The sun rises late in a ghostwriter’s world not because we’re lazy or slow, but because we were probably editing a draft at 1:47 a.m. while munching on cold plantain chips and sipping a cup of juice to stay awake and beat deadlines.
That’s the odd but rewarding life of a good ghostwriter. We most times dwell in the shadows of brilliance, voicing thoughts that are not ours and giving shape and form to stories we may never take credit for. And while many think we simply write, there’s a backstage process they rarely see.
One of those overlooked phases is “what happens after transcription.” Because, trust me, it’s not as simple as tapping the “record” button, listening back, and typing out words as people presume all the time. Yes, it is part of it, but that’s just the beginning. The real storytelling begins after transcription.
9:00 AM – THE TRANSCRIPTION FILE STARES BACK
I usually start my day with heartfelt prayers to God and a plate of freshly cooked Indomie and eggs with carrots and green peppers to garnish it, especially on days I am not on a fast. Then I have a cup of chilled water to douse the pepper. It’s cool and soothing effect down my throat leaves a savoury aftertaste in my mouth.
Then I open my laptop and navigate to my Google Drive, finding my way to my workspace. For a few minutes, I stared at the blinking cursor on the transcription document at a loss as to where to start. I had thought it would just be a piece of cake, only to realise that presenting another person’s story in their voice wasn’t a day’s job.
The file is 75 minutes long, full of stories, half-finished thoughts, repeated phrases, and additional voice notes that trail off each time the speaker is overcome by emotion. This is not just text. This is raw work.
And that’s where the next step begins: “shaping draft into clarity.”
10:00 AM – DECODING THE STORYLINE
Transcripts are like untapped potentials. Buried within the pages are drama, humour, heartbreak, and triumph, but that’s not all. I need to cut, polish, and set it into a beautifully written narrative. This step is more than editing grammar; it is about capturing tone, nuances, and meaning.
So, sometimes I print out the transcript (yes, it looks old school, but I always have this unspoken connection with words on literal paper; it seems to spark my innate creativity sometimes). I then grab my favourite red pen, and read through the lines comparing them with the notes I made and the draft on my laptop, highlighting quotes that carry weight, circling themes and jotting down potential chapter headings in the margins, trying to fit in details and different ideas.
In this particular transcript, I notice a powerful thread: resilience. She spoke about surviving a near-fatal car crash while on duty and how that moment reset her life compass. Boom!!! The chore narrative I’ve been searching for. I smiled like one who had won a trophy. Everything seems to be fitting in perfectly, I thought gleefully.
12:30 PM – LUNCH AND MENTAL RECHARGE
I look at the time and it’s 12:30 pm, and I was already feeling the pangs of hunger and exhaustion gnawing at me. My tummy began to rumble in sync with my thoughts. I stretched my aching bones.
You need to take a mental break, I said to myself. I turn on my music, stretching for my boom box. Putting a soul-lifting sound on as I made my way first to the fridge, throwing some chin chin into my mouth as I turned towards the kitchen. Even while in the kitchen, my brain keeps working in the background. Ideas simmer even when I’m not staring at the screen.
1:30 PM – TRANSFORMATION BEGINS
Now comes the crafting. I felt quite refreshed after the meal and the rest. Immediately, I began creating a rough outline based on the highlighted themes. How do I then structure the contents, I asked, racking my brain? Do I do it chronologically, or thematically?
Finally, after looking at my outline again, I decided to work through the story in a chronological way. The key is to preserve the voice of the speaker and maintain her tone as much as possible. My job was to make sure her identity didn’t get lost in my pen.
So paragraph by paragraph, I rewrite the transcript into a first draft of a memoir chapter, calling it my ‘prologue’. I cut out fillers, clarify thoughts, insert context where needed, and sometimes I pause a little and look at what I have written to ensure proper flow of thoughts.
4:00 PM – RESEARCH, FACT-CHECKING, AND CONTEXTUALISING
A good writer is known for verifying facts and cross-checking details. Yes, it looks like the less glamorous part of writing, but it is a very crucial part—fact-checking. So, I start checking and cross-checking places, names and dates the client mentioned, especially for accuracy. Sometimes, I discover fascinating details that enrich the story. If she says, “I met Yar’Adua in 1995,” I verify where the late elder statesman was that year, what was happening politically, and whether that event aligns.
I do this because this not only protects the credibility of the client but adds layers to the narrative.
6:00 PM – SIGNING OFF
I take a look at my time and it shows 6pm. Time to sign off I said, heaving a sigh of relief, glad that I was able to achieve something substantial. Tomorrow we grind again! I shut down my laptop, but I kept a notebook nearby.
You never know, inspiration has a funny way of showing up at midnight, whispering, “What if you started the book with that story about her praying fervently in that IDP camp?”
For the ghostwriter, after transcription, the real magic begins. And though no one may ever know my name on the cover, I sleep knowing I helped someone tell their story well.