For my Paid Subscribers: Excerpt from my Book, "A Friendly Guide to Writing and Ghostwriting": The First Meeting

I had to stop going to auditions thinking, “Oh, I hope they like me.” I had to go in thinking I was the answer to their problem.

                                                                        - - -  George Clooney

Every ghostwriting job I’ve ever done begins with a “getting to know you” meeting. It’s an audition of sorts, a necessary but nerve-wracking process. I’m no stranger to auditions, having endured epic ones when I was climbing the ranks in the ballet world. The competitive stress of these challenges are dramatically and accurately depicted in the hit Broadway show, A Chorus Line, which is based on an audition for an upcoming Broadway musical. The dancers who show up are desperate to be chosen, striving to do their best, afraid of being rejected, which reminds me of my audition to become a member of the Harkness Ballet back in 1965.