54. Ghostwriters

July 5, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Dan Paisner has been an international tennis star, an Academy Award–winning actor, and the governor of Ohio. You have never heard of him. “I don't think anybody's combing through the bookshelf in Barnes and Noble and saying, Oh, this is a Daniel Paisner book. I should buy it,” he says. “They're buying it because of the celebrity name that's on the spine.” Paisner is a ghostwriter. Over three decades, he has written seventy books, including seventeen New York Times bestsellers, for clients like Serena Williams, Denzel Washington, Whoopi Goldberg, and Ivanka Trump. His job is to get inside the heads of people who are very careful about what they reveal. “You push people to reflect and reconsider the stuff of their lives for public consumption,” he says. “It's a very sort of naked and personal and intimate transaction.”

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What you'll learn

1 (01:06) **Introducing Dan Paisner, Ghostwriter** - A veteran ghostwriter who has written 70 books, including 17 New York Times bestsellers, for clients like Serena Williams, Denzel Washington, and Whoopi Goldberg.
2 (02:43) **The History of Ghostwriting** - The practice dates back thousands of years, but the modern business took off in 1984 with William Novak's collaboration with Lee Iacocca.
3 (04:29) **The Ghostwriter's Process: Immersion and Intimacy** - Paisner describes spending days with subjects, staying in their homes, and joining them on tour to understand their lives.
4 (07:47) **Valerie Frankel's Experience: From Joan Rivers to Snooki** - Another veteran ghostwriter describes the intense, intimate nature of the work.
5 (09:13) **The Ghostwriter as "Civilian" Advisor** - Ghostwriters are exposed to sensitive information and must act as a real-world sounding board.
6 (10:19) **The Economics of Ghostwriting** - The business side of the industry, from matchmaking to pay structures.
7 (15:35) **How Ghostwriters Get Paid** - The financial realities of the profession.

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Show Notes

Channeling the voices of celebrities can be a lucrative career — one that requires empathy and discretion as well as literary chops. Zachary Crockett checks the acknowledgements. This episode was originally published on June 30th, 2024.

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