Interview with Luke Shipman, Director at The London Ghostwriting Company
What gap in the market did you see when you began thinking of setting up The London Ghostwriting Company more than a decade ago?
With the growing gig economy and the sudden ability for normies to build a reasonably professional website without needing to raise capital, I could see how regular people with significant stories would now be able to bypass traditional channels and go direct to a professional publishing service. With the overwhelming number of enquiries, I was immediately tasked with building my team; so you could say it was less of a gap and more of a ‘right place, right time’ type of scenario.
Ghostwriting has long been a discreet, freelance trade. What made you believe it could be built into a scalable business?
I guess that as the term ‘ghostwriter’ began to enter the public consciousness more and more, it was clear how people were now more readily able to hire what they wanted directly (instead of trying to enter the trade formally). The more the term became popular, via for example, the Polanski movie, our service just became more accessible and less shadowed.
What did the business look like in the first year compared to what does it look like now as you approach your 10th anniversary?
There are some differences but by-and-large the traditional nature of book publishing hasn’t changed. Good writing sits at the heart of the publishing industry whilst trends and fashions come and go. Self-publishing seems to have found its groove whilst AI has not ‘revolutionised’ anything.
How do you find, vet and manage your network of writers and editors, and how do you match the right writer to each client?
Our process is actually pretty brutal. Because there is no short supply of writerly talent in the UK, I’m in a position to pick only the best. Writers get in touch and I begin the vetting process which can take months, and in terms of match-making this is a nuanced and sensitive area of our service. The entire organisation is built around getting this part right but it involves a lot of meetings, at times sample writing, and a strange combination of ‘quick decisions without rushing’. I limit my number of ghosts, develop lasting relationships and friendships with everyone and think about things long-term. You’re often fighting battles with your writers, I see myself as being in their corner, while they are in the ring swinging, so it’s all about the support and backing.
What have been the biggest drivers of your growth: word of mouth, publisher relationships, digital marketing or international demand?
Undoubtedly our international demand. I think there will always be a high demand for the English writer from our friends in Europe, the US and Asia.
Your clients include executives, entrepreneurs and public figures. How do you handle confidentiality and trust when the whole product depends on being invisible?
We sign NDAs with our clients and never break them. What people will notice from our website is that we don’t brag about the titles we have delivered. Instead, we keep our work actively hidden. Our clients are paying us for this and it’s something we keep to.
How do you price a service that is creative, personal and hard to standardise? Has your pricing model changed over the decade?
You have to factor in a lot, including what might go wrong and a number of moving parts that are highly dynamic. Sometimes it’s a bit of guess work but we’re always trying to keep prices down for our clients. Sometimes that can mean running projects at a loss but the pros will still outweigh the cons.
How much of your work comes from continental Europe and beyond, and how do cultural differences shape the way leaders want to tell their stories?
I’d say over 50% now comes from outside the UK and probably a third of that is coming out of the continent. Overall, cultural differences do not influence or shape anything fundamental in storytelling. The principles that underpin the story are ancient and universal.
Are there differences between British, European and American clients in their appetite for books, memoirs or thought-leadership content?
I would say that the differences are to do with the individual personalities, more than things cultural.
With Europe’s strong literary and publishing traditions, do you see opportunities to expand your presence in markets such as Germany, France or the Nordics?
Yes, but we’ll always remain the ‘London’ ghostwriting company. Partners and affiliates will always expand but we’ll always be stationed here.
Generative AI and LLMs can produce readable text in seconds. Is this a threat or an opportunity for a premium ghostwriting firm?
New tech always provides new jobs and work. In the same way movable type created work for ghostwriters and editors, LLMs are providing us with a lot of text to edit and develop. Because of how the LLMs have under-delivered, we have just filed our record year, proving ourselves as AI resilient, despite the threats of ‘technological unemployment’. Our turnover increased by 103% on the year.
Do you use AI anywhere in your process, such as research, transcription or first drafts, and where do you draw the line?
No we don’t. We did try some transcription software once but it just ruins a key part of the process. I don’t support any of it apart from spell-check.
How might the EU AI Act and questions about authorship, copyright and disclosure affect ghostwriting in Europe?
Because this area of literary criticism is not new; the contemporary discussion will click into the broader areas of thinking concerning the history of authorship. At the same time I’ll be watching the discussions closely. My assumption being that any Act will struggle to achieve much, for this conversation is not related to the arrival of any ‘new’ technology but dates back to a time before Grub Street. The existentialists and post-structuralists told us more than we need to know about authorship.
What will a successful ghostwriting company look like in 2036, and what has to happen for yours to reach its 20th anniversary?
Because robots won’t replace us, it won’t change much. Person needs book. Scribe writes book. To get to 20 though, we might need to integrate into book publishing. This has always interested me, the specialist skills at the production level are things I want to learn more about. I can also see us getting into film a bit more. We attract a lot of script-doctors and almost everyone who needs our help on books is always dreaming of the silver screen. We’ll have to see though. After all, I might be wrong about the robots.
