Ghostwriting FAQs

 What IS ghostwriting?

At its core, ghostwriting involves writing material for someone else and receiving no credit. The other person is listed as the author, and you might receive an acknowledgment (or simply a paycheck).

It is possible to ghostwrite:

• Novels

• Nonfiction books (business books, biographies, memoirs)

• Practical guides

• Articles

• Blog posts

• eBooks

If people aren’t writing their own books, isn’t that kind of cheating?

I don’t see it that way. Many people have brilliant ideas or amazing stories they’d like to share, but they do not have A) the time to write a book, B) the desire/inclination to write, or C) the skills. Not everyone is a skilled writer, and that has nothing to do with a person’s brilliance. Writing is simply not in everyone’s wheelhouse.

Ever since there have been celebrities or busy people with ideas to share, there have been ghostwriters. We craft ideas into a narrative. We give thoughts a shape.

Can’t people tell if the author didn’t actually write the book?

Not if the ghostwriter is skilled at their job!

Whenever I begin interviewing a client for a ghostwriting project, I pay close attention to their speech and vocal patterns. I learn how they like to express themselves and do my best to mimic their style. It is vital to infuse the book with the author’s personality. Are they humorous, or more on the serious side? Is their speech formal or more casual? Are they high energy? Relaxed? Do they often bring politics or spirituality into their discourse?

A ghostwriter’s observations can help them take on another person’s voice and write from their perspective, with their particular style in mind.

Is ghostwriting just transcription?

No! Not even close.

If I were to simply transcribe what others tell me, that would make for a pretty incohesive (often incomprehensible) book. People tend to talk in circles or go on tangents. They give bits and pieces of information, and I often have to figure out how to fill in the gaps. Most of the time, people are not natural storytellers and the information they relay sounds like this: “This happened, then that happened, then this happened.”

It is up to me to create an interesting backdrop and make sure the story flows. I weed out irrelevant information and bring important points to the forefront. In the case of memoirs or biographies, I often research different time periods so I can create a rich context for the story and provide any relevant or interesting information.

What is your process?

After a client agrees to work with me, we get to work! At this point, I already know their timeline and have a general idea of the content they’d like to include, how much research I’ll need to do, and (roughly) how long the book will be.

The first step involves planning. Based off their vision for the book, I put together an outline. Once they approve the outline (which might change as we go along), we begin the interview process.

Typically, I interview subjects in two-hour stretches. In some cases, interviews run longer (three, maybe four hours), depending on how talkative the subject is. During the interviews, we try to focus on a particular theme (although, tangents happen!). If I’m writing a memoir, for example, we might focus on the subject’s childhood first, and any relevant stories they want to tell.

I write as I go.

After the first interview, I start writing. For me, it’s best to write a rough draft while the information is fresh in my mind. I also research as I go. Oftentimes, I need to read historical books or articles to make the narrative richer and give context. All my research is carefully tracked and listed in a bibliography.

We continue a cycle of interview, research, write for several months. Typically, I’ll interview the subject every two weeks. Sometimes, I’ll interview other people who are relevant to the story we’re trying to tell.

Once I have my rough draft, I go back and rewrite it. I make sure the manuscript hangs together, is structured properly, doesn’t have any gaps, and is easy to follow. Once the rewriting is done, I will pass along the first draft to my client.

At this point, I’ve typically gone through six months of interviewing, researching, and writing.

Once the client reviews the draft, another rewrite is inevitable. I will look over their comments and corrections and make any changes they would like me to make.

We then enter the editing process, which typically involves a developmental edit, a line edit, and a proofread (if you’d like to learn about the different types of editing let me know, and I’ll write a blog post about them!). I almost always contract out one or more of these edits. It’s always good to have another set of eyes on my work to catch any incongruencies or errors I might have missed.

At the end of all this, we have a completed manuscript. What happens with that manuscript is, ultimately, up to the client, but I sometimes provide them guidance on the next steps they could take.

Do you get a commission?

No. It doesn’t matter if the book sells 5 copies or 5 million, I’m paid the same rate.

I like it this way. With a set fee, my income is not dependent on my client’s fame or motivation to sell the book.

How do you know what to charge?

I charge a set fee (it’s more reliable for everyone) and usually include a clause that says something like, “If the project takes more than ## hours, the Ghostwriter reserves the right to renegotiate the fee with the Client.” I’ve only had to renegotiate once, and the client was happy to do so. They knew the project scope was bigger than we had first discussed, and paid me accordingly.

It has taken me many years and much trial and error to determine what I should charge for a ghostwriting project. I usually think about the different tasks in front of me and how long each of them will take:

Interviewing: I determine my interviewing hours by multiplying the predicted number of interviews by three hours (to be safe), and then adding in any driving or setup time.

Researching: How much research will the book require? If I anticipate reading several volumes and doing heavy research, I work that into my pricing scheme.

Writing: At this point, I know how long it typically takes me to write a 70,000-word book. Everyone’s pace is different, so I can’t give you a set number. You’ll have to determine this by carefully tracking your time (I plan to write a post on time tracking soon!).

Rewriting: This takes less time than writing the first draft, but it still takes several hours. Again, track your time and figure out your rewriting pace.

Extras: Is the client paying for editing services? I do have set prices for that and charge by the word.

In short, it’s not easy to predict how much time ghostwriting will take. Carefully track your writing time (even for smaller projects, like 1,000-word articles) and add a clause in your contract to protect yourself from significantly overshooting your predicted hours.

Know this: Many ghostwriting projects will take hundreds of hours to complete.

What else would you like to know about ghostwriting? Is there anything I missed? Let me know in the comments or send me a note.