What is your story?

When I graduated, I knew I wanted to write, but that was all. From 22 to 30, I meandered through jobs in magazine journalism and advertising. Then, at 30, I decided I was not just a writer but an entrepreneur. I quit my advertising agency job, moved into a Laguna Beach duplex with my best friend, and began working for myself as a freelancer. It was the best decision I ever made. In 2004 I started ghostwriting nonfiction books on a large scale, and I've never looked back. As of 2021, I've been freelance for 26 years.

What exactly is ghostwriting?

Quite simply, ghostwriting is an old profession that involves helping someone else write a book but not getting the credit. I only ghost nonfiction; fiction ghosting today is quite rare. Book doctoring is something else, a combination of editing, writing new material, restructuring, and creatively destroying an existing manuscript written by someone else.

Do you ever get credit?

I get credit sometimes. Sometimes not. It's definitely something negotiated.

What attracted you to this job?

I was always a writer, but I always wanted to work for myself and get published, and later in my career, I wanted to be a journalist. Ghosting has let me do all of the above: freelance, publish dozens of books, work with incredible people, travel, land 4 books on major bestseller lists, and make a great living. It's really a fantastic way to be a professional writer.

Tell us about a memorable book writing experience?

One of my favorite ghosting experiences came in writing a book called "Blindsided" back in 2008 for a gentleman named Jim Cole. The book was about his surviving his SECOND grizzly bear mauling (yes, his second one), and as part of learning his story, I hiked with him into the Yellowstone backcountry where he was attacked. We didn't see any grizzlies close up—only far away, which is where I like them—but we did run headlong into a 3000-pound bison over a rise, which was a bit unnerving. I learned about this man's love for the great bear, about the travelers and first responders and doctors who saved him, and about Yellowstone itself. It remains one of my most cherished experiences as a ghost.

What is something that surprised you about your job?

In 2020 I learned that conducting interviews for a book via Zoom versus my usual practice of doing face-to-face interviews is not as satisfying or effective. It's hard to create intimacy and trust at a distance and ask good follow-up questions when you can't read body language and make real eye contact.

Who is your hero?

I really enjoy the work of Bill Bryson for its humor, its self-awareness, and its depth of research and storytelling. I also admire the late Harlan Ellison because of his passionate intensity, his drive to stand up for the rights of writers, and of course, the sheer brilliance of his ideas and his line-to-line writing.

And finally, what do you enjoy doing when not working?

Baseball, jazz and choral singing, woodworking, sailing, travel. I'm obsessed with maps. I can study them for hours on end.