Jason Schwartzman – Ghostwriter

Ahoy!

I'm Jason, the author of NO ONE YOU KNOW, an acclaimed nonfiction collection out in 2021 from Outpost19. I was a ghostwriter on a celebrity memoir with Dutton and have also worked on 22 other nonfiction books.

My writing has appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, Narratively, BULL, River Teeth, X-R-A-Y, and many other places. I teach a nonfiction class, recently for Catapult ("The Art of Flash Nonfiction"), edit for a historic adventure magazine, and was selected for Medium's nonfiction authors program. As a long-time nonfiction specialist, I've worked with bison herders, hot air balloonists, herring scholars, detectives, survivors, TV executives, and CEOs. I'm fascinated by stories and the unusual paths people take.

My style is inquisitive, encouraging, and focused. I aim to capture my client's voice with a high fidelity so it really feels like YOUR book. My process revolves around core interview time so we can generate the foundational material before I begin shaping, elevating, writing, and expanding. Then I present a sample chapter for discussion, followed by a full draft and 1-2 revision rounds.

I strive to make the stories as dynamic as possible by thinking carefully about clarity, tone, voice, pacing, structure, and character development, plus other relevant narrative and rhetorical elements. Above all, I aim to honor the project vision. I savor the work of helping a book become the best version of itself before it emerges into the world and thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to work together on what is invariably a profound and illuminating literary adventure.

Thanks for considering me! Always happy to answer questions. Fire away.

— Jason

Selected testimonials:

"Jason brought a remarkable combination of insight, thoroughness and organization to the process of helping me and my wife write my biography. He has an extraordinary ability to get to the essence of who someone is and what they stand for, translating life into story with clarity and with him was not only productive but deeply inspiring."

—Carmi Zlotnik, President of Television, Legendary Entertainment

“Your partnership on this book took it from an idea to reality. Your skill as a listener inspires me. Your expertise as a writer was the fuel in the gas tank... Thanks for being the best book mason I could have partnered with. I couldn’t recommend Jason’s expertise enough.”

—Josh Feldman, CEO, R&R

“Jason is my most trusted editor. I keep all his ‘notes’ emails saved in a folder because they’re still useful to me months, even years, later. He’s my secret weapon for immediately feeling better and more confident about what I’m working on.”

— Jessica Granger, Staff Writer, LA BREA, EXTRACTION

"In the great tradition of wayward oral historians, this compelling debut from a talented new author is a vivid and sentient portrait of everyday Americana and the nature of intimacy. An important collection, well-observed, stitched and told."

— Geoffrey Gray, NEW YORK TIMES Bestselling author of SKYJACK: THE HUNT FOR D.B. COOPER

"Jason is electric."

— former Catapult student