Ghostwriting Services - 7 Costly Mistakes When You Hire a Ghostwriter

By Alan Cheng 

When you hire a ghostwriter, you're expecting a nice return on your investment. However the ghostwriting services may not be what you expected. Problems such as delay in delivery, poor quality and incomplete writing happens a lot. If you don't know how to hire a ghostwriter, it could hurt your pockets deeply. Here are 7 hiring mistakes which you should avoid.

1. Samples of Writing
Always ask for samples which the ghostwriter has written. Preferably in the niche which you want him to write on. Looking at his writing, you will have a good idea if his writing fits the style you want.
If you can't get a sample of any writing, choose another freelance writer.

2. Ghostwriting Services
See what type of ghostwriting services are explained in the website. If you're looking to hire a ghostwriter to create a fully working ClickBank product with website, squeeze page and sales copy, make sure he offers this service.

Only choose writers for tasks which they are an expert on. If they have no experience with creating a ClickBank ebook, then don't be their guinea pig. You'll be disappointed.

3. Recommendations/Testimonials
Get recommendations from people who have used the ghostwriter before. This is your safest bet on hiring a ghostwriter that can deliver. Look at the testimonials on the ghostwriter's website and understand why the customers were happy with the ghostwriting service.

4. The Website
Look at the ghostwriter's website. Is it well designed with good graphics? Does it look professional? Does it explain its services in detail?
All these qualities will tell you how serious the ghostwriter is with his business. A poorly designed website that lacks useful information will tell you how the ghostwriter treats his business.

5. Cheap writers that are non-native English speaking
Many people like to hire ghostwriters from other countries instead of the US, Canada, UK or other native English speaking countries. The reason is because the ghostwriting fees are cheap.

A lot of the times the eBook or article delivered by these ghostwriters, is below average and needs tidying up. Either the grammar is poor, or no research was done on the topic. This means that your customers won't find the information valuable and they'll be disappointed.

This will involve you fine-tuning the eBook or articles, add more information or hire a ghostwriter to re-write it again. This will take a lot of your time and money. It's not worth it.

6. Rushing for delivery
When you hire a ghostwriter, avoid asking him to finish a project quickly. A ghostwriter's task is to write good content that is free of grammar and spelling mistakes, with an interesting voice. Rushing for the project to be completed, means that you will sacrifice the quality which the ghostwriter can deliver.

Don't give tight deadlines to your ghostwriter. Allow time for him to deliver the quality you need.

7. Poor communication
Before you hire a ghostwriter, email him and ask questions. Look at his answers and also the response time. Any freelance writer that is dedicated to pleasing their customers with their writing services, will answer all emails in a timely, professional manner.

If the ghostwriter doesn't respond in several days, doesn't answer your questions directly or seem very cold in their emails, you can cross him off your list. You can foresee that he won't be dedicated to writing quality content for his clients.

If you avoid these 7 hiring mistakes, you should be able to hire a ghostwriter that won't let you down. However, the quality of the ghostwriting service depends on the fee you're willing to pay. It's near impossible to find a cheap writer that can deliver the quality of a professional ghostwriter.

If you want to outsource your ebook to a professional ghostwriter, visit hire a ghost writer. To download the report How To Build Your Own Information Products Business, visit create information products at Best Instant Sites - Alan Cheng, Professional Ghostwriter

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Is Ghostwriting Immoral?

By Sallie Goetsch

 

Writing without a byline is a much more secure way to make a living than publishing in your own name. If fortune attracts you more than fame does, contract writing (which is writing on a particular subject without much input from your client) and ghostwriting (writing something in your client's "voice" and which their own friends couldn't tell wasn't their own) should definitely be part of your freelance writing repertoire.
Of course, you may face the question I occasionally get: "Ghostwriting? Is that, you know, ethical?"

Ghostwriting in a Nutshell
From a contractual perspective, of course, ghostwriting is perfectly ethical: the writer and the author have a contract in which the writer creates anything from a short blog post to a full-length book which the author then publishes under his or her own name. The writer gets paid a nice sum of money and the author gets the credit--and, if it's a book still in search of a publisher, takes the chance that the book won't garner a large enough advance to cover what the ghostwriter earned. The ghostwriter signs a document transferring copyright to the author, usually for additional consideration (that means money), and the author then owns all rights to the material. The ghostwriter may get an "as told to" credit on the book's cover, or may sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement and promise never to tell anyone who really wrote that book

Is Ghostwriting Cheating?
Unless the ghostwriter's client is under some pre-existing contractual obligation to produce original work, both hiring and acting as a ghostwriter are legal. Nevertheless many people can't escape the suspicion that if you hire someone else to do your writing, you're cheating in some way. Of course, there are those who feel that if they delegate any of their responsibilities, they're cheating. (I blame the Puritans.)

Ordinarily, however, hiring a ghostwriter is no more cheating than hiring an accountant is. Successful professionals have certain highly marketable and valuable skills and knowledge, and they can usually charge more for providing them than they'd pay a ghostwriter. This holds even more true for celebrities.

The one case in which hiring a ghostwriter--or an accountant, lawyer, or scientist--would be cheating is if you're a student. Paying for someone else's expertise in that situation means not developing your own skills. The number of people who forget that they're in school to learn, not to get grades, is disturbingly high, but they make up a very small percentage of a professional ghost's clients. (While I like to think that this is because ghostwriters have scruples, it probably also has something to do with the fact that students pay a lot less than CEOs and celebrities.)

In the normal course of things, ghostwriting cheats no one. The readers get something better than they would have gotten without the ghost's participation. The author gets the chance to reach a much wider audience and attract a higher level of client. Both author and ghostwriter get appropriate financial reimbursement.

Is Ghostwriting Lying?
If a celebrity biography has "as told to" on the cover, most people know that it was the tellee who put the celebrity's story into writing. This practice is widely accepted, even expected. Very few people assume that film stars and sports champions will be literary or intellectual giants. Even fewer people buy a celebrity's autobiography for its literary qualities. What the readers want is all the personal details and the first-person account of the glitter and excitement.

This also means that most people who buy the book won't care what the ghostwriter's name is, even if it's on the book's front cover and not buried in the acknowledgements. The only people who care who the ghostwriter is are others who might want to hire her. (Of course, those are the people one really wants to have notice one's name.) Otherwise, even a publicly acknowledged ghostwriter may remain invisible.

"I could tell you more, but then I'd have to kill you."
What about cases where the ghostwriter signs a contract promising never to reveal that she was the one doing the writing? This kind of work usually commands a higher fee, because the ghost can't list the book among writing credits or get testimonials and referrals from the client. Other kinds of non-disclosure agreements usually pertain to the client's proprietary information, trade secrets, and the like. The information which the contractor or employee is asked not to disclose is not necessarily incriminating--it's just not meant for public consumption.

So if a client doesn't want you to disclose the fact that he didn't write his own book, it doesn't automatically mean that there's something unethical. It might, however, mean that it would be embarrassing for your client if her use of a ghostwriter became public knowledge. Authors may also include this kind of clause for self-protection. What if you spent your hard-earned money on having a book written and worked your tail off to market it, only to have the ghostwriter step up to take the credit and steal your thunder?

Ghostwriting Fiction
Because people read fiction at least partly for the quality of the writing, fiction is a gray area of ghostwriting ethics. In any case, most aspiring novelists really want to write, and not just to have books. So why would a fiction author hire a ghostwriter anyway?

In some cases, the would-be author has the germ of an idea and the kind of fame which would sell books, but no experience and not much skill. Such a person would find it well worth the investment to find an unknown but talented writer and pay him or her to write the book. For an aspiring novelist who hasn't published much, ghosting such a book would provide a publishing credit--not with the public, but with the publisher who buys the book.

Another possibility for ghostwriting fiction is the case of the author who has actually written the first draft of the book and just doesn't have the craft to make it salable. In this case, the author might hire a ghostwriter to rewrite the book. This kind of work might be called "book doctoring" rather than "ghostwriting," but there isn't always much difference between these two activities.

Not every professional writer will have the aptitude or inclination for ghostwriting. But if you write well, listen well, enjoy collaborating, and have the gift of mimicking someone else's habits of expression, don't be afraid to try ghostwriting. Invisibility has its rewards.

Author-izer Sallie Goetsch specializes in turning busy professionals into authors. Get more free articles for your e-zine, newsletter, or website from her writing blog or e-mail sallie [at] author-izer.com and take the pain out of writing.

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The Ghostwriting Process

By Laura College  

 asked how the ghostwriting process actually works. What comes first? How does the book progress? Do you have a specific schedule? Although I am only one ghostwriter, I would imagine that all of them work differently. However, for all of you out there who are considering hiring a ghostwriter, this is essentially how the process works.

The Ghostwriting Process Step #1: Consultation
Your ghostwriter should ask to speak with you on the phone to have an initial consultation. During this 15-20 minute conversation, he or she will ask you various questions about the manuscript. How long should it be? What is the subject or genre? Will there be any research involved? This consultation is meant to give the ghostwriter a basic understanding of what you are looking for.

Feel free to ask as many questions as you'd like during the consultation, but answer the ghostwriter's questions as well. This should give you both a general idea of how well you will work with each other in the future.

The Ghostwriting Process Step #1: Agreement
Once you and your ghostwriter have talked about the proposed project, it is time to make the agreement. Most ghostwriters, myself included, have a standard contract that we use for each and every project. The only specifications are the price and the deadline, which you and your ghostwriter will have to negotiate.

A word to the wise, however: most ghostwriters will not do much in the way of negotiation. The price is set by the ghostwriter's experience and skills, and if you can't afford to pay the asking price, you're better off finding another writer. And as far as deadlines go, your ghostwriter will finish your manuscript as quickly as he or she possibly can. It is rare that we can pinpoint an exact date of completion.
Once you have solidified the terms, you should both sign the contract and keep a copy for your records.

The Ghostwriting Process Step #3: Research
 Once the ghostwriting process has officially started, it will be time to compile all of the necessary research. This must either be provided by you (the client) or performed by the ghostwriter. You will typically pay a lower price if you are able to provide the bulk of the research to your ghostwriter.

Obviously, non-fiction ghostwriting will require substantially more research than fiction ghostwriting, though novels often require a fair bit of planning. If no research is required at all, skip ahead to the next step.

The Ghostwriting Process Step #4: Outline/Planning
Some ghostwriters (and writers in general) outline, while others don't. I personally abhor the entire outlining process, and I never do it. If my clients offer me an outline from which to work, I won't say no to it, but I've never been inclined to plan out my books in that fashion.

That said, however, planning in general is an integral part of the ghostwriting process. For example, if your ghostwriter is penning a fiction novel, he or she will want to know if you have any specifications with regard to:

• Plot Sequence
• Characters (i.e. names, physical descriptions, etc.)
• Setting (i.e. city or town, winter or summer, etc.)
• Pace
• Length
• Point of View (i.e. first person omniscient, third person, etc.)
• Tense
• Anything Else

Most ghostwriters will allow you to specify as much as you want about the novel. If you know exactly how Chapter One, Chapter Two and all of the rest of the chapters will progress, feel free to give those details to your ghostwriter.

The Ghostwriting Process Step #5: First Draft
Different ghostwriters handle the first draft in different ways. Some will write the entire first draft of the script with absolutely no imput from their clients, then ask the client to review it when they are finished. Others, such as myself, will submit the first draft in small increments so that you can monitor the progress. If you have a preference, be sure to tell your ghostwriter.

Depending upon how your ghostwriter work, the first draft could take three weeks or it could take three months. Some first drafts might take up to a year with certain ghostwriters. I typically finish the first draft of a fiction manuscript within two months, then spend the subsequent month with revisions.

The Ghostwriting Process Step #6: Revisions
If your ghostwriter is worth his or her salt, free revisions will be included in the price of the manuscript. However, don't expect to be afforded unlimited revisions. The standard is 3-5 revisions per chapter, as long as the revisions don't significantly alter the course of the plot. For example, if your ghostwriter finishes the entire novel and you decide you want it to be set in New York City rather than San Diego, your ghostwriter is probably going to charge you for those changes.

The Ghostwriting Process Step #7: Final Draft
Once you have requested all of the revisions and made your peace with the manuscript, your ghostwriter will conduct a final read-through and make any grammatical or syntactical revisions. You will then be provided with the final draft (usually electronically, unless specified otherwise) and you can enjoy your manuscript!

Laura J. College is a professional ghostwriter with more than ten years' experience writing fiction and non-fiction manuscripts. Her work can be found all over the Internet, and she is currently accepting ghostwriting clients. Check out her website at [http://www.laurajcollege.com]

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What is a Ghostwriter?

By Gary McLaren 

Do you believe in ghosts?

They are mostly unseen. Unnoticeable. And believe it or not they are moving behind the scenes in the publishing industry. If you're lucky you might catch a fleeting glimpse. They are officially called 'ghostwriters'.
A ghostwriter is a writer who writes on an assigned topic under someone else's name, with their consent. They often write books completely from scratch but sometimes their work involves rewriting or polishing an existing work.

Most books by famous personalities are actually written by ghostwriters. When you see an autobiography or memoir from a politician, businessperson, or celebrity, chances are that it has been written by a ghostwriter.
Here are a few examples. The autobiography "Ronald Reagan: An American Life" was ghosted by Robert Lindsey. "Learning to Sing", the autobiography of American Idol star Clay Aiken, was written with ghostwriter Allison Glock. The autobiographies of Doris Day and Sophie Loren were written by A.E. Hotchner.

So how popular is ghostwriting? Statistics are hard to come by since many people don't want to reveal that their book is ghosted. Some industry estimates suggest that up to fifty percent of all non-fiction books are ghostwritten.

A client may decide to hire a ghostwriter because the client does not have any writing talent or because they are too busy. Ghostwriters, for their part, are usually well-established writers already, and are selected on that basis.

What do Ghostwriters Write?
Ghostwriters are hired to write many types of documents, from autobiographies for famous personalities to e-books for internet marketing gurus, and even letters for politicians.
They also write fiction. Sometimes it is for a series of books written by several ghostwriters under one name, as with the stories of Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys. Ghostwriters also continue to write novels under the name of popular authors who have died, as in the case of Robert Ludlum.

Is Ghostwriting Ethical?
Although ghostwriting is a widely accepted practice within the publishing industry, some people outside of the industry complain that ghostwriting is deceptive. But that is not necessarily true. Consider for a moment the ghostwriting process. The client is the author of the work in that they are the person who is really behind the content. It is the client's ideas, the client's stories and experiences. It is the client's words recorded on hours of interview tapes. The ghostwriter is a professional consultant providing expertise in the area of bringing together all the information, organizing it, and writing it up in a way that will produce a marketable and readable masterpiece.

What Skills does a Ghostwriter Need?
A ghostwriter must be a good writer.
He or she should also have good interviewing skills, since they will spend many hours and days interviewing clients. They should have the ability to ask good questions that will draw out the best aspects of a story.
Another skill - which may need to be developed - is the ability to maintain the client's voice so that the book reads like the client, not the ghostwriter.

How is a Ghostwriter Paid?
Ghostwriters usually charge a flat fee for their work.
Sometimes they will reduce their ghostwriting fee in return for a percentage (perhaps 25-50%) of the royalties, or in rare cases they may waive their fee in return for a percentage of royalties.
The advantage of a flat fee is that a ghostwriter knows exactly how much he or she will be paid. The risk of relying on royalties is that even if the book is well-written, the ghostwriter has no control over the book's marketing and promotion.

Does a Ghostwriter get Any Credit?
More often than not, the public never knows that a book was ghostwritten. Sometimes ghostwriters are even legally bound to not reveal that they have ghosted a particular book.
Occasionally ghostwriters will receive some credit. The writer's name may appear on the cover as a co-author or it might read "as told to Jenny Ghost." Another way to thank the ghostwriter is under the acknowledgements, for example "...and thanks to Joe Ghoul without whom this book would never have been completed".

Are You Thinking of Becoming a Ghostwriter?
It could be an excellent career move. You've probably heard it said that everyone has a book inside them. Well, the fact of the matter is that not everyone has the time or the skill to write it.
As long as there is a story to be told, ghostwriters will continue to be in demand.

Gary McLaren is the editor of Worldwide Freelance Writer, a leading source of information for freelance writers. For more information on starting a ghostwriting business please visit http://www.worldwidefreelance.com/ghostwriting.htm

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Ghostwriting - The Easy Way Out of Writing a Book

By Irene Watson  

Ghostwriting is quite common in the publishing industry. While true authors-the ones who have dreamed of being authors since childhood and write regularly-would never consider hiring a ghostwriter because they love to write, many other would-be authors don't really feel passionate about writing; however, they may want to produce a book either because they want to tell their stories (write their autobiography or memoir), they have information they want to share, or they feel having a book will give them the extra authority as an expert to build their business or public speaking career.

These reasons are all valid and good ones for hiring a ghostwriter. However, the wrong ghostwriter can lead to disastrous results for an author. Pick up almost any celebrity's book and you can guarantee that it has been ghostwritten, and usually, the result is a mediocre book that may have some interest but little passion or energy to it. If you're going to hire a ghostwriter, you want your book to be as good as possible so there's much to consider before you spend time and energy letting someone else tell your story for you.

First, before deciding to hire a ghostwriter, consider how likely the ghostwriter will be to make your book actually sound like you. Your personality needs to show through in the book. You want the book to reflect who you truly are so when your readers meet you in public or at speaking events, they are meeting the person they met in the pages of your book. That means that your book's tone and grammar should match how you speak, your sense of humor, and your viewpoints and opinions.

Also, consider that even if someone else is going to write the book for you, ghostwriting will still take up a great deal of your time and energy because that person needs to know a lot about you to write your book effectively. You will need to spend time discussing your vision of what the book will be, how it should be organized, what main points you want the book to convey to your readers, and you will need to provide documents or oral information to the ghostwriter for the book's content. You may already have resources such as handouts, charts, or articles written that you can provide the ghostwriter-these will vary depending upon whether you are having your biography, autobiography, self-help, business book, or novel ghostwritten. Even so, the ghostwriter will need to spend a lot of time communicating with you on the phone and through email.

In my opinion, the best ghostwriters are willing to spend significant time talking to the author in person or on the phone. The author and ghostwriter should make regular appointments to discuss the book's material-perhaps one phone call per book chapter. The ghostwriter can record the conversation and take notes, then write up the chapter, and give it to the author to read and then the author can make his or her own changes or later discuss possible changes with the ghostwriter. The benefit of talking with the ghostwriter throughout the process is multiple: the ghostwriter becomes familiar with how the author speaks and his or her tone so that tone carries through into the book, with the ghostwriter making the book sound the way the author would ideally write it himself. Speaking together also allows the ghostwriter to clarify immediately anything that is unclear or vague.

After the rough draft of a chapter or the entire book is written, the ghostwriter can also ask the author questions for things he forgot or realizes he doesn't know how to explain. The process' first goal should be to create a rough draft of the entire book, but the ghostwriter and author should also then be willing to go back and forth in editing the book as well.

Remember that a ghostwriter is not necessarily an editor. In many ways, a ghostwriter is like an enhanced secretary who is taking dictation or piecing together information. An author may want to hire an editor once the book's rough draft is completed so someone else not involved in the creation process can look at the book with fresh eyes. Furthermore, many ghostwriters are not really qualified to edit books because they don't have the disciplined background to look for inconsistencies, and after spending time working with the author, the ghostwriter may no longer be looking closely at what is on the page to see whether it makes sense because he understands what the author means to say after hours of their discussing the subject together.

One of the biggest mistakes authors make with ghostwriters is to try to rush a book by hiring more than one ghostwriter to write different chapters. It's important that a book have a consistent tone and style throughout. Not all ghostwriters are created equal. You might find one's style and tone is closer to what you want than another's. You might also find that your ghostwriter can't do the job and leaves you with half a book that another ghostwriter must pick up and finish. For this reason again, you may want to hire an editor to do a consistent job of editing the book for you.

Even after the rough draft is completed, the author should do as much rewriting of the book as needed. Remember, no one is going to tell your story as well as you, and no one will care about your book as much as you do. Even if you only write a page a day, after a year, you can easily have a book written and you might be happier with the end result than if you hire someone to ghostwrite for you.

If you do decide to hire a ghostwriter, spend time interviewing the ghostwriter closely and check the person's references to make sure he or she is qualified to do the work and will follow through on the project. Don't be afraid to ask to see other books the person has ghostwritten. In some cases, authors may not want to acknowledge the ghostwriter so there are confidentiality issues, but the ghostwriter should still be able to provide some references. By the same token, consider whether you will credit the ghostwriter as the book's co-author-which will reveal you are not the true or at least sole author-or whether you need the ghostwriter to sign a confidentiality notice for you.

Finally, don't forget that all the time you would spend on writing a book is time the ghostwriter will spend, and that time needs to be compensated for adequately. You're still going to spend a lot of time working with the ghostwriter although it will probably take you hundreds of hours less than if you wrote the book yourself. That said, if you wrote your own book, you wouldn't have any costs for the writing. Ghostwriting a book can take several months, usually three to six for an average-sized (250-page) book. No qualified ghostwriter will quote you a full price upfront for the entire project because of how hard it is to calculate how much time it will take, so you are probably going to pay an hourly rate. Even the cheapest qualified ghostwriter is going to charge you about $25 an hour, and it's rare to imagine any book worth writing taking less than several hundred hours, which means you're looking at thousands of dollars to hire someone to ghostwrite the book, and that's not counting later hiring someone to do the editing.

What is worth more to you? The time or the dollar investment? Will the book enhance your business enough that you can view paying the ghostwriter as an investment that will produce greater income for you down the road? Is the book going to sell enough copies to make it worth your while to pay a ghostwriter, or if you look at it another way, is the ghostwriter going to make your book more marketable so you can sell more copies, therefore, making it worth the investment?

Think long and hard before you hire a ghostwriter. You may not be a great writer, but if you can commit to the time of writing the book, an editor can help you reorganize and reshape it and save you money over what you would pay the ghostwriter. Still, a good ghostwriter can make a huge difference in the quality of your book. Don't jump into hiring any ghostwriter, but do your research and consider all the pros and cons before you decide whether you will write your own book or have it ghostwritten.

Irene Watson is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Her team also provides author publicity and a variety of other services specific to writing and publishing books.

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