A client once met me at a hotel in Tampa on a layover. He lived nowhere near here, he had an hour between flights, and the hotel had free breakfast. We talked about his book over breakfast, he got back on his plane, and he turned into a client. I’m Richard Lowe, a ghostwriter based in Safety Harbor, just across the Courtney Campbell from Tampa, and that’s how I work with people on the Tampa side of the bay: wherever it makes sense for you.
Why hire a ghostwriter in Tampa?
Tampa is where the region’s business and technology people gather. If there’s a serious business or cybersecurity convention on this coast, it’s at the convention center downtown, and I’ve spent plenty of days on that floor. Those are the people whose books I’m built to write: executives, founders, security leaders, people with thirty years of hard-won judgment and no time to turn it into chapters.
I spent 33 years in enterprise IT, including 20 as Director of Computer Operations and Technical Services at Trader Joe’s. I’ve authored 113+ books under my own name and ghostwritten 54+ more, and business and technology books for executives are a big part of that work. What I’m not is an out-of-state agency with “Tampa” pasted into a template. Those outfits are everywhere online, and they’ll assign your book to whoever’s free that week. I’m about half an hour away, and I’ll be the one writing it.
“He knows all the ins and outs of how to write a book, but more importantly, how to use a book. After working with him, I do know without a doubt that I would never write my own book again.”
Joe Rockey
How would a Tampa book project work?
We start with a free call. From there, Tampa projects run mostly by Zoom and phone, because that’s what fits an executive’s calendar: interviews of an hour or two, scheduled around you, early mornings included. I record every session, you get a written summary after each one, and the chapters come to you one at a time so you can push back before I write the next one.
Your share is roughly 20 to 40 hours over the whole project, almost all of it talking. I spend hundreds. Most books take four to eight months from first interview to final manuscript. The whole process is laid out in how a ghostwriting project works, and the executive side of it is on my executive ghostwriting page.
Can we meet in person in Tampa?
Yes. Most local meetings happen on my side of the bay, over lunch at Poblanos Mexican Grill (2451 N McMullen Booth Rd, Clearwater; book a free call to set it up) or at the Safety Harbor Resort & Spa, and plenty of Tampa people are happy to make that drive. For a serious project I’ll cross the bay and meet you at your office or somewhere near it. Meetings on your side add my travel time and expenses.
If you’re flying through Tampa International, that works too. The layover client I mentioned at the top got his first meeting done between flights. Tell me when you’re landing.
Can a Tampa ghostwriter handle a technical book?
Yes, and it’s what I’m best at. I ran IT operations for a national grocery chain, handled PCI compliance audits, and served as technical editor on Cyberheist for KnowBe4. A cybersecurity book, a digital transformation book or a book about the systems your company runs won’t need a glossary from you first, and I won’t flatten it to make it easier to write. See why technical books need a ghostwriter who gets tech and my cybersecurity ghostwriting page.
What does Tampa give a writer?
More literary history than most people here have ever heard about. The cigar workers of Ybor City paid readers out of their own wages to read newspapers and novels aloud while they rolled, and I wrote about the lectores of Ybor City because it’s among the best stories in Florida. There are the bookstores on that side of the bay, and when your book is done, there’s getting it into a Tampa Bay bookstore and getting local media to cover it.
There’s a lot more on both sides of the bay in my Writing in Tampa Bay hub, from bookstores and libraries to writing groups.
Frequently asked questions about working with a Tampa ghostwriter
Nearby and related
Tampa sits just across the bay from my home turf. You might also be looking at Safety Harbor, my home base, Clearwater, right next door, St. Petersburg, or ghostwriting across Florida.
How do you start a book with a Tampa ghostwriter?
Book a free call below. We’ll spend half an hour on what you want the book to do for your business, what you’ve already tried, and whether I’m the right writer for it. If you’d rather see my work on your own material first, the Book Discovery Intensive ends with a sample chapter in your voice.
You’ve spent years building expertise that lives in slide decks and conference talks nobody keeps. A book puts it where people can find it, cite it and hire you for it, so book the call and let’s get it written.
Booking requires JavaScript. Please use the contact form instead.