Ghost Writer FAQ - what is a ghost writer?

Ghost Writing: Frequently Asked Questions
What is a ghost writer? Write us for more info!

1) What is a ghost writer? Writers ordinarily receive full credit for their work. A ghost writer does not, although arrangements can be made where the ghost writer can receive partial credit or even full co-author status. The ghost writer takes payment to complete the client or author's work, usually upfront in installments, rather than receiving the credit.
2) What do you mean by credit? The ghost writer does not have their name on the published or produced work, nor is it popularly known that the ghost writer so much as worked on the project, unless the client or author of the work wants it to be known.
3) What kinds of ghost writing credit do clients or authors give ghost writers? This can be a brief sentence on an acknowledgments page, stating “This book would not be possible without my Editor, So and So.” Also, if you want to give your ghost writer more credit, you can put on the book cover, “As told to So and So.” Or you can share co-author status, so the book cover or screen credits will feature the ghost writer’s name as prominently as that of the client or author. However, this arrangement is entirely up to you and your ghost writer.
4) Is ghost writing actually legal? Yes, you are paying a professional writer to help with your book, memoir, screenplay or other work, and since you are paying for it, you don’t have to share any credit and can feature only your name on the work. This is generally referred to as "work for hire," and it's entirely legal under the related US and other treatied international laws.
5) Who gets the copyrights? This is entirely up to you; you can choose to share copyrights with your ghost writer or keep all copyrights for yourself. Generally, this is put into a binding legal contract with your ghost writer, and all such matters are spelled out completely.
6) What types of ghost writers are there? Generally, you are hiring either a professional freelance ghost writer or a professional freelance copy editor. A ghost writer will help you create your finished work, the beginnings of which may range from a brief outline with a handful of notes to a nearly completed manuscript or screenplay. A copy editor will edit for grammar and syntax, fact checking, line editing, content editing, rewriting, or full developmental editing. There are different price ranges for less thorough editing, such as line editing, up to more thorough developmental editing.
7) What are the costs of ghost writing? Costs can vary widely, and largely depend on how much experience your ghost writer or editor has. Our prices for ghost writing usually range from $6K-25K to ghost write a 100-300 page book (at 250 words per page) to $30K-100K to ghost write a heavy, celebrity or “top dollar” project, or one needing lots of color photos and illustrations, tables, special layouts, indexing, included covers and other art, etc.
8) What is plagiarism? You can’t use someone else’s copyrighted work (howsoever it is published) without their written permission unless it is public domain work. Public domain work can be used by anyone without the author's permission - this is true in many cases - you can google "public domain" and the name of a work or author to see if it is PD.
9) How long does it take to ghost write a book or screenplay? This varies widely, and it can take from one month to a year to ghost write a 200-500 page book; an average time is about three to six months. A screenplay can take about as long, but usually takes a somewhat shorter time than a full year.
10) How do I pay GWI’s ghost writers and copy editors? We seldom take “on spec” or percentage payments, only accepting those if the work is highly likely to sell widely and well, or in cases where a substantial upfront payment is also made. GWI accepts our payments in advance during the process while the work is being performed, and we won’t release the final copy of work until all payments have been completed.
11) Do you sign a contract? We have you sign a binding legal contract directly with any GWI worker with which you are contracting for any services rendered; we will also sign any non-disclosure agreements to keep your information confidential, and any other documents needed to facilitate your work’s progress.
12) What about getting published, optioned or produced? GWI offers several services for modest pricing scaled to fit your budget, involving marketing, promotions and sales of your finished work. We can also help to arrange self or commercial publication services, and assist you in getting your script or screenplay optioned or produced.
What is a Ghost Writer?
KAREN COLE, GWI'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: I am a professional freelance ghostwriter, copy editor, proofreader, rewriter and book author, and I manage a team of 100+ writing field related workers, many of them being NYT best selling ghost writers. We also have solid contacts with top literary agents, commercial publishers and literary/film field professionals. We are an online writing services agency with an experienced team of professional freelance and contracting book authors, ghostwriters, copy editors, proofreaders, manuscript rewriters, screenwriters, scriptwriters, graphic artists, digital photographers, rewriters, analysts, film/TV producers, marketers, promoters, and other film, movie, TV and video industry pros who can help you get your books and screenplays made into movies, films, videos or TV shows.

Ghost Writing FAQ

Ghost Writing: Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Ghost Writer?