How professionals write
and publish their books.

Yes, you’re the sole author of your book, and it’s entirely in your voice. You are the only one contributing the ideas, the knowledge, and the content to the book, (and with the Guided Author Program, you actually write it out as well). All we do is help you with the parts of book writing that you aren’t an expert at; positioning, structuring, etc.

We’re able to do this because the book is literally created entirely from interviews with you—there is no other voice it could be but yours.

Simply put, hiring a ghostwriter means that your book will not really be your ideas in your words. With the Media Writing Services process, your book is entirely your ideas and your words, in your own voice.

Ghostwriters start with your book concept and a few of your ideas, then create a book using their own words, tone, and voice. It won’t sound like it came from you, because it generally doesn’t. In essence, a ghostwriter writes a book, and you pay them so that you can put your name on it. It’s not really your book.

With Media Writing Services, your book is authored solely by you. The ideas and words and content are entirely yours and are in your voice. We put nothing in your book that did not come out of your head and your mouth. We like to say that we help you translate your ideas into a proper, professional book, but all meaningful parts of authorship are yours, making you the sole author.

The two other differences are these:

1. Ghostwriters give you a manuscript, and they do nothing else. We do it all—including full publishing and distribution.
2. A good ghostwriter is much more expensive than our process (good ones usually run about $100k+).

If you don’t know what you’re talking about, then you need to hire a ghostwriter. That way the ghostwriter can do the research and write a book that makes sense, and you get to have your name on it.

The coolest part of the Media Writing Services process is that you end up working with some of the very best editing and ghostwriting talent in the world—you just do it through our systematic and defined process. Many of our Media Writing Servicess are former ghostwriters, but they love working with us (and our authors), because with us, they are able to avoid most of the problems that freelancers have: finding good clients, negotiating terms of the deal, collecting payment, limiting the scope of the work, etc.

Our systematic process is actually better for authors and for freelancers, because it creates a clear set of expectations and deliverables, a defined workflow, and ensures there is a trusted third party to monitor everything and ensure that it works. Our roster of freelancers includes Pulitzer Prize winners, Emmy Award winners, bestselling authors, bestselling ghostwriters, etc.

This creates a three-way relationship where everyone wins: you publish a great book, the freelancer gets paid well for work they enjoy, and we make a profit by coordinating the whole exchange.

We wrote a much longer piece on the differences between ghostwriting and the Media Writing Services process. You can it read here.

No, authors do not choose their own Media Writing Services. That is why you are paying us—to do that.

To begin with, we thoroughly vet and test all our Media Writing Servicess. It’s easier to get into Harvard (6% acceptance rate) than it is to work with us as a Media Writing Services (<1% acceptance rate). Not only that, but our Media Writing Servicess have spent at least a decade (usually longer) in writing and publishing, and many of them are highly decorated—Pulitzer Prize winners, Emmy nominees and winners, and National Magazine Award winners.

To assign Media Writing Servicess, we have an internal “ask system” that we use to pair up the right Media Writing Services and Author. Here’s how it works:

We get to know you, your book, and how you work. Then we create a “Project Scope” for your book, and let all 100+ Media Writing Servicess see it. They will read it, and the ones who are interested in working on your book ask to be assigned.

They answer two questions: 1. Why are you excited to work on this book, and 2. What do you bring to the book that might help the author?

We then pick the one we think will be the best match—95% of the time, this process works great.

But yes, in rare cases, the Author and Media Writing Services are not a fit. If after working together, they feel uncomfortable or unwilling to move forward with the project, we’re happy to find a replacement Media Writing Services.

Yes and no.

Many Authors come to us having written quite a bit of material. Regardless of what they have written, we always start at the beginning of our process and work through the positioning, and structuring stages. After the structure is done, we can assess whether any of your existing writing fits into the book. If it does, great. We will happily slide it in.

We do it this way because we’ve found that starting fresh enables the author to prioritize exactly what they want to get from their book, what audience they need to reach, and what they have to offer that audience (this is positioning).

Often when this becomes clear, it turns out that what they’ve written is not directly on point for the end result they want, and we don’t want pre-existing material to bias decisions or lead them astray.

It’s fairly common for authors to be unsatisfied with their rough draft—almost all authors feel this way about their book at some point in the process

That is why we have multiple rounds of revisions and corrections. You will never just “see” your book at some stage and be surprised by it. We have intentionally set up our process to include constant iterations and feedback and changes.

Virtually all of our Authors are happy with their book by the time it gets to final revisions.

But what if—after all the edits and changes—you still don’t like your book? This is possible. It’s impossible to 100% guarantee your happiness with your book, especially given that it is your ideas and your words and your voice.

But we will do everything we can on our end to ensure that you get the book you want. If that means assigning multiple editors to work on it, we’ll do it. If it means multiple editing passes, then we’ll do that. Our goal is to get the best book possible out of you. Anything reasonable we can do to achieve that, we will do.

Your book cover and manuscript interior layout will be designed by world class designers, but you have full creative control.

Our Creative Director has done dozens of New York Times Best Sellers, as well as the other book cover designers we’ve worked with. Combined, they have worked on over 100 best sellers that have sold millions of copies. You are getting the very best in design, because having a great book cover is a key to establishing your book as credible and professional.

Before we start the design process, you’ll have a long conversation with the Creative Director to understand your vision for the cover (if you have any). We organize this information into a design brief and use it to create a series of initial cover designs, which you will review and give feedback on. Just like all parts of our process, you will have full, 100% approval of your cover.

Book length is entirely dependent on the specific Author and the topic of their book. We don’t adhere to a fixed length, but generally find that most authors end up around 150 pages.

We’ve researched this extensively and found that for non-fiction books this is the optimal length—both for Authors and their readers. It is not an intimidating length, so readers are more likely to buy and actually read the book, and it’s about the right length for most Authors. The book is substantive, but not repetitive or padded. We believe that books should only be as long as they have to be in order to make their point.

Your publishing team, which will be led by your Publishing Manager. They are your main point of contact and are in charge of ensuring you get a great book.

Almost all of the writing will be done by your Media Writing Services. They are a professional writer and editor that has spent at least a decade working in books.

You will conceptualize your book cover with the help of our Creative Director, who has done dozens of bestselling book covers. It will be designed by her or one of her team, and you will talk to our Art Director for feedback and revisions.

Your marketing efforts will be led by our book launch and PR team to ensure your book reaches its audience and achieves your goals as a newly published Author.