United Ghostwriters

Splinter of Ice

July 27, 2020July 27, 2020
by Ben Jeapes

I don’t know about you, but my splinter of ice has never been more icy or splintery. I try not to feel guilty about it. That is, the splinter of ice that lurks in the heart of every writer, according to Graham Greene. No matter how terrible the tragedy, there is a small part of you tucking it all away – the thoughts, emotions, feelings, impressions – for future use. When I was starting out as a writer I heard an author talking about how she had had a blazing, ding-dong row with her partner – yet even then, with

July 15, 2020July 15, 2020
by Susan Feldstein

‘The thing that fascinates me about what you do, Susan, is how every time you’ve finished ghosting a book for a client, you go through a whole worrying process – speculating about whether they will like what you’ve written, and whether you’ve done justice to their story. . . And then every single time, the client comes back to you to say that they love it! Why do you put yourself through it each time, when you know it’s most likely going to be ok? Surely you know by now that you always do a good job?‘ This observation was

July 10, 2020July 10, 2020
by Martin Toseland

I’m just finishing the first draft of a book I’ve been working on since January. To get to this stage, the author and I have had to improvise slightly. Pre-lockdown we followed normal procedure, meeting in Starbucks in Westfield Stratford City (the glamour), a standard London-hour commute for both of us; post-lockdown we switched to a meeting place called ‘Zoom’ which turned out to be a doddle to get to. Now, as I add the final notes and comments to the draft, I’m taking the first tentative steps with a new author. We’re setting up dates and times for interviews

June 15, 2020June 15, 2020
by Ginny Carter

Life is topsy turvy right now. Even though the world is slowly starting to open up, we don’t know how our summer is going to pan out, when we’ll next be able to see our far-flung friends and family, and – for some of us – what will happen to our livelihoods in the long-term. Some business owners have seen the bottom fall out of their work bookings, with in-person events cancelled and face-to-face meetings an impossibility. Zoom can be a brilliant substitute, but not for every eventuality. As a result, many people are talking about how hard it is

June 10, 2020June 10, 2020
by Teena Lyons

One million years ago, when lockdown first started, many people vowed to write that book they’d always intended to write. There is a possibility that some of those people have now reached a stage where that creative energy has waned a little. Or, perhaps, the whole book thing has entirely ground to a halt. For this reason, I thought it might be helpful to offer a troubleshooting guide to help new authors ‘fix’ the problem and complete their pledge. So, come with me. Let’s lift up the hood, and check for the following issues: Writer’s block Writer’s block is often

Our Blog

Splinter of Ice

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Interview styles and the temple of Zoom

How can you write a book at the moment?

Troubleshooting for authors: when the words don’t flow