What I offer

If you’re an expert in your field, I’d love to help you share your expertise with the world.

• I’m the author of one business book, THE MIDDLEMAN ECONOMY, and have completed collaborations on four others: SECRETS OF THE MONEYLAB, DIE WITH ZERO, HOW GOOGLE WORKS, and TRILLION DOLLAR COACH. (I was the co-author on the first, the ghostwriter on the second, and the researcher on the remaining two.)
• My articles and essays have appeared in Discover, the New York Times Magazine, Scientific American and Scientific American Mind, O, The Oprah Magazine, Psychology Today, Slate, FastCompany, Stanford Magazine, the Washington Post, Wired, and more.
• I earned my degree in English from Stanford University, and for more than 10 years I wrote articles about faculty research for the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
• Before I turned to journalism and editorial consulting, I worked for 8 years as a software technical writer, first on staff and later as an independent contractor — creating user manuals for Oracle, Apple, and other software companies. During this time, I also wrote an after-market book, UNDERSTANDING THE ORACLE SERVER, published by Prentice-Hall.
• My experience in explanatory journalism serves my clients well: I ask probing questions to fully understand your ideas — so that I can ultimately explain these ideas to your audience in an engaging and accessible way. I also understand how acquiring editors think, helping you create pieces that editors will be inclined to accept with minimal revision.
• My editorial services include ghostwriting, developmental editing, finding relevant research and examples, creating and critiquing book proposals, suggesting appropriate agents, and guiding authors through the entire process from idea to publication.

What to expect in working with me

• Whether you are looking for help with a book or an article, the writing itself can’t start without some serious thinking and planning. What is your book or article trying to achieve? Who is the audience? What’s the best way to approach the project, and what will a successful end product look like? These are some of the key questions you must answer before you begin writing — yet I find that most experts who come to me need help with thinking through these questions; even if they have editorial know-how, they are usually too close to the material to see the forest for the trees.

That’s why my first offer is almost always for a consultation. For example, if you’ve submitted some written materials, I’ll most likely suggest a consultation consisting of a review of the materials and a video call to discuss this feedback, answer questions, and suggest next steps. Or, if you’re looking for help with a book proposal to submit to agents and publishers, the consultation will help you tease out whether you truly have the makings of a salable proposal before you invest the time and money in developing the proposal. No matter what the project, starting with a consultation is an opportunity for both of us to test the waters before deciding whether we want to make a larger commitment to a full article, a book proposal, or an entire book.

• If you’re looking for help with a book, know that a book is a huge undertaking. “No kidding,” you say — “that’s why I’m looking for a ghostwriter!” But even with a ghostwriter, a book is still a huge undertaking for you because it’s impossible to outsource all the work — a successful client-ghostwriter relationship is truly a collaboration, requiring significant time and effort from both parties. Yes, working with me will save you time (and will yield higher quality) than doing everything yourself — but you are the expert in your subject and in what you like. So to attain the best possible product you need to carve out time for interviews, draft reviews, and the like.

The single biggest time commitment I ask for of book authors is a regular weekly call (about one hour); during that call, I ask questions to gather all the information I need to do that week’s work on my end. Doing that not only enables me to work efficiently (which saves you money) — it also helps me capture your voice (in a way that sending me a bunch of documents does not).

What clients say about me

You can check out my testimonials.

Questions?

Just email me (marina [at] marinakrakovsky.com).