The Art of ghostwriting

Writing (and ghostwriting) is a peculiar mix of art and science. The art part may seem obvious, but believe me, it's not. A big part of the art is finding the author's authentic "voice". Not every writer can find it. Of those that do, few can heighten it and transform it into something consistently memorable, the way, say, a great speech writer can, like JFK's legendary communications advisor, Ted Sorensen. He helped Kennedy articulate his vision for America and in the process unleash a decade of optimism upon the world.

Writing a book begins with a goal which drives the structure (contents) which creates a road map for disciplined creativity to work its magic. Creativity without structure is like playing a game made up without any rules: point-less and ultimately fun-less. 

Entrepreneur, venture capitalist and occasional jazz musician Josh Linkner explains its importance far better than me:

In jazz, 99 percent of the notes are improvised. Spontaneous creativity. However, that 1 per cent that’s on the written page is incredibly important. It provides musicians with a framework to direct and enhance their creativity. Disciplined Dreaming is the business-world equivalent to that 1 percent. It provides a structure that enables creativity.

I would add that unlike jazz, great books aren't 99 per cent improvised. More like 50/50. But I think the point is made.