116: Best-Selling Ghostwriter Holly Crawshaw Joyner on Building Authority with Books + LinkedIn

Your story isn’t too messy, too boring, or too personal to share.
It’s the very thing that sets you apart.

And Holly Crawshaw Joyner has built her entire business helping leaders do exactly that.

Holly’s ghostwritten 120+ books and built a standout brand on LinkedIn by being raw, honest, and far from perfect. She knows what it takes to turn life experience into the kind of authority that makes people stop scrolling, and start listening.

In this episode, Holly joins Stacy to discuss: 

• The behind-the-scenes lessons from ghostwriting 120+ books (and what actually makes a good one)
• How she built her business, The Story Spark, as a single mom during the pandemic
• The honesty-over-perfection strategy that made her brand stand out on LinkedIn
• Why LinkedIn is still the most underrated platform for introverts + thought leaders
• Smart AI hacks to turn posts, podcasts, and raw ideas into publishable content
• The real talk on self, hybrid, and traditional publishing (and how to know which path is right for you)

If you’ve ever thought about publishing a book, or finally leveraging LinkedIn to grow your business, this conversation will help you find the courage to get started. 

More about Holly: 

Holly Crawshaw Joyner is a New York Times-bestselling ghostwriter. 

Since entering publishing in 2006, Holly has ghostwritten, edited, and coached well over 1,000 titles. In addition to the NYT Bestseller, other projects Holly has worked on have topped the most prestigious lists in the industry including Amazon Bestseller, Amazon Best New Release, and Amazon Top 100, among others.

She’s written books for all the major publishing houses, including HarperCollins, Penguin, Random House, Baker, and Hachette.

Since 2021, Holly has also been ghostwriting for and coaching clients on LinkedIn, teaching them how to build a brand and grow an engaged audience. In 2024 Holly was named the #1 U.S. LinkedIn creator for Audience Building and Brand Awareness. In 2025 she was listed as one of  the Top 20 LinkedIn experts worldwide. 

Holly is married to Drew. They live in Atlanta with her three daughters. She is a self-professed cat lady with an addiction to sour candy.

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