You’ve got the client settled in a comfortable chair and ready to tell his story.

What next?

Listen.

Take notes.

Ask questions.

Maybe all at the same time.

Try to keep the exchange as conversational as possible while you’re writing notes, thinking of questions to ask and trying to capture details like the tone of his voice and the expressions on his face.

It’s good to be this caught up. You’re engaged, which means you will write a better story than someone just listening to a person talk.

Many people like to tape the conversations, but I only use a recorder as a backup, to get the quote exactly right if need be. I think tape-recordings can make us lazy — we don’t focus on the speaker as much because we have this crutch called a tape-recorder — and it creates extra work because many writers decide they must transcribe the whole freakin’ tape before they write the story.

They’re just procrastinating. Unless you’re writing about the intricacies of brain surgery you don’t need to transcribe all that conversation.

Pay attention, take notes, and the important stuff will be etched in your memory when you sit down to write.

You also will have opportunities to ask more questions and revisit topics, so relax and write about what the client discussed that day, and plan for your next session.

It’s also important that the client look ahead to the next session; I usually conclude a meeting by asking him what he wants to discuss next, which encourages him to plan for the next meeting by checking his memory, finding old documents and photos or simply getting details in order.

Generally speaking, each hour produces three to four pages of copy, plus a few leads and odds and ends that can be developed as the interviewing progresses. (We’ll talk later about how those scraps can be converted to good use.)

I find that the best sessions last no more than two hours. After that amount of time, even the most eager client is ready to stop talking, and I’m usually ready to quit listening. The secret is to make effective use of your time and the client’s time; keep him on track and focus on the angles he wants you to pursue, as well as the angles you think need to be developed.

Next: The art of interviewing… how a ghostwriter earns his keep.

First, get a good client.

That’s basic. You want someone who can pay your fees promptly and who has a good story to tell.

Pretty much everyone has a good story to tell, although sometimes it’s more like a paragraph than a book. But a good ghostwriter can find enough details by interviewing people and conducting research, and expand the paragraph into a book if that’s what the client wants.

The bigger issue is finding clients. I’ve been lucky in that some have found me, and I cold-called a few potential clients, which feels odd but actually brought me one of my best clients.

You’re looking for a client who treats you as an employee and realizes he must pay for your services. You shouldn’t be doing it for “the experience” or for a share of the profits or for the thrill of seeing your name on the cover. You should be doing it because you’re a professional writer, goddammit, and you can tell this person’s story better than he can. You charge money for this service, just as doctors, lawyers and plumbers charge for their services, and your service will make the client’s life better, just as lawyers, doctors and plumbers usually make our lives better.

In my case, I send the client a bill every month and expect to get paid promptly. I’ve never had anyone run late. But if someone did, the keyboard would stop singing until the bill was paid. While I like all my clients, I love living in a house, driving a car and having food on the table, so I expect them to pay me just as they expect me to work for them.

While you can find all sorts of sample contracts on-line if you want to make it legal, my clients and I do our business on the basis of a handshake, or maybe a simple agreement of terms. That’s the blessing of having good clients.

Once, I was about to ghostwrite a very technical book for someone; she wanted something that could be used as a college textbook. She sent over an eye-glazing contract about 15 pages long, detailing all sorts of miscellany that just reminded me that I don’t like an overload of technical stuff.

Fortunately, the next day I got a better offer and I told the client that I wouldn’t be working with her on her book. Incidentally, two years later, she still hasn’t written the book.

My preference is to meet with the client in person, although I once wrote a book for someone I never met. She simply sent me videos of all the classes she taught, and I distilled her lessons, along with some of my own research, into a book that she now sells as part of her business.

She said I made her seem much smarter than she really is, which I took as a compliment. The real reason she seemed so much smarter, however, is that you can say so much more in a book than in a series of classes, one reason why I would rather write than teach.

In an ideal case, you want to meet regularly with the client in a setting where he is comfortable. The home or office usually is best. You want few or no distractions — no dogs, no phone calls, no checking e-mail. You want the person to focus on his story, whether it’s about his business, his family or his life.

I once had a chance to write a book for a man who is both very rich and very colorful. I thought I had hit a home run, but he insisted on working full-tilt in his high-pressure business while talking to me.

This meant he and I would be constantly interrupted and get very little done. On one hand, that would be OK because I charge by the hour. But I knew that eventually he would realize that he had a very big bill and a very small book, and he would blame me for his unwillingness to concentrate.

I turned down the job and I felt good saying thanks but no thanks. I subsequently hit a dry spell for work and wished I had the money from that job, but I still feel I made the right decision.

Still interested in the life of a ghostwriter?

Read my next chapter, in which I discuss some ways to get the book underway.