Claudia Suzanne’s ghostwriting and publishing career is “all about making literary dreams come true.”
She’s also managed to make a business of it.
Suzanne is the founder and chief executive of Wambtac Communications LLC in Santa Ana, a six-employee shop that specializes in ghostwriting for hire and teaching others how to ghostwrite.
“Ghostwriting is simply taking someone else’s vision, intent and phrasing and making it come alive on the page,” Suzanne said. “The ghostwriter is the bridge between the author and the audience.”
Suzanne is well-known in the publishing industry and claims 117 ghostwriting credits. The nature of ghostwriting means she doesn’t reveal the names of authors, but a review of her references indicates a broad range of experience with clients ranging from a child-development expert to a rabbi. She’s also taken on mainstream romance novels, action/adventure novels, fantasy novels, historical sagas and children’s books.
Wambtac Communications works on a fee basis, with a price for ghostwriting and no share of any royalties from a book’s eventual sales.
Suzanne has several books with her own name on it, including a trade book titled This Business of Books: A Complete Overview of the Industry from Concept Through Sales. It is now in its fourth edition.
Roots
The roots of Wambtac trace back to 1975, when Suzanne and husband Tom Stein were in a band together. Suzanne was the drummer and wrote song lyrics; Stein wrote the music.
The name Wambtac (pronounced Wham-be-tack) is an acronym for “Words and Music by Tom and Claudia.”
Wambtac evolved over the years from song copyright usage to an actual business.
“I had a daughter on the road, and it reached the point where it became either the band or the marriage. We opted for the marriage,” Suzanne said.
She looked for a way to stay home and raise her daughter but still write. The answer was her ghostwriting career.
Suzanne’s husband passed away two years ago. Suzanne and their daughter, Lona Nicholle, established the business as an LLC with a newfound vision of growth. A main component of Wambtac is a ghostwriting certification course, offered through the company’s Left Coast Institute.
“Most of our students are displaced writers,” she said. “A lot of writers are out of work, and blogging doesn’t pay much.”
16-Week Course
Suzanne starts with people who already know how to write and takes them through every step of the book industry, honing their writing and editing skills along the way.
The 16-week course is designed to position students as professionals capable of making a career out of ghostwriting.
Suzanne has worked on nonfiction subjects such as business, marketing, memoirs and biographies, helping clients who want to write a book but don’t know where to start.
Business and marketing books are particularly popular with professionals who want to elevate the status of their company or personal business experience, she said.
“Every CEO or entrepreneur would benefit from his or her own book to outline what the company has to offer to the public, vendors and suppliers,” Suzanne said. “Business books are a great marketing tool, because they are more effective than a business card and aren’t as likely to be thrown away.”
