No. The purpose of hiring a ghostwriter is to present the work as if it is your own; I am your secret! As a journalist for nearly four decades, working in many different newsrooms, I can assure you that journalists – and, more importantly, readers – always prefer an “authentic” story to “PR-led”, placed “copy”. An eloquently worded, powerfully engaging article sent in by a politician, an expert academic or the Managing Director of a company is infinitely more attractive to a newspaper editor than a press release from a PR agency or anything written by an in-house spin-doctor.  Best of all, you get to keep the fee the newspaper pays you for “your” article.

I have worked for more than three decades in the mainstream media, including the (Irish) local, national and international press. I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Journalists and a former member of the National Union of Journalists (I allowed my membership to lapse and am reluctant to re-join because I believe the union’s active participation in political campaigns is incompatible with an organisation representing journalists). Anything I write for you will be tailored to your readership (or audience if it is a speech) and will have the unmistakeable polish of the “mainstream media”, whether it’s for a broadsheet or tabloid. Check out the selection of cuttings on this site for an idea of my range of writing styles, which, while diverse due to the publication and subject-matter, have one thing in common: professional journalism. Of course, individual editors may cut your article or wish to make changes; if so, feel free to come back to me for a quick edit.

Please see “Prices”. I charge fifty per cent of the fee before I start work, and the remainder on delivery.  And, as your ghostwriter, I only charge for the words I give you; you get to keep the newspaper fees, and, if I write a book for you, you keep the royalties and any advance paid to the author (that’s you!).