How Do You Use AI?
Three years ago, this question wouldn’t appear on anyone’s list. Today, it’s an essential query.
There’s only one wrong answer to this question in 2025: “I don’t.” There are far too many benefits to ignore it altogether. If your ghostwriter isn’t using AI as a razor, you’re probably paying too much for manual work that new tools can easily automate.
What’s in Your Toolbox?
Ask your prospective ghostwriter this question early:
Which tools do you use, and how have they changed over the years?
The answer will inform the type of writing partner you’re thinking of hiring. A static list of apps from a decade ago signifies one thing: Someone has developed a system and, in all likelihood, is loath to modify it. Odds are that many of those tools are long in the tooth. (More than half of my list below consists of additions from the last five years alone.)
Conceptualizing, researching, writing, and editing a book requires a bevy of software programs and websites—even if you use an integrated solution as Racket clients do. In no particular order, here are my go-to tchotchkes.
Project Management
- RacketHub/Notion.
Writing
- Microsoft Word.
- WordHippo to find synonyms.
- MyBib for bibliographic entries.
- Ludwig for grammar and spell checks. (I found Grammarly so intrusive that I kept disabling it, plus Mac Sequoia ships with similar error-detection functionality.)
- Tinyurl.com for selective link shortening.
Communication
- Calendly for scheduling meetings.
- Notion for basic messages and task-related comments.
- Tella to record short-form client videos. (Think of it as Loom on steroids.)
- Zoom for video calls.
- Email and LinkedIn to reach out to interesting people for interviews.
Research
- Search engines.
- PDF viewers, such as Adobe Reader.
AI
- Otter.ai for occasional interview transcription.
- Perplexity for endnotes.
- Other tools as needed.
Figure Creation
I can create decent facsimiles that get my designer started. To this end, I use:
- Canva to create figures.
- Excel or Google Sheets to manipulate data as needed. (Ghostwriters can and should help their clients conceive of charts and other diagrams.)
Miscellaneous
- Dropbox, iCloud, or another cloud backup service just in case things break bad.
- Finder or Windows Explorer if you’re a PC person.
- PopClip and Raycast for sick Mac shortcuts.
- Spotify and Apple Music for my listening pleasure. (I never write long-form content in silence.)
- Other programs and websites as needed.
I cram a lot into my Mac Power Hour, but I digress.
What’s on Your Desk?
Here’s solid, less-than-obvious follow-up query:
How many monitors do you use when you’re writing, researching, and editing?
Why should the scribe’s use of hardware matter? Two reasons. First, as mentioned above, ghosts need to use different tools. Second, limited screen space makes it far tougher to keep everything straight—and organization is essential.
Consider my two-monitor, seven-desktop Mac setup (expandable to three via my iPad). I jump around quite a bit, but keyboard shortcuts help me keep my sanity. With only a single monitor for a proper ghostwriting project, I’d lose my marbles, make more mistakes, work slower, and, ultimately, disappoint my client.
With only a single monitor, I’d lose my marbles and make more mistakes.
I’ve seen professional writers pile windows on top of windows on top of windows. How they ever get anything done on time without constant distractions impeding them positively mystifies me.
Extra monitors provide immensely valuable extra real estate to professionals and knowledge workers. The productivity benefits are significant.
An extra screen doesn’t suddenly make a weak scribe strong. Still, much like tennis players clinging to old tech, there’s a limit to how efficient a writer can be by only using single monitor. Remember that fact if you’re stuck between two equally qualified ghostwriters.
What You Need to Know
There’s no such thing as a pefect set of tools. The ghostwriter whose tech is stuck in the 1990s, however, is bound to cost you money and try your patience.
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