over the last ten years some people have given me cover credits and others mentioned me in their acknowledgement section of their books. I now have a good portfolio. I have also received a number of testimonials from clients, which are on my website. Researching these names, one could extrapolate a few of the books I’ve written.

Do you feel like you are giving your babies away when you hand in a book?
No, I really don’t! I could see how someone might think that, but it is a bit like being a surrogate mother. I birth the baby and turn her over to her rightful parents. I simple carry the book to term.

More recently I started offering to help my clients market and promote their books. In exchange they give me a percentage of the sales and a credit for the book. It works out well and I get to visit the newborn from time to time.

You have ghostwritten a number of memoirs. How do you find the voice of the subject? And how long does it take to become an expert in your subjects’ lives?
Memoirs are the most popular request of a ghostwriter. Many people want to share their story, but need help forming the words. I’m very selective about the clients I choose. I spend time with them before taking them on to make sure it will be a good match.

To find their voice I read their written words and interview them on the phone. I can get a good feel for who they are that way and what is important to them.

The first task is to gather all the information. Throughout that time I am learning about them, finding their voice. There comes a time when I just get it and after that I can just run with writing the first draft. The time varies, but it usually takes months.

Once the book is done and handed in, do you have to make a conscious effort to forget all you’ve learned?
No, it is important that I remember, so that I can help them with marketing. I always hold onto  the purpose of the book and continue to look for promotional avenues for my clients even after the book is finished.

We can understand why someone would need a ghostwriter for a memoir or a non-fiction book, but can you explain why people hire ghostwriters for works of fiction?
Anyone who hires me to write a book for them is doing so because they either don’t have the time or they don’t have the skill (or both). This holds true for fiction or nonfiction. I’m currently working on a book for a client who has asked me to write a fictionalized version of true events from his family’s life. Here’s what he said in a recent testimonial:

I knew what I wanted to say.
I knew how I wanted the chapters to flow.
I knew the feelings I wanted the reader to feel.
I just didn’t have the ability to sit down and start writing.

I think that pretty much sums up what most of my clients experience!

You do have a few books with your name on the cover. Can you tell us about them?
Chess Is Child’s Play – Teaching Techniques That Work is a book I wrote based on my experiences teaching young children chess. This book teaches a parent to teach chess to their children, while also teaching them the game, if they don’t know how to play. I found that many people in our country don’t know how to play chess, which is a barrier to teaching their child. Through this book they can now teach their children and have that wonderfully bonding experience.

Joshua’s Missing Peace is a true story of a mother whose young child became suddenly ill. He started behaving oddly and when she took him to her pediatrician, she was sent to a psychiatrist, who prescribed very strong medication. Her child began to change before her eyes. She was losing him. Unhappy and afraid, she researched on her own and found the cause of her son’s difficulties. He had a version of strep throat called PANDAS. Once he started on a treatment of antibiotics he got better immediately and could be weaned off the dangerous medicines. In the end he needed additional treatment, but today the boy is doing very well! I heard he won a local chess tournament.

We love haiku; can you give us one of yours?
I have been studying haiku for a few years now. I’d be happy to share a few. Thank you for asking.

There is a lot of complexity around haiku, so perhaps it would make sense for me to start by defining what a haiku really is. It really isn’t about syllable counting. You simply want to create a short poem that shares a moment you have experienced. People can get very wrapped up in the 5-7-5 syllable count of the three lines, but honestly that really is the maximum number. Most in the haiku community consider a 5-7-5 haiku to be wordy.

Recently I went to my children’s school and taught five seminars in haiku. The ages of the children ranged from four to ten. I worked with each child individually to create their own personal haiku. It was a very successful experience.

Here are two haiku that I wrote, which were published last year:

scent of rain
we look for toads
in the dark

haijix, Vol IV, Issue I March 2011

Honeymoon Island—
she brushes sand off
the chessboard

The Heron’s Nest – September 2011 Issue

Now for those who prefer a 5-7-5 haiku, here is one I created, but never submitted for publication:

the last day of May
four baby armadillos
burrow in my yard

For me, part of the magic of haiku is that I can preserve the moment forever. It is really a snapshot in words. Each of the above poems represent true experiences from my life.

Tell us a bit more about yourself.
I live in Florida with my husband and three young children. I love to write and help others to achieve their writing goals. I also run a small chess instruction business, as I have a strong goal to get many families playing chess all around the world.

We’ve been reading up on you.  Your history includes engineering, movie production , chess, mortgage-broking, ghostwriting – that’s a very diverse list!
Yes, I enjoy doing many different things. I draw on all these experiences with my writing. They all help! One important task of a ghostwriter is to keep the project moving and to see it through to completion. My engineering, film producing and mortgage director experiences have helped to turn me into a bulldog when it comes to getting a finished product.

Of course my experiences as a tournament chess player help me throughout my life. Every challenge I experience is rather like a game of chess, where my goal is checkmate. I like to win!

Have you got a site where readers can keep up with your work?
www.laurasherman.com is my website. It gives you a flavor of who I am.

And if we need a ghostwriter, how do we go about hiring you?
Thank you for asking! The first step would be to review my website and check out my books (you can see samples of my writing through Amazon). If you like my writing style and think I could help you, I would offer you a free consultation. I would give you advice and answer questions about the ghostwriting process.

Sometimes it isn’t the best option to hire a ghostwriter. If you are able to write the book yourself I can give you tips and suggestions. I can also give you advice on publishing options.

If you decided you wanted to hire me, the next step would be to start a trial. I would write a piece of your book for $1 a word and you would choose the word count. Through this experience we can both determine if we make good writing partners. If so, I would then bid on the entire project.

Where can we buy your books?
Both books are available on Amazon. Chess Is Child’s Play is available through any book seller and a number of game stores.

What’s next?
To be honestly, I never know! I am wrapping up two memoirs and am interviewing a few prospective clients. One of my clients, my first one actually, is in the process of turning the three novels we created together into blockbuster movies. It is an exciting process, but one that takes time. I can’t wait to see those novels up on the silver screen!