To Err is human. To forgive is Divine.
– the Holy Bible of the Jews, Christians and Moslems
Learn how to ghostwrite books
By Karen S. Cole, Founder, Owner, and President of GHOST WRITER, INC.
What Types of Ghost Writers Exist?
Mainly, you’re hiring a professional book ghostwriter or a professional book editor. They are often a freelance professional writer. A ghost 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, musical score, business document or screenplay. A copy editor will edit for grammar and syntax, fact checking, line editing. Furthermore, there is also content editing, rewriting and full-scale developmental editing. There are different price ranges for less thorough editing, such as line editing, up to more thorough developmental editing.
What does ghostwriting cost?
Times have changed since we first published this Ghostwriter FAQ, regarding ghostwriting service rates. In any case, our pricing can vary widely. Costs have gone up for 2023 and 2024, so we have to charge more. However, the ghostwriter rates for your projects depend mainly on your ghost’s related experience.
Student ghosts and beginner book editors, developers or book coaches often cost a great deal less. Maybe half of what our experienced ghosts cost. Amazon and NYT best seller level ghosts tend to cost a lot more. Our prices for ghostwriting can vary quite widely for experienced writers or editors, going as low as $10,000 USD. This is for shorter books; very short ebooks and chapbooks, such as 25-30 pages long, can be as low as $2,500 USD. Prices range, depending on the experience levels of the book ghostwriter, from $10K-70K to ghostwrite a 100-300+ page book manuscript (at 250-275 words per page). And we feature pricing of $75-250K for a book by an Amazon or NYT bestselling ghostwriter.
Developmental editing by a NYT bestseller ghost can run $35,000 and up USD. These ghosts hardly ever work for anything but upfront payment. Made during course of completion of the project, each time, while payments may be made in several agreed upon installments.
The cost of ghostwriting doesn’t tend to come cheap. In other words, you’re committing to work that, as of this Ghostwriter FAQ, is hopefully going to sell. Or be loved and cherished by your family and friends. On the high end ghostwriter scale, our ghostwriting service rates can be upwards of $50K-300K to ghostwrite a celebrity, timely news story or “top dollar” project. They are also higher for more labor. Such as books needing multiple color photos and professional illustrations, expert academic or scientific tables, specialized or complicated layouts, complex indexing and references, major use of The Chicago Manual of Style or other editing guidebooks, professional front, side and back covers, along with personalized cover artwork, special interiors within the book manuscript, complicated tables, multiple front and back sections, medical, academic, scientific, legal or other professional special indices, special printing and distribution requirements, full preparation of audiobooks such as narration, audio features and other background services, publication of a series of ebooks, short stories, or other series books and novels, etc. as requested and required by the author client.
GHOST WRITER, INC. IS YOUR PERSONALIZED GHOSTWRITING SERVICES AGENCY!
We will negotiate our ghostwriting, editing, marketing, publishing, production, distribution, and other related services rates with you personally for 2023 and 2024, going into 2025 or later on if needed. All arrangements and pricing structures will be according to your budgetary needs, via legally signed contract, dated, initialed if needed, and filed with all signing parties and our office as well. You should gauge your budget well in advance, paying us out of whatever you have set aside in advance for your project. If not, you may arrange to pay us “as you go” through several payments (half upfront half upon completion, or quarterly payments, for example); also hourly, per word or page, weekly/monthly or any other type of reasonably scheduled installment payments.
Whatever we arrange, don’t strap yourself, or you’ll be unable to complete the entire process. You will want to graciously receive your fully ghosted and edited work of art, not a partial or half-completed manuscript that isn’t properly edited or neatly polished. You won’t get your work finished, signed off on, and delivered to you satisfactorily that way! Try hard to fully pay us what we’ve proven we are worth – we will demonstrate it to you, through preliminary samples as needed, and during the course of the project’s completion. It’s the only way for everyone to be totally fulfilled.
As of this updated 2023 blog post, and all of our ongoing works in progress, GWI remains as an affordable, ethical, ethnic, responsible, and American ghostwriting services of all kinds supportive agency. With full Better Business Bureau accreditation and an A+ ongoing service rating for the past eight years and longer.
Research ghostwriting service prices elsewhere. You will find we are fair, honest and more affordable than everyone else. Other than outright inept amateurs, third world newcomers, or student untrained ghosts. Also, our pricing runs lower than the other legitimate, professional ghostwriting agencies. Why? We are always trying harder to serve your needs, technical requirements, dreams and desires, and most of all your overall budgets. GWI will always attempt to assist you in making decent money from your completed project, too, if that is your stated goal. If not, we will still deliver a completed work of art, such as a memorable life story or memoirs book, for your loving family and friends.
What is Plagiarism?
You can’t publish someone else’s copyrighted work (howsoever published) without their written permission. According to this Ghostwriter FAQ, you can’t use anyone other than your ghostwriter’s original work. And also yours, of course. Unless you’re utilizing public domain work. Brief excerpts of writing and contextual quotes may be used without the author’s permission. However, in these cases it’s best to get the original source’s written permission first.
Google the phrase public domain and the name of a work or author. You might be tempted to use long passages of other authors’ works. Not good nor legal. But you can always use your own original ideas and materials. We highly encourage that, as readers constantly require a steady stream of brand-new materials.
Also, we can extract significant passages of long works. And strip them of their copyrights by rewriting! This works by using several other resources and the original (cited) writings as background info. This method actually works 99% of the time. Not always! It’s best to use your own original ideas and writing. And that of your ghostwriter, who should be there for you when you need them to be. With typical breaks, rest times, and time gaps in the progress that can happen, as agreed to by valid legal contract, of course.
Your GWI ghost or editor will sign over all copyrights for all original writing. In addition to whether you or your friendly neighborhood ghost actually creates ANY of the material! So, no worries. You keep all the copyrights. While you pay your GWI team people in advance, during course of completion.
How long does it take to ghostwrite a book or screenplay?
This varies widely. It can range from half a month to over a year to ghostwrite a 35-500 page manuscript. An average time is three to six months. A screenplay can be about as long. But those usually take less than one year. Time varies, talk to your ghostwriter! We can set a project up in advance, if you don’t mind waiting for a popular, busy freelance ghost or editor.
You sign and keep a GWI ghost in place by paying a retainer fee. In order to get in line – and be helped. Talk to us NOW! GWI has currently available ghosts, though. According to our Ghostwriter FAQ, our ghosts really range widely, from taking only two weeks to over two years. Depends on the nature of the project, more than anything else.
How do I pay a ghostwriter or editor?
We seldom accept “on spec” or percentage payments. Only when the work is highly likely to sell widely. Or in some cases, a client makes a substantial upfront payment in addition to a net percentage from sales payment. We call this a “combo” payment. However, GWI mainly only accepts payment in advance during course of completion. Also, we won’t release the completed copy of work without you finishing all your payments. But this doesn’t include on spec or net percentages.
The way in is often a difficult and lengthy road. Ghost Writer, Inc. can make things much easier for you. However, we will need your time, efforts, patience, and timely assistance throughout the entire process.
Do you sign a book ghostwriting contract?
How do you sign a ghostwriting contract?
We have you sign a binding legal contract, good in all fifty states and all treatied countries around the world, directly with any GWI worker with whom you are contracting. We will also sign a full non-disclosure agreement, or one contained within your contract, to keep your information confidential. And we will sign any other documents definitely needed to facilitate your work’s progress, such as with marketers, agents, or publishers.
How do you get 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 arrange self or commercial publication services. And GWI will assist you in getting your script or screenplay optioned or produced. These are all paid services. Professional freelance ghostwriters DO NOT work without any upfront payment, and usually a sizable amount is involved – it is a “you get what you pay for” case scenario. Sometimes we will arrange on spec, partnership, coauthor or cover credit, or net percentage from nearly guaranteed book sales, such as in the case of highly marketable celebrity and other such salable books. But this is rare, not standard business practice nowadays in the ghostwriting field. If you don’t have enough upfront payment money for this, we will guide you to intelligent off and online resources that may be able to assist you.
Check with Book Marketing Professionals for their easygoing promotional packages. When and if you do, be sure to mention Ghost Writer, Inc. and Karen S. Cole to their Head of Operations, MVP’s Mistress of Marketing Linda Leon of Alvin, Texas – just south of Houston. Linda and I have worked together for well over a decade writing, editing, polishing and selling completed book manuscripts.