Ginny Carter is a bestselling ghostwriter of 25 books, a book coach, and an award-winning author. She takes entrepreneurs, coaches, and consultants from everyday expert to respected thought leader through the book that grows their reputation and expands their business. She is the author of Your Business Your Book and How to Write a Self-Help Book.
Host: Richard Lowe | Guest: Ginny Carter
Interview Transcript
Richard: Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Ginny: I have a background in marketing — I worked in the corporate world for about 18 years. Then I left and started working as a freelance social media manager when social media was really exploding. Smaller businesses needed expertise but couldn’t afford in-house people, so I managed their accounts, posted, tweeted, built their audiences.
It was going well but became relentless. I started working with a coach to figure out what I wanted to do. Through that process, I realized something my clients always told me: “You sound just like us when you’re posting for us. How do you do it?” I thought everyone could do that. But I realized I had a talent for writing in other people’s voices.
I always loved writing — I did an English degree years ago. So the idea came to me that I could be a ghostwriter for business books, since I had all this business experience. I slowly transitioned from social media into ghostwriting.
What I realized was that business books are a very diverse world. It encompasses HR, entrepreneurship, personal development, memoirs — particularly business memoirs for people who’ve had career success and want to talk about how they achieved it. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know all those different niches.
Promoting Yourself as a Ghostwriter
Richard: How do you promote yourself?
Ginny: My social media experience really helped. But when I first started, I’d never promoted myself. That was a big learning curve — talking about myself, selling myself. I had to get over thinking people would think I’m arrogant. Maybe that’s a British thing.
Now I mainly promote through my website, my blog, and LinkedIn. Clients find me through those. Also through podcasts and interviews like this. I’m not a big Instagram or Facebook person — LinkedIn is better for my business audience.
I think people look in various different places when they want to work with someone. If you’ve got a website here, a profile there, a book here, a blog there, a podcast — people join the dots and slowly get to you. The fewer places you are, the less likely people are to find you.
Writing Her Own Books
Richard: You’ve written some of your own books. What are they about?
Ginny: Your Business Your Book is about how to write your own business book — how to make yourself an authority figure in your field. One client found me by going to Amazon, typing in “how to write a business book,” buying three books including mine, deciding he liked my approach, and contacting me to ghostwrite his next book. If I hadn’t written that book, that job would never have come to me.
How to Write a Self-Help Book came from my experience judging a book awards. I read between 50 and 100 personal development books in two years — a real baptism of fire. A lot of them made the same mistakes. The ones that didn’t work all did the same things wrong. I thought, why don’t I write a book about how to do it right?
AI and Ghostwriting
Richard: How’s AI affecting your business?
Ginny: At first I was probably like many writers — thinking this is the beginning of the end. Then I read a quote: “You will lose your job to somebody who knows how to use AI, before you lose it to AI.” That resonated with me. I needed to learn how to use it.
I’ve been both impressed and somewhat smugly disappointed by what it can and can’t do. A lot of it is learning how to ask the right questions. It gives me suggestions, most of which I won’t take because they’re not right or not good enough. But they spark ideas to do something else. I’ve been pleased with how it helps with editing, but you have to apply your own judgment. I’ve got a more positive attitude about it now — it can be helpful. But where it will lead the writing profession, we don’t know.
The Rewards and Challenges of Ghostwriting
Ginny: What’s really rewarding is when you get it right and the client is really pleased with their book. It’s like you’ve made their dream come true. They’ve been wanting that book for years sometimes. There’s a real sense of satisfaction in that.
Every book is a new journey — a whole new set of challenges and wonderful things to learn. The great thing about being a ghostwriter is you get to become a world expert in something for six months. You learn so much. Then you put it to one side and start on the next book.
I’d like to do more memoirs. They’re really rewarding and challenging. You work with people in a different way — clients with much more personal issues. It’s a much more immersive experience.
Richard: What’s your most difficult client experience?
Ginny: I once worked with a guy who didn’t have as much to say as he thought he did. We burned through the material quickly, and then he became uncooperative — not turning up for meetings. We had to bring it to a close. But I’ve not had that many difficult experiences, really. Unreliable clients are the hardest — people who change their mind at the last minute.
I’ve also had a client who paid for the entire book and never published it. I think they get cold feet. Having a book out there does expose you, and it can be scary.
Ginny: If you’ve got a book waiting to come out, just get whatever help you need. A coach, a ghostwriter, an editor. I talk to so many people who have this desire and haven’t done it for one reason or another. Just work out what’s stopping you and go for it.
Learn more about Ginny Carter on LinkedIn.
Find Richard Lowe at TheWritingKing.com.