From Computer Operations to Dozens of Novels: A Reinvention as Novelist and Ghostwriter

Richard Lowe (The Writing King) joins Aaron Apollo Camp on Apollo Papyrus for a focused conversation on the working life of a professional ghostwriter: the books he’s proudest of, how the ghostwriting process actually runs, his twelve-hour writing days, how he handles writer’s block, and the 2013 leap from running enterprise IT to writing full time.

Richard Lowe is The Writing King, a professional ghostwriter and author who has written more than 113 books under his own name and ghostwritten over 54 more for clients. Before writing full time he spent 33 years in enterprise IT, including two decades as Director of Computer Operations at Trader Joe’s.

DISCUSS YOUR BOOK

Full transcript of the conversation follows.

Introducing Richard Lowe

Aaron: Welcome to another Apollo Papyrus episode. I’m Aaron Apollo Camp. My guest has written dozens of books of his own and ghostwritten dozens more for various authors. Before becoming a professional writer, he was Director of Computer Operations for the grocery chain Trader Joe’s. Richard Lowe, welcome. Introduce yourself to our listeners.

Richard: My name is Richard Lowe. I’m a ghostwriter. I’ve written 113+ books of my own and ghostwritten 54+ more for clients, and before that I spent 33 years in the technology industry.

The books he’s proudest of

Aaron: Without spoiling too much, what are a few of your own books you’re most proud of?

Richard: A couple of very short fiction books under 10,000 words: Unlikely Hero, about a criminal who saves L.A., and another about how to create a zombie apocalypse, which was fun to write. A cybersecurity book. A book on LinkedIn and a book on eBay, both of which became Kindle bestsellers. Then a variety of management books while I was experimenting. And about 20 coloring books.

Aaron: Are your books self-published, traditionally published, or hybrid?

Richard: Mine are all self-published.

Ghostwriting clients and subjects

Aaron: You’ve also ghostwritten many books. Who are some clients, and what were the books about?

Richard: I can’t name clients because I’m under nondisclosure, but some were Fortune 50 companies and some were small business startups. In general terms, the books have been four AI books, four on cybersecurity, three on digital transformation, plus quite a few memoirs and books that support franchises.

Aaron: Do you offer ghostwriting for works other than books, like online articles?

Richard: Yes, articles, blogs, general writing, and so forth.

How the ghostwriting process works

Aaron: If someone wants to inquire about your ghostwriting services, how would they go about it, and how does the process work?

Richard: They set up an appointment using my YouCanBook.me application, and we meet for a free half hour to an hour to discuss their book idea and make sure we can work together. Once we sign the statement of work and they pay the down payment, we start with analysis: I do three to four interviews a week for almost a month, interviewing the author. The client is the author; I’m the writer. We hone down to a precise, accurate target market, who we’re selling to, why we’re doing the book, and what the goal is, whether that’s promoting their company or selling in bookstores.

Richard: By the end of that first month we have a plan for the rest of the book. Then it’s usually eight to 12 months of a few interviews, writing, and revising, finishing a chapter and moving to the next until we’re done. Then we do one final revision pass, and it goes off to a professional editor, not me but someone I know, for the final polish, and then it gets published.

Aaron: Does the author of record have to do some of the work, or can the ghostwriter do all of it?

Richard: I’ve written several books where I did all the work other than a few interviews up front. It’s better to collaborate for a book closer to what you want, but a busy executive can just say, write a book on cybersecurity, give me a few parameters, and I can go off and write it because I have enough knowledge. Or someone wanting a novel about a futuristic world can describe it and I’ll write it. It depends on the subject and how much time they’re willing to put in.

Landing high-profile clients

Aaron: How are you able to land high-profile clients for your ghostwriting?

Richard: It’s my stunning good looks. No, it’s that first interview. Once a lead comes in and we do the first interview, that’s where we feel each other out and they decide if they can work with me. So far clients seem to like working with me, and I come across well in those initial conversations. That’s the key.

A writing routine of twelve-hour days

Aaron: What’s your writing routine like?

Richard: Keep in mind I’m usually writing four to six books for clients plus two of my own at the same time, all the time, so I switch between them depending on my mood and on schedules. I have meetings and podcasts during the day, and the rest of the time I’m writing. I work Monday through Friday, 12 hours a day, just write, write, write, and I take the weekends off. It works pretty well.

Handling writer’s block

Aaron: How do you handle writer’s block, which can be crippling for someone who writes professionally?

Richard: It would be crippling, which is why I can’t tolerate it. I take walks, I have hobbies, and I work on multiple projects, so I might be blocked on one but not another. Sometimes I slip away for the weekend and do something totally unrelated, like Disney World. Breaking the routine of staring at the screen is what matters. Exercise helps a lot, and so does sleep.

Running the computers for a $20 billion chain

Aaron: You were Director of Computer Operations for Trader Joe’s. What was that like?

Richard: That chain turns about $20 billion a year, so it’s a pretty big grocery store. I managed all the computers in the main office and the people supporting them, probably 1,500 machines, from laptops to big servers running payroll and merchandising. I ran disaster sites, cybersecurity, and compliance with credit card rules, either doing it or hiring people to. I had about 20 consultants and eight permanent staff, and we worked around the clock to keep things running.

Jumping off the cliff in 2013

Aaron: How were you able to pivot from IT for a retail chain to professional writing?

Richard: One day in 2013 I became fed up with being on call 24/7, and those calls were very active, so my sleep was shot. I had a new boss, things were changing, and it became untenable. I asked myself, do I stay and fight it out, or go out on my own? I had plenty of savings, so I jumped off the cliff with a bit of a parachute. First I tried writing and selling my own books, found it’s difficult to sell books, and it wasn’t where my interest was. So I started ghostwriting and hit it right away; that was what I wanted to do. I kept at it and immediately started making good money. Now I make about twice what I made at Trader Joe’s.

Quotable moments

Frequently asked questions

How does the ghostwriting process begin?

With analysis. After a free initial consultation and a signed statement of work, the first month is three to four interviews a week to pin down the target market, the goal of the book, and who it’s for. That produces a plan for the whole book, followed by eight to twelve months of interviews, writing, and revising chapter by chapter, then a final pass and a professional editor before publication.

Does the author have to do much of the work?

Not necessarily. A ghostwriter can do nearly all of it with just a few interviews up front, which suits a busy executive who supplies a few parameters. Collaboration produces a book that fits the author more closely, but when the writer has enough knowledge of the subject, whether cybersecurity or a futuristic novel, they can take a brief and run with it.

How does a full-time ghostwriter avoid writer’s block?

By working on several projects at once, so a block on one doesn’t stop the day, and by breaking the routine deliberately: walks, hobbies, exercise, sleep, and sometimes a weekend away doing something unrelated. Staring at the same screen is the enemy; changing the input is the fix.

Why leave a stable enterprise IT career to write?

Burnout and autonomy. After years of being on call around the clock at a $20 billion company, with a new boss and shifting conditions, the position became untenable. With savings as a runway, Richard left in 2013, found selling his own books hard, pivoted to ghostwriting, and took to it immediately, now earning about twice his former tech income with the freedom of running his own business.