“Kill your ego before it kills your career”Around early 2015, the opportunity to be part of something significant would be presented to me by someone who would later become a good friend. His project would become something I got involved quickly, due to its pitch as well as its historical, religious and social background. There was a catch: He already had a manuscript written by another Ghostwriter. After hours of conversations overlooking the Bay of Panama on Sunday afternoons, my client and I agreed on a date for the first polished draft of Chapter One. Thus, I began rewriting the first paragraph of the new draft.The deadline came. I was proud to present my first serious draft as a professional Ghostwriter. I squeezed every word from my best writing style, carefully crafting long sentences that would create a sense of elation on the reader. I was ready for my first of many “kudos”, so important for any aspiring writer.My client kept his gaze on the screen. As he read word by word, I slowly began to feel how the Ego balloon I had come with, started deflating as seconds went by. “What is going on?” - I asked myself. Suddenly, he sat back on his chair, and said:“Juan, the text is great, but I don’t speak like that. I speak in short sentences. Can we redo thisfirst draft?”I was at a loss for words. Disappointed. How could he not appreciate the effort put into crafting those words? My ego had taken a blow. I had swung and struck out. I felt I had been degraded to little leagues. As in anything in life, there was a lesson wrapped inside the negative emotions that overtook me in those days. I learned that this book was not mine, and that any book under the Ghostwriting format is based in somebody else’s ideas and experiences, as it was on this case. Reality slapped me, but after it did, I truly understood how ghostwriters can be better at their craft: by killing their ego as authors.At the end, the draft became a first chapter, it became a readable and publishable book. It reached unimagined heights. It became a success for my author, thus rewarding me with the first of multiple experiences that I receive as a Ghostwriter and as a human being.