Michael Wicks

Michael Wicks – Ghostwriter

I am a WSJ, Publisher's Weekly, and Barnes and Noble bestselling ghostwriter and author with a background in general book publishing.

Overview

I am a Wall St. Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, and Barnes and Noble bestselling ghostwriter and author. I have written or ghostwritten around 30 print and eBooks and several hundred articles and blog posts. Non-fiction is my passion; I can and have written on just about any topic. However, my preferred genres are business, memoir, biography, corporate history, food, travel, and humor.


PLEASE NOTE: My current fee starts at USD $1.25 per word. So, an average-size memoir or business book will cost approximately $81,000.


Built Not Born—A Self-Made Billionaire’s No-Nonsense Guide For Entrepreneurs, which I co-authored with Tom Golisano, was a Wall Street Journal and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller and was a number one bestselling business book with Barnes and Noble and Amazon. I also worked with Golisano on his autobiography, The Italian Kid Did It, published by Harper Collins in February 2022.


Drafted: My Year in Vietnam won the 2024 Benjamin Franklin Awards (Independent Book Publishers Association) gold award for best memoir of 2023. It was also the Foreword Indie 2023 SILVER winner for War & Military.


Fire From The Sky – A Diary Over Japan won a silver medal for the best military memoir of 2005, awarded by the Military Writers Society of America.


As an author in my own right, Harper Collins Leadership published my two books, How Not to Manage People and How Not to Sell, in 2021.


I am a rarity among ghostwriters – a writer who has extensive general book publishing experience. My over five decades of experience in the writing and publishing world means I know what makes something readable, what entices the reader to enter your word, and react positively to your words.


“Mike listened to me talk about my life for hundreds of hours and was able to accurately transpose my words and thoughts to the written page. His commitment to helping me find my “voice” and tell my story was invaluable.”

Tom Golisano: Multi-billionaire author of Built Bot Born and The Italian Kid Did It!


***


“In my 20 years of experience as a published writer, editor, and ghostwriter for clients that include Google, L’Oréal Paris, The Week, and Paramount Studios, I’ve worked with very few professionals that meet their marks and consistently generate thoughtful, thorough, and engaging material. Mike joins only one other writer in my orbit who stands strong in such rarified air. When I managed his projects at an NYC ghostwriting agency, I had only to provide him with the project framework, and he’d create diamonds out of coal. Our clients were extremely pleased with his work and work ethic, and he remained a writer of constant request during his time with the agency.”

Shelley Moench-Kel is the author of Here’s Your Pill Kitten.


***


“You’re not only a great writer but a consummate professional that clients love. I wish we could figure out a way to clone you!”

Ian Corson, Kevin Anderson and Associates.

Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Business & Management
Languages
English (CAN) English (UK) English (US)
Awards
  • Silver medal, best military memoir. Military Writer’s Society of America

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 1989 — Present

Over the past 23 years, I have written more than 30 books and training manuals and hundreds of articles and blog posts.

I also have more than 40 years of experience in mainstream and custom book publishing, working at many of the great publishing houses, including Random House, Michael Joseph, and the Pearson-Longman group. I founded one of the industry’s first special publications divisions, publishing corporate-sponsored books and specialist publications. I subsequently became the managing director and part-owner of two custom publishing houses.

Portfolio

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Drafted!: My Year in Vietnam

Miller, Morgan

W. Brand Publishing

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Everything you need to know about incorporating, running your professional corporation efficiently, and maximizing the benefits of your professional corporation. Tim Paziuk has over 30 years e... read more
Book Ghostwriting
In his first book Professional Corporations: The Secret to Success, Tim Paziuk gave Canadian professionals all the tools they needed to incorporate and then use a professional corporation to t... read more
Book Ghostwriting
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Fire From The Sky - A Dairy Over Japan "May 26, 1945 target Tokyo; the target was the eastern part of the industrial section of Tokyo. It was hot as hell too, because the Japanese were waiting... read more
Book Ghostwriting

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