In Episode 107, Barbara Feinman Todd (author of Pretend I’m Not Here) takes me behind the scenes of ghostwriting after a career of writing for many top names in Washington, DC.  Barbara is wonderfully candid and we have a fascinating discussion all about the nuts and bolts of ghostwriting, and the emotional and personal side of the business.

This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

Highlights

• How Barbara’s ghostwriting career began
• Nothing is typical when it comes to ghostwriting including the services offered
• The reasons people might need a ghostwriter
• The surprising distinction between author and writer.
• We discuss confidentiality agreements and the vetting process
• How ghostwriters get paid
• Who has veto power and control of the information
• The allure of the job and protecting your own legacy
• The struggle with the moralities and ethics of ghostwriting 
• How Barbara handled balancing the work with the intimate access to other people’s lives
• Figuring out the perspective and angle for writing about the subject
• A surprising person who requested her ghostwriting services
• What Barbara is currently working on (it’s fiction!)
• Her ongoing nonfiction project that started with a diary from 1872

Barbara’s Book Recommendations [29:43]

Two OLD Books She Loves

• Henry and Clara by Thomas Mallon | Amazon | Bookshop.org [30:00]
• Bleaker House by Nell Stevens | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:07]

Two NEW Books She Loves

• The Latinist by Mark Prins | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:20]
• Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:02]

One Book She DIDN’T LOVE

• Trump: The Art of the Deal by Donald J. Trump with Tony Schwartz | Amazon| Bookshop.org [40:30]

One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About

• Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (April 5, 2022) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:50]

Last 5-Star Book Barbara Read

• Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:41]

Other Books Mentioned

• It Takes a Village by Hillary Rodham Clinton [01:08]
• Veil by Bob Woodward [01:11]
• Loyalties by Carl Berstein [01:13]
• A Good Life by Ben Bradlee [01:15]
• Open by Andre Agassi [19:17]
• A Woman’s Place by Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky with Barbara Feinman [18:41]
• Open Book by Jessica Simpson [25:07]
• Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty [28:14]
• Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens (July 19, 2022) [34:57]
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt  [36:20]
• Possession by A. S. Byatt [36:25]
• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel [46:04]
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel [46:07]

Other Links

• Slate | Ghost in the Machine: A Washington Ghostwriter Gets Caught in the Clinton Scandal Complex
• The Washington Post | Mrs. Clinton’s Book:  A Ghost Story?  The Flap Over Who Write Village
• The New Yorker | Donald Trump’s Ghostwriter Tells All

About Barbara

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Barbara Feinman Todd is the author of the 2017 memoir Pretend I’m Not Here. She taught journalism at Georgetown University for 25 years, where she was the founding Journalism Director and is currently professor emerita.  Cofounder of the Pearl Project, she coauthored the e-book The Truth Left Behind: Inside the Kidnapping and Murder of Daniel Pearl. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, Glamour, the Huffington Post, the Daily Beast, Newsweek, and on NPR.