Hiring a ghostwriter is a high-stakes decision most people make exactly once. These posts cover when to hire, how to choose the right writer, the questions to ask before you sign, ghostwriting versus coaching versus doing it yourself, and how to avoid the cheap-ghostwriter traps.
Hiring a GhostwriterThe memoir of Gene Wriggelsworth, a Michigan state trooper and undercover narcotics supervisor who served seven terms as Ingham County sheriff. Written with his wife, Sandy, and a credited ghostwriter, for the family first.
GhostwritingReedsy accepts about 3% of applicants and wants ghostwriters to show five published books. That bar runs straight into the NDA every serious ghostwriter signs, and once you're in, every message, call and payment stays on the platform. Why I've…
GhostwritingAt 65, I'm not going to build a ghostwriting business that scales. Scaling means hiring other writers, and the client pays for it by losing the one person who knows their story.
Client StoriesI wrote a book for a mail carrier who flipped houses on the side and kept saying how easy it was. Contractors called him on his route, the book never got finished, and his biggest problem was that he didn't…
Contracts and AgreementsWhen a ghostwriter goes silent mid-book, a week of ordinary follow-up is enough before you send written notice. Read the contract, recover your drafts and recordings, and set a firm date for hiring someone to finish.
Contracts and AgreementsA ghostwriting deadline should never slip without warning, because a working ghostwriter reports status as the book goes. When one does, fix the communication first, then the date.
GhostwritingYou can hate the first draft of a chapter and fix it in a week. Hating a whole ghostwritten manuscript means both sides waited too long, and the fix starts with sorting out exactly what's wrong.
Contracts and AgreementsYou won't get a refund from a ghostwriter for work already done, least of all from a solo writer with rent to pay. Pay in stages, negotiate the deposit before you sign, and save the fight for a writer who…
Contracts and AgreementsA ghostwriter can list your book in a portfolio only if you acknowledge them in the book or give permission. Here's how acknowledgments, NDAs and your contract decide what a ghostwriter can show.
GhostwritingA ghostwriter's sample chapter takes interviews and days of drafting, so if you want one, pay for it. Free samples invite scams, and there are better ways to judge a ghostwriter's work.
Contracts and AgreementsA ghostwriter takes anywhere from 10 to 50 percent of the fee up front, depending on their terms. The deposit is the part of the deal you can negotiate, and how it works depends on monthly or milestone billing.
Book ProposalA ghostwriter can't get you a book deal or an agent, though an experienced one knows people who can. Here's how three ghostwritten books reached traditional publishers, and why I steer most clients elsewhere.
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