I write and edit books and bylined pieces for people who run companies. Pieces I've ghostwritten have run in research forums and in Forbes, Bloomberg, American Banker, CoinDesk, Wired, and Nasdaq. Before this I ran a marketing content team at OpenZeppelin, and before that I coded payment processing APIs at Synchrony Financial. I'm as comfortable in technical manuals as I am in business books and personal journey narratives.

Start with a call

Tell me about the book or project you have in mind.

Bring your goals and whatever talking points you have. On the call we'll talk through what it could become, the routes that make sense, and what it would take to get there. Free, and it puts you under no obligation.

Book a call

Prefer email? Write to stephen@slwebber.com with "Founder" in the subject line.

Different starting points

You have a draft you want improved. I'll do a thorough review of the manuscript and assess it against your goals. Once we're aligned on where it should go, I write it.

You have the ideas and want me to write the manuscript. We meet for an hour a week, on video or by phone, for ten to twelve weeks. I record, transcribe, and write. I start with an outline, a sample chapter, and a plan, so first you can see what the book will become. You read drafts when it suits you. If you want a traditional publisher, I can help you build the book proposal. The full book takes six to eight months and is quoted after the architecture phase.

You have a book coming out. I'll walk you through the release and launch phase, whether your path is a proposal to agents and traditional houses, a hybrid press you pay, or your own imprint. Successful launches include promotion, content campaigns, placed op-eds, podcasts, and speaking, depending on your goals.

Need ongoing support?

Whether you want to do the writing or hand it to me, a thought leadership retainer gives you a planning call each month. Then the pieces get written: essays, op-eds, a newsletter, posts if that's where your readers are. One revision round per piece, and everything else is asynchronous.

Time commitment

Developmental edit: two calls, about an hour each, plus reading the memo.

Ghostwritten book: an hour a week for ten to twelve weeks, then reading drafts on your schedule.

Publication path and launch: one call, then reviewing pieces before they go out.

Retainer: one call a month.

I'm also happy to run everything asynchronously, over email.

It will be in your voice

The point of good ghostwriting, and of collaborative developmental editing, is that the writing is actually in your voice. Our calls and your rough drafts are the foundation for that.

I've had successful engagements all along the spectrum from developmental editing to full ghostwriting. I can help you write and rework your manuscript, improve an AI-assisted draft, or handle the whole process, with every draft coming back for your review.

If you've been drafting with AI and it needs to be improved, I offer voice restoration, and it can be combined with any of the work above.

"Stephen edited my first book, Passenger, through four versions and more reads than I can count. He did much more than fix pages. He asked the questions that made every chapter answer for itself, pushed me to say things my way when I was reaching for someone else's, and told me the truth even when it meant more work for both of us."

Sohrab Ansari, author of Passenger

Common questions

Which publishing route should I take? It depends on what you want the book to do and how soon. Traditional takes longest but is the right path for some. Hybrid is faster and costs you money. Your own imprint is fastest and gives you total control.

What do you need from me? Your time on the calls and your honest reaction to drafts.

Who owns the work? You do, all of it, from the first draft.

Do you only work with tech and finance? No. I'm happy to work with leaders across all areas.

How long does a book take? Most can be written in six to eight months from first call to finished manuscript. A proposal takes six to eight weeks.

Can I start small? Yes. The architecture phase is the start for everything, and if it's all you need, that's fine.

The book you'd write if you had the time.