Technology
David Brewster
My book ghostwriting tools in 2021

Every now and then I’m asked about the various resources I use when I’m working on ghostwriting a book. These things change occasionally, so I thought it would be a good idea to share what I am using as my main book writing tools in 2021. So here they are: from recording interviews to organising to drafting to (almost) collaborating.

My book ghostwriting tools in 2021
Work Life
David Brewster
When to avoid showing your vulnerable side

Being willing to reveal a bit of yourself, especially through a bit of self-effacing humour, will lighten your text and give your readers something to connect to.

But this blog post is not about that sort of vulnerability.

No, this time I want to remind you of two of the less inspiring but just-as-important vulnerabilities every writer faces. Those vulnerabilities are backup and data security.

I was reminded recently about this by a rare computer crash that led to me losing a small amount of work. It wasn’t important and was easily recovered, but it could have been so much worse. Imagine losing a whole book to a hard drive crash!

When to avoid showing your vulnerable side
Write a book
David Brewster
No time, money or skill? You can still get your ...

If there’s one thing you learn from spending a chunk of your career in the world of books and writing, it’s that there are a lot of great stories out there. Personal stories of remarkable success against the odds. Business stories of risk taking and growth. Political stories of intrigue and persistence.

It would be great if all these stories could be told. As Spanish philosopher George Santayana famously wrote, ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it’. Ideally, the stories would be recorded in books because books last. They go onto shelves and into libraries. They won’t disappear or become unreadable with new technologies.

Unfortunately, many terrific stories are never written down. Sometimes that’s because their owners don’t want to share them. Often

No time, money or skill? You can still get your book written
Reviews
David Brewster
The ghostwriter's nightmare scenario

Ghostwriter characters don't make it into fiction very often, but when they do they always seem to find themselves in jeopardy. 

In the 2010 Roman Polanski film The Ghost Writer, Ewan McGregor plays a ghostwriter working for a former British prime minister. In the end he knows too much and ... it doesn't end well. 

In the Netflix series House of Cards, Paul Sparks plays ghostwriter Thomas Yates who, after struggling to extract a decent memoir out of the president, fails to keep his professional distance, you might say. It takes a while – three seasons in fact – but it doesn't end well for him either.

And now we have Australian writer Richard Flanagan's latest novel, First Person, in which the narrator is a ghostwriter hired to author the memoir of a notorious conman. The story was inspired by Flanagan's own experience, very early in his career, of ghostwriting the autobiography of fraudster John Friedrich in 1991.

The ghostwriter's nightmare scenario
Writing
David Brewster
The joy of a good yarn

I love that my work as a ghostwriter gives me the opportunity to help people get their stories told. What I love even more is the fact that working on other people's stories gives me a front-row seat to those yarns.

Take Around the Grounds, for instance – a book that will be released by Finch Publishing on August 1. 

For this book I've been working with former ABC radio broadcaster Peter Newlinds. Peter's story is a celebration of sport, but from the spectator's side of the fence. This perspective gives the story a level of accessibility that most sporting memoirs, written as they are by former players, can't have. Few of us have the ability to play elite sport, but all of us are more than capable of joining in from the relative safety of the stands.

Of course we don't all have access to the commentary box as Peter did…

The joy of a good yarn

Publishing

Plan to get rich from your book? Read this first

Plan to get rich from your book? Read this first

Recently a couple of people I've known for a short time learnt that I am a 'published author'. Immediately I felt a glow about me as my reputation in their eyes went up a couple of notches.

The aura didn't last long. Unfortunately I knew the truth: that my newfound esteem was misplaced. My new friends had fallen for the Great Author Myth.

There's always been a strange glamour associated with being an author, particularly a published author, i.e. a writer who a so-called 'trade' publisher has recognised as being worthy. It's this glamour that gives a book its power to bestow immediate credibility on its creator – something that also applies to a well-prepared self-published book. It also generates, in the minds of many, the notion that publishing a book is a good way to make money.

Here lies the myth, on both counts.

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Can you still make a buck out of a book?

Can you still make a buck out of a book?

The recent launch of Apple Music, overnight a gorilla-sized player in the streaming music industry, has again raised debate about, essentially, reward for effort when it comes to creativity. I came across an excellent blog post by Hugh Hancock on this topic the other day that does a great job of pulling apart what is happening in the creative world. 

All this, and other recent discussions, has got me rethinking the value of the non-fiction business book to its author.

Production is getting easier

Hancock’s article is a fairly deep analysis of what is happening in film and television making, computer game production and various other formats. The gist of his conclusion is this: in all these areas, production has become vastly cheaper and easier than it used to be. In film making, for instance, it is now entirely possible to make a high-quality production with handheld cameras and a crew of two, including the director. Needless to say that’s a lot less people than you’ll see on the credits of the average Hollywood flick.

The same can be said of music, where home studios are now commonplace and results of very high standard can be produced on relatively inexpensive equipment. The ‘barrier to entry’ for a new and completely unknown musician is lower than ever. 

Writing, of course, became ‘easy’...

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The W-H-Y of ISBNs

The W-H-Y of ISBNs

When people write books, including ebooks, getting themselves an ISBN is often an afterthought – if they think of it at all. I thought it might be good to explain exactly what an ISBN is and why it is important.

What is an ISBN?

‘ISBN’ stands for ‘International Standard Book Number’. It is a ‘serial number’ for a book: no two books, or ebooks, published anywhere in the world will have the same ISBN. 

ISBNs are essential for maintaining order in book catalogues because they overcome the fact that both book titles and author names can be duplicated. ISBNs can also help avoid confusion when a book has multiple editions – by applying a unique ISBN to each edition, anyone searching for a specific edition will be able to identify it.

(A handy hint when comparing the price of books at online stores: to make sure you’re comparing like with like, find the ISBN of the book you’re looking for at the first store, then search on that number, rather than the title, at subsequent stores.)

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Five great book titles ... and why they work

Five great book titles ... and why they work

There’s not much point going to the effort of writing a book if the end result won’t be noticed by anyone. Which means you need to invest in a) a good cover design and b) a snappy, unforgettable, ‘pick me up’ title and subtitle.

There are no absolutes when it comes to titles and subtitles, except that they shouldn’t be an afterthought. The two things I aim for when helping authors work on a title are: 

  • that the title and subtitle complement each other. Often this means the title is catchy while the subtitle provides a more explicit description of the book’s contents, and
  • that, especially in a business context, the title and subtitle combo sells the benefits to the reader of picking up your book.

Here are five examples of great title/subtitle combinations from the bookshelf in my office...

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How long does my book need to be?

How long does my book need to be?

The title of this post is one of the most common questions I get from people looking to write their first book. It’s usually code for, “I have to write how much?”. Most people either have no idea how long a book should be (which is perfectly understandable), or they have a slightly off-centre idea.

Judging a book by its thickness

The thickness of a book is not really a good indication of how much work has gone into it. A book’s thickness depends on a host of factors beyond the number of words. For instance, the paper used: the ‘bulky cream’ off-white paper often used by mainstream publishers is lighter but about 1.5 times thicker than pure-white (office) paper.

Then there is the ‘trim size’ (i.e. the height and width)...

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Don't be fooled: publishers ain't publishers

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Don't be fooled: publishers ain't publishers

I feel the need for a note on the publishing industry. In particular I feel the need to set things straight about what it shouldmean to get your book published. Unfortunately it is not as straightforward as it seems, as more than one of my ghostwriting clients has discovered.

What every author needs to understand is that there are essentially two types of publisher out there: mainstream ‘trade’ publishers and ‘vanity’ publishers. Put simply: one is good, and one isn’t. Here’s how they compare:

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5 reasons to self-publish your book

For as long as I can remember there has been a stigma associated with ‘self-publishing’, or independent publishing. It is assumed that a ‘published’ book, meaning published by a mainstream commercial – or trade – publisher (Penguin, Random House, etc.) will be a better book, will be easier to promote and will sell more copies.

These don’t necessarily follow. In today’s digital world there is no reason why a self-published book shouldn’t ‘look’ published. With the right emphasis placed on writing, rewriting and editing, there is no reason why a self-published book shouldn’t be of a very high standard. And of course the marketing potential for a book or anything else – if done well – is limitless in the social media age.

Yes, there are undoubtedly benefits to having your book ‘properly’ published – most notably the fact that a genuine publisher* will take on most or all of the financial risk – but there can be advantages to self-publishing too, especially in non-fiction.

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5 reasons you should still publish a paper book

5 reasons you should still publish a paper book

With the rise and rise of ebook publishing, it would be easy to think that producing a paper version of your business book is an outdated idea. Why bother, when producing an ebook is quick and cheap, and an increasing number of people prefer the portability of the ebook?

Well, the paper book is not dead yet. Here are five reasons why you should still consider a printed version of your business book (and most other genres too):

Credibility

On one level the printed book may seem old-hat, but there is no doubt that a paper book still holds considerable weight in the credibility stakes. Being able to present a prospect or client with a professionally produced copy of your book will give your credibility an enormous boost. A book makes you an author – an authority on your topic. You are immediately positioned as an expert in your field.

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Distributing your ebooks has never been easier

Distributing your ebooks has never been easier

In my spare time I’m a keen photographer, so my ears pricked up when I heard during the week that photo book service Blurb has linked up with Amazon. Blurb books (photography or otherwise) can now be sold ‘print on demand’ via the world’s biggest bookstore. While this news relates to physical products, it is another example of the rapid rate of innovation occuring in the world of online bookselling.

In the last couple of years it has become much easier to distribute EPUB and Kindle ebooks globally and get paid locally. Using just two distributors, you can make your ebooks available via all the major online sources such as Amazon’s Kindle store, Apple’s iBooks store, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and others.

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Introduction, preface, prologue or foreword. Say what?

Introduction, preface, prologue or foreword. Say what?

Most book writers like to start at the beginning. It is, after all, a very good place to start. (Thanks, Maria.) However, like many aspects of writing a book, working out where to begin isn’t always as simple as it seems.

First-time authors often get stuck at the introduction. Until they have to write one themselves, most rookie book writers have never considered that introductions ain’t introductions. Some books have an introduction, but others have a preface, some a foreword and others still a prologue.

What’s the difference?

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