Event Recording
July 6, 2026
Ghostwriting has become a viable path for professional writers, but it remains frustratingly opaque. Too often, authors and freelancers know ghostwriting exists without knowing how to break in or what the work actually looks like. Once you do get started, it can also be difficult to tell the difference between a promising opportunity and a client relationship that will drain your time, energy, and creativity.
Kelsey Shipman, freelance writer and ghostwriter specializing in memoir and cookbooks, will offer a practical introduction to ghostwriting as a sustainable income stream for authors and freelance writers. The session will focus especially on how ghostwriting works in the book world, including how to find your first clients, assess whether ghostwriting fits your skills and temperament, and build the boundaries necessary for successful long-term collaborations.
Kelsey Erin Shipman is a writer, educator, and recovering Texan based in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She specializes in memoir and cookbook ghostwriting and is represented by Transatlantic Agency for collaboration projects. She is the co-founder of Write Up, an online community for writers pursuing traditional publication of their first book. Her work has appeared in Off Assignment, Orange Blossom Review, HuffPost, African American Review, USA Today, and The Austin Chronicle. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and has worked as an educator for more than seventeen years. Her Substack newsletter, Cheese Toast with White People, explores food, family, and the strange inheritance of Southern white culture.
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