Meet Lihle Z. Mtshali: The Storyteller Behind the Stories

I’m a senior editor and ghostwriter with more than 26 years of experience in journalism. I write clean, clear stories that move people. I’ve covered business, culture, and human stories across South Africa and the U.S., and one of my essays was published in Pretty Bitches: On Being Called Crazy, Angry, Bossy, Frumpy, Feisty, and All the Other Words That Are Used to Undermine Women, an American anthology edited by Lizzie Skurnick, featuring essays from leading female voices on the language that defines and confines women.

In high school, I was the go-to wordsmith. Friends came to me for everything — from love letters to essays that needed last-minute magic for English class — because they knew I could find the right words. That’s where my ghostwriting journey really began: helping others say what they felt but couldn’t express.

Writing has always been my way of making sense of the world and helping others do the same. Today, I bring that same instinct and precision to the leaders, founders, and creatives I work with, helping them tell stories that sound like them, only sharper.

3 quick things clients value:

• I capture voice fast

• I cut what weakens the point

• I hit deadlines