Marina Krakovsky – Ghostwriter

Hello! If you're an expert in your field with a big idea, I can help you share it with the world.

I'm a San Francisco Bay Area–based ghostwriter, developmental editor, and former social science journalist. My specialty is translating complex ideas — particularly in business, economics, psychology, and sociology — into engaging, accessible prose for a broad trade audience.

My Track Record

I am the author of THE MIDDLEMAN ECONOMY and have collaborated on several major books with high-profile experts, including:

• DIE WITH ZERO by Bill Perkins (Ghostwriter) — WSJ Bestseller, 1.75 million copies sold worldwide

• HOW GOOGLE WORKS by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle (Researcher) — NYT Bestseller

• TRILLION DOLLAR COACH by Eric Schmidt et al. (Researcher/Editorial Consultant) — NYT & WSJ Bestseller

• STREETS OF GOLD by Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan (Developmental Editor)

"Marina has a unique talent to detect everything that is weak and confusing in a book and to make simple, practical, and insightful suggestions that magically make the book so much better." — Ran Abramitzky, Stanford Professor of Economics and co-author of STREETS OF GOLD

What I Bring to Your Project

I earned my degree in English from Stanford University and spent more than a decade writing about faculty research for the Stanford Graduate School of Business. My journalism has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Scientific American, Discover, Wired, and the Washington Post. That explanatory journalism background is central to my work with clients: I know how to find and synthesize academic research, structure a complex argument, and make sophisticated ideas land for a general reader. I also understand how acquiring editors evaluate manuscripts, which means the work we produce together will be polished enough to need minimal revision.

Whether you need a collaborative ghostwriter, a sharp developmental editor, or a book coach, my services include:

• Ghostwriting and developmental editing (books and short-form content)

• Developing book proposals and pitching literary agents

• Book coaching and strategic consulting

(I specialize in nonfiction and do not take on fiction or memoir projects.)

Let's Start with a Consultation

My first paid engagement with any new client is a consultation built around a comprehensive questionnaire I’ve honed over the years. This structured process gets you to consider the crucial questions you need to address before investing the considerable resources it takes to write, publish, and market a book. After you complete the questionnaire, we will have a video call to review your answers, discuss your vision, and map out the best path forward.