Ghostwriting Glossary
Every term you’ll meet when hiring a ghostwriter or publishing a book, defined in plain language. No jargon left unexplained.
A
Autobiography
A comprehensive account of the author’s whole life, usually chronological. Broader in scope than a memoir.
Advance
Money a traditional publisher pays an author before publication, recouped against future royalties.
AI disclosure
A written statement of whether and how artificial intelligence tools are used in producing a manuscript. Under modern professional standards, disclosed to the client before work begins. See: Ghostwriter Code of Conduct.
AI hallucination
A confident but false statement produced by an AI tool: an invented fact, quote, citation, or source. Professional practice requires verifying any AI-touched claim against original sources.
Author bio
The short biographical statement used on book covers, retailer pages, and media materials.
B
Beta reader
A test reader who reviews a finished manuscript and reports how it lands, before publication.
Biography
A book about a person’s life written by someone else, in the biographer’s voice, with the biographer credited. Not ghostwriting: the writer is the named author.
Business book
A book that packages an executive’s or founder’s expertise, framework, or story, typically used to build authority, generate leads, or support a speaking career. See: executive ghostwriting process.
Book proposal
The document used to sell a nonfiction book to agents and publishers before it is written: overview, author platform, market analysis, chapter summaries, and sample chapters. See: book proposal service.
Back matter
The pages after a book’s main text: acknowledgments, appendices, notes, bibliography, index, about the author.
Beta manuscript review
Client review of chapters as they are drafted, one at a time, so course corrections happen early rather than after the full draft.
Backlist
An author’s previously published books that continue to sell over time.
C
Chapter outline
The approved chapter-by-chapter plan built from interview transcripts before drafting begins. It maps chronology, turning points, and themes.
Copyediting
Editing for grammar, punctuation, consistency, and mechanical correctness. The last editorial pass before proofreading.
Confidentiality agreement (NDA)
A contract binding the ghostwriter to keep client information private, including, in most cases, the existence of the engagement itself. See: ghostwriting confidentiality rules.
D
Developmental editing
Editing at the level of structure, argument, pacing, and content: what the book says and in what order. Happens before line editing. See: professional editing in ghostwriting.
F
Front matter
The pages before a book’s main text: title page, copyright page, dedication, table of contents, foreword, preface.
Foreword
An introduction to a book written by someone other than the author, usually lending credibility.
G
Ghostwriter
A professional writer hired to write a book, article, or speech that is published under someone else’s name. The client is the author; the ghostwriter is the craftsman. Credit, copyright, and ownership transfer to the client. See: ghostwriting service.
Ghostwriting
The practice of writing material for and in the voice of another person, who is credited as the author. Standard practice in publishing, business, and politics for centuries. See: The Complete Guide to Ghostwriting.
Ghostwriting agency
A company that matches clients with contracted ghostwriters and manages projects, taking a share of the fee. The alternative is hiring an independent ghostwriter directly. See: top ghostwriting agencies.
H
Hybrid publishing
A paid-publishing model in which the author funds production through a company that provides publisher-style services. Quality and ethics vary widely by company.
Hallucination verification
The practice of independently checking every factual claim, statistic, quotation, and citation that passes through an AI workflow against its original source.
I
ISBN
International Standard Book Number: the unique identifier assigned to each edition and format of a published book.
IngramSpark
Ingram’s self-publishing platform, used to distribute print books to bookstores, libraries, and online retailers worldwide.
K
KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)
Amazon’s self-publishing platform for ebooks and print-on-demand paperbacks and hardcovers.
L
Line editing
Editing at the sentence and paragraph level for clarity, rhythm, and style, without changing the book’s structure.
Legacy book
A memoir or personal history written primarily for family and descendants rather than the retail market. Often privately printed. See: memoirs for seniors.
Literary agent
A professional who represents authors to publishers, negotiates contracts, and takes a commission on the advance and royalties.
M
Manuscript
The complete text of a book before it is designed, typeset, and published.
Memoir
A book about a portion or theme of the author’s life, told from memory in the author’s voice. Distinct from autobiography, which attempts a complete cradle-to-present account. See: memoir ghostwriting service.
P
Proofreading
The final check of a formatted book for typos and layout errors before publication.
Print on demand (POD)
Printing copies of a book only as they are ordered, eliminating inventory. The standard production model for self-published print books.
Preface
An introduction written by the author explaining why and how the book came to be.
Platform
An author’s existing audience and reach: email list, social following, speaking circuit, media presence. A major factor in traditional publishing decisions.
Q
Query letter
A one-page pitch sent to literary agents asking them to consider representing a book.
R
Royalties
A percentage of book sales paid to the author. Under a standard ghostwriting agreement the ghostwriter receives no royalties; compensation is the project fee. See: Do Ghostwriters Get Paid Royalties?.
Revision round
One complete cycle of client feedback and manuscript changes. The number of included rounds is defined in the Statement of Work.
S
Statement of Work (SOW)
The written agreement that defines a ghostwriting project before it begins: scope, deliverables, fee structure, timeline, revision rounds, intellectual property terms, AI use, and confidentiality. See: statement of work guide.
Structured interview
A recorded conversation in which the ghostwriter guides the client through the events, decisions, and people relevant to the book. The primary raw material of interview-driven ghostwriting.
Self-publishing
The model in which the author retains all rights, pays for production, and keeps the proceeds. Platforms include Amazon KDP and IngramSpark. See: publishing platforms guide.
T
Transcription
Converting recorded interviews into text so the material can be organized, outlined, and drafted from. Accuracy here determines the fidelity of the client’s voice on the page.
Thought leadership
Content, often a book, that positions its author as an authority in a field. The commercial rationale behind most executive ghostwriting.
Traditional publishing
The model in which a publisher acquires rights to a book, pays the author, and funds editing, design, printing, and distribution.
V
Voice capture
The process of learning how a client actually talks and thinks, through recorded interviews, so the finished book reads as though the client wrote it on their best day. See: capturing the client’s voice.
Voice calibration
Iterating the first two or three chapters of a manuscript until the client reads a draft and recognizes themselves on the page. The rest of the book is then written in the confirmed voice.
Vanity press
A company that charges authors to publish while presenting itself as a selective publisher. Generally regarded as predatory.
W
Work-for-hire
A legal arrangement in which the person paying for the work owns it entirely from the moment of creation or payment. Most professional ghostwriting contracts are structured as work-for-hire, making the client the sole copyright holder. See: legality of ghostwriting.
Word count
The length of a manuscript in words. Typical business books run 40,000 to 60,000 words; memoirs commonly 60,000 to 80,000.
Word rate
A pricing model in which ghostwriting is billed per word of finished manuscript. One of the two common models, alongside flat project fees. See: ghostwriting pricing.
Deeper treatments of most of these topics live in the Ghostwriting Hub. For how these terms apply to a real engagement, see the Ghostwriter Code of Conduct and the pricing guide.
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