Why I Create a Playlist for Every Book Project I Do

Alison Kilian
2 min readJan 12, 2024

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Ghostwriters need to adapt to each clientā€™s unique voice. Iā€™ve found music can help.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-woman-listening-to-music-3760685/

Every book project I work on gets its own playlist. šŸŽ¶ Itā€™s one fun way I adapt to each clientā€™s voice as a ghostwriter. Capturing the clientā€™s unique voice is a must and there are a few things I do to help get it right:

  1. Listen.šŸ‘‚In every interview with a client, Iā€™m listening not just to what they say but how they say it. What words and phrases do they use? Are there certain types of metaphors they tend to use? Do they curse or would they never? I had one client who loved nature metaphors, for example, while I had another who was into nautical analogies. I note all of this in one go-to document that I consult (and update) throughout the project.
  2. Read. šŸ“š If the client has previously published work, I take a read to get a sense of their style. If they donā€™t, I ask them what kind of writing style they hope to emulate. Ideally, they can point me toward some examples that at least give me a sense of the basics (e.g., formal versus laidback, flowery versus plainspoken, etc.)
  3. Jam out.šŸ’ƒ When it comes time to sit down and write, I like to have a go-to playlist for each client. The songs on that list capture the overall āœØļø vibe āœØļø of the clientā€™s book. I blast the tunes to get in the right headspace before I kick off a writing session and then keep them running at low volume in the background as I start writing.

Does the music make a difference? I canā€™t say for sure, but itā€™s definitely fun ā€” and Iā€™m a firm believer that the creative process doesnā€™t need to be torturous and angst-ridden. What better way to add some joy than through music?

Thank you for reading! This is a space where I share personal thoughts ā€” an opportunity for self-expression that has nothing to do with my professional writing. None of the thoughts or opinions expressed in this blog should be construed as anything but my own, nor should they be affiliated with any company or person I contract with or write for.

NOW that thatā€™s doneā€¦ Iā€™d love to hear from you about this blog post in the comments! You can also connect via my blog: https://www.ask-communications.com/blog

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Alison Kilian

Iā€™m Alison & I tell stories! ā€‹Iā€™ve been writing professionally for 10+ years, crafting everything from CEO blogs to bestselling romcoms. I ā¤ a good story!