Greg Watts
Ghostwriter and author
Welcome
About Greg Watts
Greg Watts is an experienced ghostwriter, author and editor, based in London.
He began his career in writing as a journalist in the days when everyone bought newspapers, went to the library, and used phone boxes. He wrote for numerous publications, including The Times, The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday, and London’s Evening Standard.
He’s gone behind the scenes at Buckingham Palace; shadowed rock bands performing in dingy nightclubs; investigated supernatural events in Bosnia Herzegovina; visited a former torture centre in Baghdad after the US-led invasion; and attended a religious service on a frozen lake in Russia.
As well as this, he’s edited magazines and newspapers, and taught journalism at Birkbeck, University of London and creative writing at Greenwich Community College.
Following stints working for the BBC and Channel 4, Greg switched to writing books, which had always been his dream since his childhood in a Derbyshire market town where a cow falling down a disused lead mine shaft caused major excitement.
Books
Greg has ghostwritten numerous books, including Don’t Drop the Coffin!, which spawned a six-part ITV series, and the best-seller From Gangland to Promised Land, which has been translated into a dozen languages.
He has worked as a ghostwriter with business leaders, entrepreneurs, whistleblowers, refugees fleeing war, and people who came through tough childhoods.
Books in his own name include the award-winning Ole! Ole! Passion on a Plate: the rise of Spanish cuisine in London, and Faith in the Darkness, a biography of Mother Teresa, a comic novel, and two memoirs.
From Gangland to Promised Land
As the other reviewers have said, this book is compulsive reading. I was lent it by a friend, and started it at 10.30 p.m. for some bedtime reading. I was really tired and so thought I'd fall asleep easily, but at 2.30 a.m. I was still reading it and had to eventually force myself to put it down and get some sleep, but I finished it the next morning. Unusual account since it doesn't seem like a religious book and would appeal to virtually anyone.
J. H. Grimer
Praise & Reviews
Don't Drop the Coffin
This is a fascinating book that tells you all you've ever wanted to know about undertaking. It's all here: embalming, wacky funerals, bizarre goings on in the morgue and even cryonics. Author Greg Watts has really brought undertaking alive (forgive the pun). He does it through the story of a London funeral director who moved his first body at the age of seven. Watts' writing strikes just the right balance between reverence and humour. He's managed to extract some classic one-liners from the funeral director. A fab book.
Paul Hughes
Waiting for the Night Bus
A fantastic second memoir by Greg Watts. Much like The Long Road Out of Town, it’s full of comic adventures and encounters, as well as a strong inspirational message that speaks to anyone who’s on a journey to find their passion or meet their goal.
Su Roisin
Ghostwriting
What does a ghostwriter do?
You might want to write a book, a blog or something else, but you don’t have the skills to do it. Or you might be able to write, but you don’t have the time. In some cases, you might have started to write something and you have found yourself stuck or not satisfied with what you’ve written. This is where a ghostwriter can help you and solve your problems.
Why hire a ghostwriter?
There can be many reasons. You might want your life story written for your family and friends, you might want to share some of your ideas with the wider world, you might want to help others, or you might want you promote your business or raise your professional profile. Or it could be that you need some rewriting or editing.
How does the ghostwriting process work?
After an initial chat to discuss what you need, I would work out a plan and provide an approximate time scale for the project.
I do interviews through Zoom, sometimes using phone calls and emails to clarify certain things or ask for additional information. I can work with clients in any country.
Writing a book involves numerous Zoom interviews, research and fact checking. To produce an engaging and memorable book takes time, as it involves digging deep into a client’s life, memories, thoughts, and ideas.
How much does a ghostwriter charge?
This depends on the project and the amount of work involved. I can offer an hourly rate or a fixed fee. I’m happy to discuss what I can provide for the budget you have.