How to Hire a Ghostwriter for Your First Book

According to Larry Leichman, the co-owner of Arbor Books, “The book has become the 21st-century calling card that presents you as an expert, a hook for publicity offering you access to the media and to places you’ve never had access to before. In simple words the guy with the book is a celebrity.”

Most of the entrepreneurs and business owners today, want to write a book or make someone else to write down the book under their names. Well this is how Ghostwriting works.

People who lack good writing skills or are too busy to write a book for them often hire ghostwriters. Finding a Ghostwriter is easy. You can find a ghostwriter matching your needs onto web, simply do a web search for “ghostwriter” or you can also contact freelancing Agencies online or offline & tell them your requirements.

Choosing the right ghostwriter for writing down your dream book can be challenging. You probably want to match your book’s requirement with writer’s experiences and references before you finalize him/her. Does the Ghostwriter have written about your field before? Does his/her writing style match your requirement?  

Well, you need to thoroughly discuss these queries with your ghostwriter before hiring him for your project.

What Should You Ask Yourself Before Hiring a Ghostwriter?

Before approaching a potential ghostwriter, you have to ask yourself these questions:

1. Am I going to hire a ghostwriter for my one single book project or would I be seeking a continuing relationship for further more books or writings?
2. What I want him to hire for- A traditional book, an e-book, or a compilation of a series of articles?
3. What are the pages count/word counts I want my book to be?
4. What’s my deadline- the time frame I want my book to be completely written?
5. Particularly what writing style I am seeking for: Do I want it to be a conversation/chatty type? Or perhaps looking rather for casual/general ones?
6. What’s my overall budget? How am I looking to negotiate with the Ghostwriter keeping in mind the other expenses too beyond writing, such as editing and self-publishing?

Ghostwriting is More a Collaboration of Ghost & Client

Ghostwriting is collaboration between writer and the author (the person who is actually hiring). Collaboration is the best way of side-stepping nasty surprises. The writer interviews the client to gather the content information and many other things. The ghostwriter tries his/her best to reflect the client’s voice and message effectively. Situations become unpleasant when client after reading the first draft of the manuscript, dislikes it, clearly reject it and fires the ghostwriter just because it was not as expected.

Save yourself from choosing an inexperienced ghostwriter. Discuss in detail whether your ghostwriter will complete the work herself or outsource all or parts of the job to another writer.

Discuss about the Charges & Time Frame for Ghostwriting

Standard pricing for ghosting a nonfiction or fiction novel book manuscript can range anywhere between $5,000 and $55,000 depending on the length and complexity of the manuscript. This Price also determines the amount of time it takes to complete it. However there is always a room for negotiation between client and writer. Proofreaders and editors roles are also summoned to review the text.

The rate a ghostwriter charges is calculated by the research (time) required plus the words count or approximate hourly rate multiplied by the hours it will take you to provide a complete first draft i.e. FEE=research time+ writing time

While the research part includes independent research- looking things up at the library, doing your own in-person research or interviewing many people, etc., the writing time includes the overall time needed to complete the first manuscript draft.

The average time frame for completing a book is somewhere between 90 and 120 days. However it again depends on the availability of the client and the writer.