“It’s the torque—the power from being grounded.”

At Supreme Team Boxing, Coach Vlad focuses my attention on my back foot—again, because that foot holds the power of impact. The power doesn’t start in your shoulders. It’s ground yourself, pivot the back foot, let the hip torque, and wham.

I throw the combination. This time I feel it—a chain reaction from the pivot through the rotation of my hips through the solid impact of my glove on his pad. An arm punch feels weak. But when I’m properly grounded and generate power from that hip rotation, a punch carries weight behind it.

Last month at the 2nd Gathering of the Ghosts, a conference where professional ghostwriters gather to talk shop, I heard the same principle applied to book partnerships. As a guest blogger, I summarized a panel on how ghostwriters find and close with their ideal clients. 

This is good news for authors. They’re looking for the right match as intentionally as you’re looking for them.

Inside the Ring with Professional Ghosts

The ghostwriters on this panel weren’t just service providers looking for any client who could pay. They were building sustainable, ethical practices—holistic systems for creating meaningful books. Some specialized in business books, others in healthcare narratives or trauma survivor stories. Some focus exclusively on commemorative works for families and institutions.

They find their authors deliberately: through referrals, targeted online searches, strategic visibility via articles and presentations. They’re present, visible, and selective. When they close a project, it’s not about selling you something you don’t want. It’s about listening to discover what you actually need, then using their expertise to take you there.

It’s also how Coach Vlad works with his fighters. If you want a sparring partner to take you far, here’s what you do. 

Set Your Feet

Before you step into the ring with a potential ghostwriting partner, know these fundamentals:

Identify your support needs. Do you need a coach to guide your own writing? Someone to organize your scattered material? A full ghostwriter who’ll conduct interviews and craft the manuscript from start to finish? Be honest about where you are and what you actually want.

Trust your gut. Check out their website and online presence. Does their voice speak to you? Do their values seem to align with yours? 

Fill out intake forms thoroughly. Be clear whether you’re window shopping for information or ready to invest. The more specific you can be about where you are and where you want to go, the better they can serve you—or refer you to someone who can.

Get real about the rounds in the ring ahead. Budget and timeline matter. Ghostwriters charge what they do because of the complexity of the work—interviews, idea connection, strategic thinking. That human touch isn’t cheap or quick. Some may provide pricing menus so you can see if you’re a budget fit. All need to know what you want in order to share their rates accurately. Educate yourself on market realities and, more importantly, on your North Star: why you’re writing this book.

Touch Gloves

Finding the right ghostwriting partner is like finding the right sparring partner or coach. They know how to meet you where you are and take you where you want to be. They understand that your book’s power comes from being grounded in what you’re actually trying to say—your authentic voice, your unique story, your specific expertise. That’s your center of gravity, which grounds your footwork.

When authors come to me—we work on the footwork first. What’s your North Star? Why this book? What transformation are you really after? Once you’re grounded in that, everything else builds from there: from the scope of work and budget through the building of the structure and the compelling reason to buy your book. Ground, pivot, hips, punch. The power chain.

Coach Vlad doesn’t try to make me fight like someone else. He helps me discover my own power from my own grounded stance. The right ghostwriter does the same thing, just with words instead of combinations.

Ready to find your corner? I wrote more about the conference panel here. And if you’re ready to talk about where you are in your book journey and where you want to go, let’s connect.

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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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