Do I Have to Tell My Agent or Publisher That I Used a Ghostwriter?

Three of my clients took their ghostwritten books to traditional publishers. Two got in through someone they knew at the publishing house, and one went the usual way, through an agent. None of the three told the publisher a ghostwriter was involved, and all three swore me to secrecy. All three books were published.

They never asked my opinion on disclosure. They told me afterward. I’d have told them it was their call, because it is. My job is to write the manuscript the way the client wants it. What I can do is lay out what the publishing contract will ask of you, what matters whatever you decide, and how long the traditional road takes.

The guilt some authors carry into this question is misplaced, as if hiring a writer were a confession. An executive who hires an architect still owns the house, and a book built from your knowledge and your stories is yours the same way.

Do I have to tell my literary agent I used a ghostwriter?

No law requires it, and many authors don’t. Agents and publishers know how many nonfiction books are written with professional help, above all in business, memoir, celebrity, health, sports and self-help. Some agents even recommend ghostwriters to their own clients.

Some authors choose to tell their agent anyway, because the agent is managing the relationship with the publisher and may want to know how the book is being produced. Others keep it between themselves and the ghostwriter, and either choice is common.

Do publishers accept ghostwritten books?

Yes, routinely. Traditional publishers publish ghostwritten and collaborated books every season. Some publishers arrange and pay for a collaborator themselves when they acquire a book from an expert or public figure who doesn’t write.

Publishers care that the author has the knowledge, the platform and the story.

They also need the manuscript on time, at the quality promised. All three of my clients’ books were accepted on those terms. An author who frets over disclosure and shrugs at the delivery date has the risks backwards, because a publisher can live with a collaborator and has far less patience for a manuscript that arrives late or weak.

What does a publishing contract require if my book was ghostwritten?

The same things it requires of any author. Publishing contracts include warranties: promises that you own the rights to the work and that it’s original.

You also promise it doesn’t infringe anyone else’s rights. If a ghostwriter wrote the book, those promises hold only if the ghostwriting agreement assigns every right in the work to you.

This has to be right whether or not you disclose. Make sure your ghostwriting contract assigns you all rights, including in drafts, recordings and derivative works, and have a lawyer review it alongside the publishing contract before you sign. A ghostwriter who keeps any rights in your book has put a hole in the promise you’re about to make to your publisher, and I’d tell any client to walk away from a writer who won’t sign them over.

How do I tell my publisher about a ghostwriter if I decide to?

Through your agent, if you have one, and in writing. A sentence is enough: the book was written in collaboration with a professional ghostwriter, and the ghostwriting agreement assigns all rights to the author. Some publishers ask to see that agreement or a confirmation of the rights assignment. Nobody needs an apology.

Should the ghostwriter’s name go on the cover?

Only if you and the ghostwriter agree to it. Some collaborated books credit the writer on the cover with “with” or “and,” or in the acknowledgments. Most ghostwritten books don’t credit the ghostwriter publicly at all, and mine usually don’t. My article on whether ghostwriters get credit covers the options.

How long does traditional publishing take for a ghostwritten book?

Longer than most authors expect. For my three clients, the traditional process took at least a year from acceptance to publication, and one took about eighteen months. A very topical book, such as something political, might move faster. By comparison, a self-published book can be available within days of the final files being ready.

Traditional publishing has real advantages. The publisher handles editing and the cover, takes on some of the promotion, and the book is more likely to reach bookstores and higher sales. I don’t usually recommend it, though, because of the delays, the much lower royalties and the loss of control over the book. My publishing services page covers the self-publishing path.

Do I have to tell readers my book was ghostwritten?

No. What you tell readers is a separate decision from anything you tell an agent or publisher, and many authors of ghostwritten books never mention it publicly. My articles on what people will think if they find out and whether ghostwriting is unethical cover that side. I think that decision is yours alone, and I’d never push a client either way. A reader who finishes a useful book rarely stops to ask who typed it.

What should you check before signing a publishing contract for a ghostwritten book?

Check that your ghostwriting agreement assigns you every right in the book, including drafts, recordings and derivative works, because the publishing contract will have you promise exactly that.

Have a lawyer read both documents side by side. Whether to disclose is your decision and nobody else’s. The part I’d worry about in your place is the calendar: a year or more with a traditional publisher, against a book you could self-publish within days. I’d want any client of mine to weigh that year before signing it away.

If you’re heading toward a traditional publisher, my book proposal service covers the first step, and my publishing services cover the faster road. The Book Discovery Intensive includes a publishing path analysis if you haven’t decided yet. My ghostwriting services assign every right to the client. That’s the clause a publisher’s lawyer will look for.

From the author

The Ghostwriting Advantage
Disclosure is one of many decisions in a ghostwritten book. In The Ghostwriting Advantage I explain how the whole arrangement works, so you go into talks with an agent or publisher knowing your ground.

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