Author-entrepreneur Ankur Warikoo has revealed the secret behind his bestsellers — ghostwriters. Warikoo’s LinkedIn post came after Nishtha Gehija, a CA-turned-writer, claimed she wrote his second book, Get Epic Shit Done, in “less than 3 months” while holding down a full-time job.
Warikoo didn’t hold back, responding with a cheeky twist: “Nishtha is lying. She didn’t just write my second book. She wrote my first book too!” Turns out, the writer behind the scenes was also responsible for Do Epic Shit, Warikoo’s breakout bestseller.
The candid confession set social media buzzing, with Warikoo shedding light on the tough work ghostwriters do to bring ideas to life.
“The creator of the book shares their thoughts, experiences, and stories. This could be through personal interviews, like in Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, or by following the creator’s life, like Prince Harry’s autobiography,” he explained.
For his books, Gehija sifted through his vast library of videos, blog posts, and notes to piece together the content.
“Nishtha and I used to get on Zoom calls, where she would ask questions (posing as a student), and I would answer (as a teacher),” Warikoo revealed. The calls were recorded, transcribed, and then transformed into a structured manuscript. “Imagine going through thousands of pieces of content, making sense of them, and then crafting them into a book. An incredibly tough task, which she did commendably well,” he added.
This process was far from a hidden arrangement. Warikoo shared a photo of the acknowledgment page from his second book, where he had written, “Nishtha, the one who actually wrote this book. We spent three months on multiple Zoom calls.” He emphasized that ghostwriting is a professional collaboration, and in his case, a paid assignment.
When a LinkedIn user questioned why he calls himself an “author” despite not writing his books, Warikoo replied candidly: “Author seemed the easiest to me, to suggest that I also publish books. If you can think of a better description, let me know, and I will happily change.”
“Can’t believe I described ghostwriting as a profession, to LinkedIn,” he wrote.
“All my future books will also be written by someone else,” he joked.