Why Most Writers Never Get Paid
August 12, 2026
Talent is not what separates writers who get paid from writers who do not. Here is what really moves the needle, from voice and story to selling your work.
Tag: Contracts and Agreements
The paperwork is what protects you when a deal goes sideways. These articles cover the contracts every writer should understand: ghostwriting agreements, publishing deals, and the clauses that matter most. Boring until you need them, and then they are everything.
AI CopyrightWhat the Anthropic Settlement Means for Ghostwriters
July 21, 2026
Anthropic settled for $1.5 billion over pirated books. The court found the acquisition was the problem, not the training, and that distinction is the one that matters to anyone who writes as someone else. What it changes for the ghostwriting…
Contracts and AgreementsHow to Interview a Ghostwriter: Reading the Consultation Call
June 10, 2026
Interviewing your ghostwriter before you sign is not a formality; it is the single step that decides whether you get a great book or an expensive disappointment. I offer a free consultation to every prospect, as good ghostwriters do. Here…
Contracts and AgreementsWriting about your former employer without getting sued
May 28, 2026
Memoir, business book, or exposé, if your manuscript touches your time at a former employer, you have to reckon with NDAs, non-disparagement clauses, trade secrets, and defamation. Here is what your old NDA actually restricts, what non-disparagement really prevents, what…
Co-AuthoringCo-author splits: 50/50, 60/40, 70/30 and when each one works
May 28, 2026
The 50/50 co-author split is the lazy default and rarely correct. Four variables decide the right one: who brings the audience, who brings the substance, who does the writing, who runs the launch. Here is the math behind 50/50, 60/40,…
Contracts and AgreementsHow to fire a ghostwriter mid-project without losing the manuscript
May 28, 2026
Sometimes the ghostwriter relationship fails, wrong voice, stalled pace, broken communication, lost trust, and a mid-project firing, while rare, happens. Here is how to tell a genuinely broken relationship from a rough patch, how to extract the work you have…
Co-AuthoringCo-author versus hire a ghostwriter: which structure actually fits your project
May 28, 2026
Co-author and ghostwriter are not the same deal dressed differently; they are structurally different agreements with different IP outcomes, revenue splits, and effects on a book's commercial life, and choosing wrong locks you in for years. Here is how to…
Contracts and AgreementsHow to spot a bad ghostwriter before you sign the contract
May 28, 2026
Plenty of ghostwriters will take your money and hand back a manuscript that does not work, and the warning signs show up in the consultation if you know them. The outright scams are easy; the dangerous ones are the partial…
Contracts and AgreementsWhat a Ghostwriting Statement of Work Should Include
February 12, 2026
Most people have never seen a ghostwriting agreement, so the Statement of Work feels like a black box. It should not. Before I write a word, this document settles deliverables, payments, ownership, scope changes, and what happens if things go…
Contracts and AgreementsIs Ghostwriting Legal: Legality, Ethics, and How Contracts Protect Both Parties
February 11, 2026
Ghostwriting has always been legal; no country prohibits one person writing what another signs. The interesting question is the ethical one, and that gets answered in the agreement. Here is how contracts, copyright transfer, and professional standards protect both parties…