The Mojave Speaks

One late summer afternoon, I was typing in the shade by my desert maison. The heat shimmered above creosote and Joshua trees. I spotted a red-tailed hawk sitting on a utility pole. It took off, its wings spread wide, catching the rising warm air in a long, lazy circle. One or two keeee-eees (just like a Hollywood movie!), and it folded its wings and dove into the scrub. A moment later, it flapped back up to the pole, a lizard in its talons. Broad perspective…pinpoint accuracy… I want to be a red-tailed hawk, I wrote that night in my journal. 

The Match That Matters As Much As Skill

Walking into the second annual Gathering of the Ghosts, hosted by Gotham Ghostwriters and the Association of Ghostwriters, I was excited to see many people doing the same work but colorfully different in approach. We’re wrens and ravens, hummingbirds, raptors, and owls.

Most authors approach hiring a ghostwriter through best-seller status. Important, of course! But something else often predicts success: matched working habits.

A meticulous nest-builder will frustrate a visionary who thinks in leaps. A high-flyer who needs autonomy will clash with a client who needs daily check-ins. Both are skilled. Neither is wrong. They’re just mismatched wingspans.

When You Talk About Your Book (or Try to Start Writing), Which Version of You Shows Up?

If you’re struggling to articulate what your book is really about—or if your answer changes depending on who’s asking—you don’t need to “pick one thing.” You need someone who can help you integrate multiple parts of your expertise into one cohesive vision.

Think about the last 3–5 times you described your book project. Which “version of you” dominated?

• The Credentialed Expert: Formal, research-heavy, citing sources. Wants to prove they know their field. Concerned with being taken seriously.
• The Storyteller: Personal, narrative, sharing experiences. Wants to connect emotionally through sensory details and specific moments. Wants to be engaging and relatable.
• The Strategist: Frameworks, systems, step-by-step processes. Wants to provide practical tools. Concerned with being useful and having actionable steps.
• The Provocateur: Challenging assumptions, questioning norms. Strives to shift how readers think. Wants to be original.
• Or something else entirely? Maybe the teacher, the activist, the researcher, the artist—name whoever keeps showing up.

Now notice the pattern

Do these versions complement each other—or compete?

If you naturally emphasize your expertise when talking to industry peers and your personal journey when talking to general readers, you might just need help with transitions and manuscript flow.

But if you’re changing what your book is fundamentally about depending on who’s listening—describing it as a how-to guide in one conversation and a memoir in the next—you’re experiencing domain conflict.

Does one version feel more “legitimate” than the others?

Many authors I work with confess, “I tell people about my research because that sounds serious, but what I really want to write about is how it changed my life,” or “I describe my business framework, but I keep wanting to add stories that seem off-topic.”

If you’re leading with one version while suppressing others because they don’t seem “book-worthy,” you’re fragmenting your vision.

Have you abandoned your big idea because you didn’t know where to start?

One client came to me with an idea that could be split into three separate books: A memoir following their personal journey. A how-to guide organized by methodology. A manifesto challenging industry assumptions

Each time they sat down to meet, a different version felt most urgent. They’d start with memoir, then panic that it wasn’t practical enough. Switch to how-to, then worry it lacked soul. Pivot to manifesto, then fear it was too abstract.

That was their expertise needing multiple voices orchestrated—not one voice chosen.

What This Shows

• Different voices in different contexts: You might need a ghostwriter-developmental-editor who can help translate your natural voice-switching into a book structure where each voice has its place.
• Changing what the book is fundamentally about: You need a ghostwriter-strategist who can build the architecture that lets different expertises coexist and serve the same core message.
• Suppressing certain voices as illegitimate: You need someone who can help you integrate all your expertise(s) into one authentic presence.
• A big idea feels like multiple books fighting for attention: You need someone who can identify which voice anchors your structure, which provides texture, and how to orchestrate them into one coherent book through collaborative book development.

Stronger for Our Differences

Two days among my ghostwriter flock reinforced what I saw in that hawk: no “best” approach, only matched or mismatched wingspans.

If you recognize yourself in that diagnostic—if different versions of you keep competing, if you’re cutting legitimate parts of your expertise to find “one voice,” if your big idea keeps shape-shifting—let’s talk.

I bring the red-tailed hawk approach: circling wide for perspective and strategy, then diving into precise editorial work. My clients need someone who can help them integrate multiple expertises instead of forcing them to choose.

Book a free 20-minute Book Strategy Call! We’ll explore which voices are showing up in your manuscript, whether they need integration or just better transitions, and whether my multihyphenate approach to ghostwriting and book development matches your book’s complexity.

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Elizabeth Smith is a ghostwriter, developmental editor, and book strategist with two decades of publishing experience—and a southpaw with a mean right hook. Between a NYC boxing gym and her Mojave Desert maison, she helps thinkers, creatives, and organizations articulate their ideas through books that resonate deeply.

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