Hiring a Ghostwriter to Write Your Book, with Hal Clifford, Hal Clifford Associates
On this episode of The Price and Value Journey, host John Ray welcomes Hal Clifford, a seasoned ghostwriter with four decades of experience, to discuss hiring a ghostwriter to write the book you’ve always dreamed about. Hal shared insights into the ghostwriting process, the importance of a good writer-client relationship, and the strategic benefits of publishing a book for business professionals. With a rich background in editing and developing bestsellers, Hal delves into his journey from magazine editing to ghostwriting, the distinctions between ghostwriting, editing, and coaching, and offers practical advice for selecting a ghostwriter. The discussion covers the emotional journey of book writing, the process from interviews to publication, and the business case for professionals to publish, emphasizing that the return on investment largely comes from enhanced credibility and client engagement rather than book sales themselves.
The Price and Value Journey is presented by John Ray and produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®.
Hal Clifford, Hall Clifford Associates
Hal Clifford has dedicated over four decades to the craft of writing and editing, leaving a significant mark in the literary world. He has played a pivotal role in editing New York Times bestseller David Goggins’ books Can’t Hurt Me and Never Finished. His expertise also extends to developing multiple Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestsellers, such as Joe Mechlinski’s Shift the Work and Krister Ungerböck’s 22 Talk Shifts. Clifford’s editorial acumen has been recognized in book reviews by the New York Times, including works like Ginger Strand’s Killer on the Road and Inventing Niagara, as well as James Prosek’s Eels.
Clifford is also the author of the upcoming title Blackout Punch, highlighting the fastest-growing, most notorious beverage in America. Having written three published nonfiction books under his own name, he deeply understands the immersive process of living with a subject for extended periods of time. His career milestones include serving as the Editor in Chief at Scribe Media, an independent publishing company, up until early 2023. He left Scribe Media to establish his own venture, Hal Clifford Associates, focusing on ghostwriting, editing, and publishing.
His previous role as the Executive Editor at Orion magazine saw Clifford edit stories that were finalists for the National Magazine Award for Best Essay and pieces included in Best American Science and Nature Writing. The magazine’s receipt of the Utne General Excellence Award distinguished his tenure at Orion. Clifford’s collaborative efforts with renowned writers such as Wendell Berry, Barry Lopez, Rebecca Solnit, Terry Tempest Williams, Bill McKibben, and many other talented individuals, underscore his significant contributions to literature and the broader publishing industry.
Topics Discussed in this Episode
00:00 Welcome to The Price and Value Journey with John Ray
00:04 The Journey of Writing and Publishing a Book
01:01 Introducing Hal Clifford: A Master Ghostwriter
02:36 Hal Clifford’s Ghostwriting Journey and Philosophy
04:16 Understanding the Roles: Ghostwriter, Editor, and Book Coach
06:58 Choosing the Right Path for Your Book
08:27 Evaluating and Hiring the Right Ghostwriter
19:16 The Ghostwriting Process: From Interviews to Manuscript
23:14 The Ghostwriting Process: From Draft to Publication
24:24 Adapting to the Author’s Style and Utilizing Existing Content
25:27 Navigating the Emotional Journey of Writing a Book
27:36 The Challenges of Revisions and Editing
29:06 Personal Stories: The Power and Peril of Vulnerability
32:50 The Timeline and Accountability in Book Publishing
36:07 The True Value of Publishing a Business Book
42:29 Connecting with the Author and Final Thoughts
About The Price and Value Journey
The title of this show describes the journey all professional service providers are on: building a services practice by seeking to convince the world of the value we offer, helping clients achieve the outcomes they desire, and trying to do all that at pricing that reflects the value we deliver.
If you feel like you’re working too hard for too little money in your solo or small firm practice, this show is for you. Even if you’re reasonably happy with your practice, you’ll hear ways to improve both your bottom line and the mindset you bring to your business.
The show is hosted and produced by John Ray and the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®. The show can also be found on all the major podcast apps. The complete show archive is here.
John Ray, Host of The Price and Value Journey
John Ray is the host of The Price and Value Journey.
John owns Ray Business Advisors, a business advisory practice. John’s services include business coaching and advisory work, as well as advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their pricing. John is passionate about the power of pricing for business owners, as changing pricing is the fastest way to change the profitability of a business. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, consultants, coaches, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
In his other business, John is a Show Host and Producer and owns the North Fulton (Georgia) studio of Business RadioX®. John and his team work with B2B professionals to create and conduct their own podcast using The Generosity Mindset™ Method: building and deepening relationships in a non-salesy way that translates into revenue for their business.
John is also the host of North Fulton Business Radio. With over 750 shows and having featured over 1,200 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in its region like no one else.
John’s Book, The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices
John is the #1 National Bestselling Author of The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices.
If you are a professional services provider, your goal is to do transformative work for clients you love working with and get paid commensurate with the value you deliver to those clients. While negative mindsets can inhibit your growth, adopting a different mindset, The Generosity Mindset™, can replace those self-limiting beliefs. The Generosity Mindset enables you to diagnose and communicate the value you deliver to clients and, in turn, more effectively price to receive a portion of that value.
Whether you’re a consultant, coach, marketing or branding professional, business advisor, attorney, CPA, or work in virtually any other professional services discipline, your content and technical expertise are not proprietary. What’s unique, though, is your experience and how you synthesize and deliver your knowledge. What’s special is your demeanor or the way you deal with your best-fit clients. What’s invaluable is how you deliver great value by guiding people through massive changes in their personal lives and in their businesses that bring them to a place they never thought possible.
The combination of all these elements is quite different for you compared to any other service provider in your industry. Therein lies your value, but it’s not the value you see. It’s the value your best-fit customers see in you.
If pricing your value feels uncomfortable or unfamiliar to you, this book will teach you why putting a price on the value your clients perceive and identify serves both them and you, and you’ll learn the factors involved in getting your price right.
The book is available at all major physical and online book retailers worldwide. Follow this link for further details.
