My Books, and the Ones I Wrote for Other People
I have written 4x NYT bestsellers. My name is on none of them, which is the single strangest sentence in my professional life and also the reason anybody hires me.
Here is the shelf I am allowed to show you, followed by the books coming with my name on the cover.
Crystal Adair-Benning. 4x NYT bestselling ghostwriter & book coach. 30 yrs in books, 200+ authors, 12+ countries.
Books I helped into the world.
These belong entirely to the people whose names are on them. I ghostwrote or coached each one, and every author here said yes to being named.
Most of my work is not on this list and never will be, which is how the job works. An author who hires a ghostwriter is buying their own voice back at scale, not a co-author credit.
See the full portfolio“I never dreamed I’d be on a bestseller list. Crystal made it happen and made the process feel like the most natural thing in the world.”
Peter Merrett, author of Wonderlicious and 2024 Australia Speaker of the Year
Books under my own name.
I spend most of my working life inside other people’s voices. These are the ones where the voice is mine, which is a very different and considerably more terrifying experience.
Anyone who thinks ghostwriters have it easy has never tried writing their own book while a client waits on chapter 9 of theirs.
Out now
Wedding Planner Problems
From 20 years running a luxury events company. Everything that goes wrong on the most important day of someone’s life, and what it taught me about people under pressure.
Take a lookEditor-in-Chief
RetreatBoss Magazine
The magazine for people who run retreats. I run the editorial, which is a polite way of saying I have opinions about retreat photography.
Take a lookComing. No dates.
I have watched too many authors announce a publication date and then spend 8 months apologising for it. So these are real, they are in progress, and they will arrive when they are good.
In progress
Word Magic
Writing, Publishing, and Selling Your Way to Impact. In editing with Entourage Media. 23 chapters in 3 parts: Believe in Magic, Write the Magic, Magic Kit. This is the flagship.
In progress
Do It For The Plot
A memoir-manifesto. The one I have been circling for years and finally sat down to write.
In progress
Bookish Events for Authors
155+ ways to put your book in a room with actual people. The reference I wanted when I was launching and could not find anywhere.
In progress
The Audacity of a Woman
Cultural commentary and memoir. Exactly as subtle as the title suggests.
In progress
Quiet Ones Lead the World
For the introverts running things from the back of the room. Working title, still arguing with myself about it.
In progress
Before The Book
Building Your Author Empire Pre-Launch. What to do in the 12 months before a book exists, which is when most of the money is made and almost nobody is paying attention.
What a shelf is actually for.
A book is a legacy piece that will outlast you, your children, your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren. That is pretty fucking cool, and it is also the least discussed reason people write them.
Every book on this page started as somebody saying they had been meaning to do this for years. The only difference between the ones on the shelf and the ones still in a folder is that these people picked a Tuesday and started.
Build the empire around itYour next fave read.
- What It Actually Takes to Hit the New York Times List
- Is My Story Worth a Book?
- How to Find a Ghostwriter
Questions about the shelf.
Which of these did you actually write?
The books under my own name I wrote as the author. The client books I ghostwrote or coached, which means the idea, the story and the credit belong to the person on the cover. That is the deal and I would not have it any other way.
Why are there not more client books listed?
Most of my work sits under NDA, so I can name neither the author nor the title. Every book on this shelf is one where the author said yes to being named. There are a great many more than 8.
Are your own books out yet?
Wedding Planner Problems is out. Word Magic is in editing. The rest are in progress and I am deliberately not announcing dates, having watched too many authors announce one and then spend 8 months apologising for it.
Can my book be on this page?
If we work together and you want to be named, yes. Plenty of authors prefer that nobody knows they used a ghostwriter, which is normal, common and completely fine.
Do you only ghostwrite, or do you coach too?
Both. Some of these I wrote. Some the author wrote with me on every chapter. Same shelf, different route.
Have you really had 4x NYT bestsellers?
Yes, and my name is on none of them. That is what ghostwriting is. The list belongs to the author, which is exactly how it should work.
Want your book on this shelf?
Book a free 30-minute call. I will tell you honestly whether the book you are planning is a book, and which route gets it finished fastest. If the answer is that you should not write it, I will say that too.
