By their fruits you will know them, by Ben Jeapes

Photo by Jane Trang Doan.

One frustration of touting yourself as a ghostwriter is that potential clients don’t just ask who else you've written for – which is reasonable – but also how well the result has performed. I see pitches from potential ghostwritees saying things like “looking for an experienced bestselling author”.

Unfortunately, the bestsellingness – or otherwise – is completely beyond your ability to affect. Obviously, if you had written it terribly then it would not do well. But you could write it beautifully, delivering a ripping, gripping tale that is exactly what the customer wanted … and with poor marketing, or for any other set of reasons, it may not do well at all. The sales have no relevance to your ability as a writer.

Here are are some harsh and fairly general facts: 

• A poorly (or indifferently) written book with good marketing will sell, probably, at least a little. 
• A well written, well marketed book will (probably) sell better. 
• A brilliantly written, poorly marketed book will probably not sell at all. 

Another harsh fact is that book marketing is a dark art, and not even publishers know which of their titles will do well. Which is lucky for us because it means they have to keep buying across a wide spread, knowing that some titles will hit the mark and keep the company in business.

This is one reason I love what I do. I hate marketing and will seize every opportunity not to have to do it. Because I am pretty impervious to other people’s marketing efforts, I can never make myself believe in what I’m doing – even though at the same time I appreciate that the ability to market well is a great gift, and it does work, and it’s essential.

Ultimately all you can do is do your bit and leave the rest to someone else. Like the parable of the sower and the seed; the sower’s job was to sow, after which they had no further input. Follow what you have been called to do, and trust in the caller to make something of it.

Ben Jeapes took up writing in the mistaken belief that it would be easier than a real job (it isn’t). Hence, as well as being the author of eight novels and co-author of many more, he has also been a journal editor, book publisher, and technical writer. His most recent title is a children’s biography of Ada Lovelace. www.benjeapes.com