Choosing a ghostwriter is a business decision. You’re hiring someone to spend six months building a product that will carry your name for the rest of your career. This is about the moment after you’ve talked to a few candidates, when you have to decide between them. The wrong choice costs you time, money, and a manuscript you can’t use. The right choice produces a book that works for your business for years. The advice below comes from completing 54+ ghostwriting projects and publishing 113+ books.
What should you decide before you start looking for a ghostwriter?
Choosing a ghostwriter scares people, and I understand why.
You’re handing your story, your reputation and months of your life to somebody you met on a video call. I tell every prospect on the first call that a book is a months-long relationship between two adults, with honest communication both ways. Decide what you need from that relationship before you look at a single website.
The wrong choice costs you time, money, and a manuscript you can’t use.Share on X
Before you contact a single ghostwriter, answer these questions for yourself. What’s the book about? Who’s it for?
What do you want the book to do for your business or your life? Is this a memoir, a business book, a how-to guide, or something else? For more, see how to choose your book topic and how to choose a book topic.
You don’t need every detail figured out. That’s what the ghostwriter helps with. But you need enough clarity to evaluate whether a ghostwriter understands your project. If you can’t describe your book in two or three sentences, consider a brainstorming engagement first. You can find current book coaching pricing on the book coaching page.
The prospects who arrive with a clear sense of what they want and why they want it produce better books. The ones who arrive with “I want to write a book about something” need more development time before the project makes sense.
How do you judge a ghostwriter’s past work?
People who come to me after a bad experience with another ghostwriter tell the same story over and over.
The writer missed the schedule, asked for more money halfway through, or handed back a book that didn’t sound like them. Past work can warn you about the last of those. Ask for samples written for different clients, and if they all sound like the same person, that’s the voice you’ll get too.
The single most important question when evaluating a ghostwriter is: how many books have you completed and published? Not started. Not “worked on.” Completed and published. A ghostwriter who has finished two books is in a different category than one who has finished fifty.
The craft of ghostwriting improves with repetition. Interview skills sharpen. The ability to capture someone’s voice develops over dozens of projects. Most ghostwriters can’t show you the books they’ve written because of nondisclosure agreements. That’s normal. But they should be able to show you books they’ve published under their own name, articles they’ve written, or sanitized samples from client projects. If a ghostwriter can’t show you any evidence of their writing ability, that’s a problem.
Andre Agassi picked his ghostwriter by reading him. In 2006, while he was getting ready for his last U.S. Open, Agassi got absorbed in The Tender Bar, J.R. Moehringer’s memoir about growing up around a neighborhood bar. According to The Week, he called Moehringer that same year, and he told NPR he asked him to collaborate because he loved that book.
Moehringer was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and the book they made together, Open, came out in 2009 to strong reviews. Agassi offered to put Moehringer’s name on the cover. Moehringer declined, as The Christian Science Monitor reported in its roundup of what the critics said. I like this story because Agassi judged the writer by work he could hold in his hands. Most of a ghostwriter’s client books sit behind NDAs, so the books they’ve published under their own name are the best evidence you’ll get. Read them before you sign anything. I have 54+ completed ghostwriting projects and 113+ published books. My clients’ books have helped them raise $30M+ in venture capital, land TEDx speaking invitations and secure traditional publishing deals. Those outcomes came from a process refined across every one of those projects.
What does the first consultation tell you about a ghostwriter?
One client talked to more than a dozen ghostwriters before he hired me.
He told me he chose me because I was the first one who acted like a person and treated him like a person. That tells you how low the bar sits in this business. If a writer spends the first call selling instead of asking about your book, expect the same treatment for the rest of the project.
The free consultation is an audition. Pay attention to what the ghostwriter does during that conversation. A good ghostwriter asks more questions than they answer. They want to understand your subject, your audience, your goals, and the stories behind your expertise. They push for specifics when you speak in generalities. They challenge assumptions that need challenging. The consultation should feel like the beginning of an interview process, because that’s exactly what drives the book.
A ghostwriter who spends the consultation talking about themselves, listing credentials, or pitching packages without asking about your project is showing you how the entire engagement will go. If they’re not curious about your subject in the first conversation, they won’t be curious in month four when the manuscript needs depth.
What should you understand about the process before signing?
Ask how the writer handles recordings and confidentiality before you sign anything.
I record every call, on Zoom, by phone or in person, and I say so up front and in the contract. I also tell prospects on the first call that they’re under nondisclosure. A writer who gets vague about either one is gambling with your material.
Every ghostwriter works differently. You need to understand each one’s process before committing. My projects run on interviews. I conduct in-depth sessions where I draw out stories, structures, and original thinking. The manuscript is built from your words and your expertise. You review chapters as they’re delivered and provide feedback at each milestone. Four to eight months of active work, a month for revisions, then professional editing.
Ask any ghostwriter you’re evaluating: How do you gather the material? How many interviews will we do? How often will I see drafts? What happens if I don’t like a chapter? How do you handle revisions? What’s the timeline? What are the milestones?
If the answers are vague, the process is vague. That means the book will be vague.
When Should You Discuss Ghostwriting Fees?
Talk about money on the first or second call, and get the pricing basis in writing. My contracts set an up-to word count, so the client knows the ceiling before we start, and no book of mine has ever come in significantly short. A writer who won’t pin down what you’re paying for is setting you up for the mid-project money conversation nobody wants.
Professional ghostwriting for a full-length book costs between $15,000 and $150,000 depending on the ghostwriter’s experience, the project’s complexity, and the length of the manuscript. You can find current ghostwriting pricing on the ghostwriting page. Payment should be milestone-based. You shouldn’t pay the full fee upfront. The ghostwriter ties payments to deliverables so you’re never paying for work they haven’t completed. A typical structure starts with a signing payment, then payments at agreed intervals as the ghostwriter delivers chapters and you approve them.
Be cautious of rates that seem too low. A 50,000-word book offered at $3,000 or $5,000 means either someone without professional experience is writing it or the seller is outsourcing it to writers who may not produce publishable quality. The most expensive mistake in ghostwriting is hiring cheap, getting unusable work, and then hiring a professional to start over at full price.
Every project is different, and I negotiate terms. The rate is the rate, but how we structure the deal has flexibility.
What should you look for when you read the contract?
Work through the five checks in order and walk away at the first red flag.
Read the termination terms twice. I’ve never ended a contract myself, mostly because I screen carefully before I sign one, but a contract still has to spell out what happens if either side stops showing up. If the document only protects the writer, ask for changes or walk away.
The contract should cover copyright ownership, payment schedule, project timeline, revision limits, confidentiality, termination terms, and what happens if either side abandons the project before completion. If any of these elements are missing, ask why. Copyright ownership belongs to you in most professional ghostwriting arrangements. For more on choosing the right ghostwriter, hear Richard on Let’s Talk. The contract should state this explicitly. The confidentiality clause should cover the ghostwriter and any subcontractors. The termination clause should provide an exit for both parties with clear terms. A ghostwriter without a contract is an amateur, regardless of their writing ability. Treat this like any other professional business relationship.
What Are the Red Flags When Choosing a Ghostwriter?
The biggest red flag for me is an agency sales pitch.
You talk to a salesperson, the conversation feels wonderful, and then you’re handed to writers you’ve never met, none of whom is the person who sold you. I’d almost never recommend an agency. Hire an experienced solo practitioner you can talk to directly. The one exception I respect is Randy Peyser, who isn’t really an agency at all.
After 54+ projects, I know what the warning signs look like.
No completed books. If the ghostwriter can’t point to finished, published work, they’re still learning on someone else’s project. That someone shouldn’t be you.
No questions about your project. A ghostwriter who’s ready to start before understanding what you need isn’t going to produce a book that captures your voice.
Rock-bottom pricing. Professional rates exist for a reason. A writer offering a full book for a few thousand dollars is either outsourcing the work or producing content that will need to be rewritten. Naming other clients. If a ghostwriter tells you who else they’ve worked with during your consultation, they’ll tell your name to someone else. Confidentiality is either a default or it’s not.
No contract. Walk away. Promising bestseller status. No ghostwriter can guarantee a bestseller. Anyone who promises one is selling something other than writing.
How much should chemistry count when choosing a ghostwriter?
Chemistry counts for more than most checklists admit, and I’d weigh it above price.
You’ll spend hours telling this person things you’ve never said out loud. If you don’t trust them on the first call, you won’t trust them in month four, and the book will show it. Too many people pick the cheapest name or the slickest salesperson and end up with a book that sounds like a stranger wrote it.
I want prospects to talk to other ghostwriters, so they know who fits their style best. The relationship is the deciding factor. Pay attention to red flags, and pay attention to green flags too. If you want to bring me what another ghostwriter told you, go ahead, and I’ll give you a neutral read with my ego out of it. I want you to get the best ghostwriter for you, whether that’s me or somebody else.
The relationship between you and your ghostwriter lasts months. You’ll share personal stories, business details, and ideas that matter deeply to you. The consultation tells you whether this is someone you can work with through that process.
Did they listen more than they talked? Did they ask questions that showed real interest in your subject? Did they explain their process clearly? Did you feel comfortable, or did you feel pressured? The best ghostwriting relationships are built on mutual respect and clear communication. The book is yours. The ghostwriter’s job is to make it the best version of what you intended.
Schedule a free consultation to discuss your book project and see whether we’re the right fit, or try the work first with the Book Discovery Intensive.
