Joshua Lisec is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

, ghostwriter and writing coach. He has ghostwritten more than 80 books since 2011. He has written his own nonfiction book, ''So Good They Call You a Fake''.

Early life and education

Lisec grew up in Englewood, Ohio. He was homeschooled, graduating from high school at age 16 and

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...

at age 20.

Career

Lisec wrote the action-adventure novel ''The Phoenix Reich'', published in 2013. During book signings, he was approached by two people who asked if he would help them write their own books and he started ghostwriting. Lisec has written more than 80 books for CEOs, celebrities and other clients. In 2023, Lisec published ''So Good They Call You a Fake'', which he described as “part memoir and part how to book”. In addition to ghostwriting, Lisec has developed a system he calls “ghost publishing” to help clients publish their own books. Lisec criticized fellow ghostwriter

J. R. Moehringer John Joseph Moehringer (born December 7, 1964), known by his pen name J. R. Moehringer, is an American novelist, journalist, and ghostwriter. In 2000, he won the Pulitzer Prize for newspaper feature writing. He collaborated on the 2021 film ...

in ''

The Millions ''The Millions'' is an online literary magazine created by C. Max Magee in 2003. It contains articles about literary topics and book reviews. ''The Millions'' has several regular contributors as well as frequent guest appearances by literary not ...

'' for sharing details of the writing of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex’s 2023 memoir ''

Spare Spare or Spares may refer to: Common meanings * Spare (bowling), a term for knocking down all the pins using two bowling balls * short for spare part ** Spare tire People * Austin Osman Spare (1886–1956), English artist and occultist * Richard ...

'', saying he violated the “cardinal rule” of ghostwriting: “Never make the client look bad.” He argued in

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

that attacks on social media can help authors by giving them free publicity.

Personal life

In 2016, he married Judy Shaw. They have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lisec, Joshua Living people 21st-century American writers 21st-century American novelists Ghostwriters Wright State University alumni California State University, Long Beach alumni Year of birth missing (living people)