Topic: Ghostwriting: how the process works, as well as it's limitations and benefits. Also: how ghostwriting has been affected by the powerful trends going on throughout the publishing industry. (A ghostwriter is a person hired to write for, with, or even instead of, the author of a book.)

Our guest is Claudia Suzanne. Claudia Suzanne has been a professional ghostwriter for decades and has participated in the creation of 132 books. She has watched firsthand how the negative trends in publishing have produced positive trends in ghostwriting. Based on her considerable experience, she has created, and teaches, a master's level college course called "Ghostwriting Professional Designation Program." This course offers the world's only ghostwriter certification. The course is taught at California State University, Long Beach, College of Continuing and Professional Education. (California State University, Long Beach--also known as Cal State Long Beach--is the second largest campus of the 23 school California State University system, and one of the largest universities in the state of California as measured by enrollment.)

[News Item:] In this episode I announce that I am now available as a professional ghostwriter, and that I am accepting clients. If you have a book in mind that you want to write but you can't quite finesse the words into smoothly flowing sentences, or you don't have the one thousand hours needed to devote to the project, you can hire me to transform your ideas into a well-written book with your name on the cover. (My name would not appear.) Mind you, your project doesn't have to be a book. You might want your ideas transformed into one or more magazine articles. I've written over a hundred magazine articles, so naturally, I'm comfortable with that format. Just email me. I'll send you more information, including my fee schedule, and we can set up a time to talk about your project on the phone. My email address is: [email protected].

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 10, 2014 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 44 minutes] This interview was recorded using Skype on December 4, 2014.

Stephen Euin Cobb has interviewed over 300 people for his work as an author, futurist, magazine writer and award-winning podcaster. A contributing editor for Space and Time Magazine; he has also been a regular contributor for Robot, H+, Grim Couture and Port Iris magazines; and he spent three years as a columnist and contributing editor for Jim Baen's Universe Magazine. For the last nine years he has produced a weekly podcast, The Future And You, which explores (through interviews, panel discussions and commentary) all the ways the future will be different from today. He is an artist, essayist, game designer, transhumanist, and is on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation. Stephen is the author an ebook about the future entitled: Indistinguishable from Magic: Predictions of Revolutionary Future Science.