Hello, I’m Robert Metzger. I’m a ghostwriter. You can see we are behind the scenes in a video studio. I’m going to take you behind the scenes in the ghostwriting process.

This series of short videos describes the entire process of ghost writing a manuscript for a technology book, as I execute it. A number of professional ghost writers follow a similar process.

I am going to limit my comments to writing manuscripts for books. There are also professionals who write blogs or articles, which are published under other people’s names.

Successful ghostwriters specialize in a particular area. I write non-fiction for the technology marketplace. Why? Because I also have technical expertise in a number of technology fields:

• cyber-security,

• human-computer interfaces,

• natural language processing,

• debugging,

• programming language compilers,

• machine learning,

• artificial intelligence, and

• parallel computing.

Our journey together to create your book begins with a phone call. Either you pick up the phone and call me, or you send me a text message or an Email suggesting some times that would fit your schedule. I will accept one, and wait for your call at the appointed hour.

The first thing to do in our meeting is to set the agenda. I find that meetings without agendas waste time.

If you want me to write a new manuscript from scratch, the agenda will be the following:

First, we get acquainted. You can tell me about yourself, from a professional perspective, and I will do the same.

Second, you tell me about your idea for a book. You will do most of the talking, and I will ask you questions for clarification.

Third, when I hear you raise questions or voice concerns, I will do my best to address them.

Fourth, after you’ve finished telling me about your book, you will want to get some idea of pricing and schedule. At this point, I don’t have enough information to provide precision on either. I will suggest a range that should enable you to decide whether I can meet your goals within your budget.

One question I will ask will be for your recommendations of books I should read on the subject, if I’m not already familiar with it. I will also ask about books that you consider competitors to the book you are planning.

If you want me to edit or finish an existing manuscript or write a proposal for an agent or publisher, the agenda will be similar, but the duration will be shorter.

When we have covered the agenda, you decide how to proceed. If you are ready to discuss terms and conditions, I will Email you a copy of my standard contract for you and your attorney to review. If you want time to think, we can make an appointment for a follow-up phone call or Email.

The purpose of the second interview is to answer questions you have thought about since the first interview. These questions might be about the writing process, the publishing business, the standard contract, and so forth.

I want you to have full confidence that you are making the right choice in hiring me to ghost write your book. At this point we resolve those issues I need to understand in order to provide a specific price and schedule.

That’s it for now. Check back soon for the second episode in “Technology Ghostwriter behind the Scenes.”

You can learn more about my ghostwriting business at www.robertmetzger.com.