The Short Answer
Choose based on who should carry the writing burden.
A book coach helps you write your own book. A ghostwriter writes the manuscript for you. The harder distinction is what happens before drafting: some projects need only writing support, while others need someone to interview the author, recover hidden expertise, shape the argument and determine what the book should actually do for the business.
That upstream work is where many business books are won or lost. You can have excellent prose attached to an idea that was never fully examined.
Book Coaching
Coaching makes sense when writing the book is part of the goal.
You want to write
The act of drafting matters to you, not simply the finished asset.
You can protect the time
You have recurring hours available for drafting, revising and responding to editorial direction.
You want editorial challenge
You need structure, accountability and a second mind more than you need someone else at the keyboard.
You enjoy the craft
The process itself is something you want to learn rather than outsource.
Ghostwriting
Ghostwriting makes sense when the book matters more than becoming the writer.
Your calendar is full
You can make time for interviews and review but not months of drafting.
Your expertise is conversational
You explain ideas better by talking through cases and questions than by starting with a blank page.
The book has a business job
You need a durable asset that supports referrals, speaking, sales or client education.
You want one accountable owner
The writer is responsible for moving raw material into a coherent manuscript.
The Third Question
Do you already know what the book should say?
This is the part many comparisons miss. A ghostwriter can be hired to execute an established book. But an experienced business leader may not yet have a complete intellectual map of what makes the work distinctive.
If that is the situation, you need more than writing. You need an interview and strategy process capable of finding ideas that have become automatic, stories that have never been used and distinctions that do not show up in the standard marketing language.
Common Questions
What business leaders usually want to know next.
What does a book coach usually do?
A book coach typically helps you develop the idea, structure the book, stay accountable and improve your writing while you remain the primary writer.
What does a ghostwriter usually do?
A ghostwriter takes responsibility for drafting the manuscript in the author's voice, usually using interviews and source material supplied by the author.
Can one person do both?
Yes. Some engagements combine strategic coaching, interviewing and ghostwriting. What matters is being clear about who owns the thinking work, who owns the writing work and how much time the author is expected to spend.
Which is better for a busy executive?
If the executive wants a book but does not want another major writing obligation, full ghostwriting is usually the more practical model. If the executive genuinely wants to write and values the process of becoming a stronger writer, coaching may be the better fit.
Related Answers
Keep following the buying question.
Start Upstream
Choose the process that matches the real constraint.
If time is scarce and the expertise is deep, the right solution may be less about helping you write faster and more about creating a process that captures your thinking without turning the project into another job.