Ghostwriting for the Busy Owner: Turning a Short Interview Into a Finished Article

Business owners know their businesses better than anyone. What they rarely have is an open afternoon to write about them. That gap is where ghostwriting earns its keep.

The process usually starts with a short interview. A conversation of 20 to 30 minutes can be enough for a focused article, as long as the questions are good. I ask about the idea behind the piece, the intended reader, the story that best illustrates the point, and the one thing the reader should remember. The owner talks, and I listen for the details that make an article specific rather than generic.

From that conversation I build a draft. I organize the ideas, choose the opening, and write in the owner's voice, using her phrases wherever possible. When a fact needs checking, I flag it. When the owner mentioned something in passing that deserves more space, I give it room.

Not every piece starts with an interview. Press releases, for example, often start with a few bullet points in an email or the company website, and a good writer can build a clear, accurate release from that material. The key is that the owner gives the writer enough to work from and then reviews the result.

I spent nearly a decade writing sponsored content for businesses in the Wilmington Business Journal, covering a wide range of industries. Each piece began the same way, with someone who knew a great deal and had little time. The job was to turn what they knew into something a stranger would want to read.

If you run a business and have been meaning to get your story into print, a short conversation is a good place to begin.