How to Find and Work with a Good Ghostwriter

By Gini Graham Scott PhD

HOW TO FIND AND WORK WITH A GOOD GHOSTWRITER discusses the steps involved in finding and collaborating with a good ghostwriter on blogs, articles, books, scripts, and other materials.  It features these topics:

            - Why work with a ghostwriter

            - How do you find a ghostwriter?

            - Working out any agreements and contracts

            - What to prepare for your book, script or blog

            - Creating an outline for your book or script

- Working together on your project

- What to do when things don't work out

- Other ways a ghostwriter can help you

- An appendix with sample contracts, NDAs, synopses and proposals

GINI GRAHAM SCOTT, PhD is a writer, publisher, and film producer, who has published over 200 books, 50 for traditional publishers and 150 for her own company Changemakers Publishing, specializing in books on self-help, popular business, and social issues. She also writes, reviews, and ghostwrites books and scripts for clients. She has written and executive produced 12 feature films, documentaries, and TV series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Changemakers Publishing
• Release date: Apr 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201291914

Gini Graham Scott PhD

Gini Graham Scott is a screenplay writer, executive producer, and TV game show developer, plus a nonfiction writer who has published over 200 books, 50 for traditional publishers and 150 for her own company Changemakers Publishing. She also writes, reviews, and ghostwrites scripts and books for clients. She has written scripts for 20 feature films and has written and executive produced 11 film and TV projects. These include Me, My Dog, and I and Rescue Me, distributed by Random Media,  Driver, distributed by Gravitas Ventures, Deadly Infidelity, distributed by Green Apple,  Death’s Door, a TV series based on a co-written book. At Death’s Door, published by Rowman & Littlefield, The New Age of Aging, distributed by Factory Films, and Reversal distributed by Shami Media Group. Several other films have just been completed or are in production: Courage to Continue and Bad Relationships She has recently developed a TV series The Neanderthals Return, based on a series of books about the Neanderthals coming back into modern society. She has written and produced over 60 short films, including dramas, book and film trailers, TV show pilots, documentaries, and promotional videos.  Her IMDB resume is at http://imdb.me/ginigrahamscott. She is the author of four books on filming, including So You Want to Turn Your Book Into a Film?, The Basic Guide to Pitching, Producing, and Distributing Your Film, and The Basic Guide to Doing Your Own Film Distribution, Finding Funds for Your Film or TV Project.  and The Complete Guide to Distributing an Indie Film. She has been hired to write over two dozen scripts for clients, adapted from their novels, memoirs, or script ideas. She reviews books for their film potential and writes treatments and scripts for three major companies that publish books and promote them for authors. Her scripts include action/adventure scripts, suspense thrillers, psychological character films, and contemporary dramas.  Some recent scripts are the sci-fi suspense thrillers Brain Swap, Dead No More, Deadly Deposit, and Reverse Murder.  Other scripts include the crime action thrillers Rich and Dead and Deadly Affair; and the suspense thriller Bankrupt.

Book preview

HOW TO FIND AND WORK WITH A GOOD GHOSTWRITER

by Gini Graham Scott

HOW TO FIND AND WORK WITH A GOOD GHOSTWRITER

Copyright © 2016 by Gini Graham Scott

All rights reserved.  No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

The Truth About Modern Ghostwriting

Different Approaches for Different Types of Writers

Saving Time

The Cost of Ghostwriting

Organizing and Managing Your Project

The Quality of Work You Can Expect

The Many Ways that Ghostwriters Can Help

Why Don’t Ghostwriters Write Their Own Books?

Choosing a Ghostwriter

PART I: WHY AND HOW TO FIND A GHOSTWRITER

CHAPTER 1: WHY WORK WITH A GHOSTWRITER

To Credit or Not to Credit?

Getting It Written

What Ghostwriters Can Write for You

Why Write a Book, Blog, Article, or Other Materials?

Why Hire a Ghostwriter

CHAPTER 2: HOW DO YOU FIND A GHOSTWRITER

Finding a Ghostwriter

Using the Writers’ Profiles to Find a Writer

Posting Your Announcement for a Writer

Deciding on What Contact Information to Use

Getting Information to Review from the Ghostwriter

Reviewing the Writer’s Letter, Bio, Publications and Samples

Creating Your Short List

Communicating With and Interview the Writers

Selecting the Right Writer or Writers for You

Communicating with the Ghostwriters You Don’t Hire

CHAPTER 3: WORKING OUT ANY AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS

Making Agreements for Projects

Protecting Your Material

Work for Hire Agreement

From Work-for-Hire to Co-Writing Agreements

NDA (Non-Disclosure) Agreements

PART II: WHAT YOU NEED FOR YOUR BOOK, SCRIPT, OR BLOG

CHAPTER 4: DETERMINING WHAT YOU NEED

Having an Initial Discussion to Determine What You Need

What You Need for Different Types of Projects

Blogs

Synopsis

Book Proposal

Pitching Film Rights for a Book

Pitching a Film Script

How a Ghostwriter Can Help with Your Script

Selecting a Title and Positioning Your Book

What to Do About Copyrights

How and When to Copyright Your Book

Filing Your Copyright

PART III: HOW TO WORK SUCCESSFULLY WITH A GHOSTWRITER

CHAPTER 5: GETTING STARTED

Determining What You Need for a Blog or Article

Determining What You Need for a Synopsis

Determining What Material You Have or What Is Needed for a Book

Determining What Information Is Needed for a Script or Treatment

Outlining Your Book, Script, or Treatment

Arranging for Any Interviews or Transcripts

CHAPTER 6: WORKING TOGETHER ON YOUR PROJECT

Different Project Arrangements

Reviewing Your Material

Writing Up Your Material

Creating a Schedule

Setting up a Schedule

Making Changes and Corrections

Communicating with the Ghostwriter

Getting Guidance from the Ghostwriter

Concluding a Successful Project

Setting Up a Co-Writing Agreement

CHAPTER 7: WHAT TO DO WHEN THINGS DON’T WORK OUT

Timing

The Quantity or Amount of the Work

Quality of the Work

Personal Conflicts in Working with the Ghostwriter

Complaints by the Ghostwriter about Working with You

Unexpected Events and Emergencies

Ending It All

PART IV: WRITING BLOGS, QUERY LETTERS, AND FINE TUNING YOUR BOOK OR SCRIPT

CHAPTER 8: OTHER WAYS A GHOSTWRITER CAN HELP YOU

Turning Your Blogs into a Book or Your Book into Blogs

Three Guidelines for Writing a Good Query Letter to Book Publishers and Agents

Guidelines for Writing an E-Mail Query Letter

Editing and Polishing Your Letter, Proposal, or Manuscript

CONCLUSION

APPENDIX

SAMPLE CONTRACTS

GHOSTWRITER AND CO-WRITER AGREEMENTS

Ghostwriter Contracts

Co-Writer Contracts

Ghostwriter Agreement

Ghostwriting to Co-Writing Agreement for a Book Proposal or Book

Ghostwriting to Co-Writing Agreement with an Advance Understanding

Co-Writing to Ghostwriting Agreement for a Script

NDA (NON-DISCLOSURE) AND CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS

Creating an NDA or Confidentiality Agreement

NDA Agreement

Confidentiality-Nondisclosure & Non-Solicitation Agreement

Mutual Confidential Disclosure Agreement

Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement

SAMPLE SYNOPSES FOR BOOKS AND SCRIPTS

Synopsis for a Nonfiction Book

Synopsis for a Film Script

A Synopsis for a Script Using the Genre-Logline Format

SAMPLE BOOK PROPOSAL

A Sample Book Proposal

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

INTRODUCTION

––––––––

This book developed out of a column I originally wrote for the Huffington Post, where I am a contributor.  I wrote it in response to an article bashing modern ghostwriters, after there was extensive discussion about how this person with a service turned several hours of interviews with an author into a book and got it wrong.  Soon after that, I discovered there was no comprehensive book on how to find and hire a good ghostwriter, so this book was born.

Since the article I wrote provides a good introduction to how a ghostwriter can help, here’s a slightly adapted copy of it.  The rest of the book will deal more in depth on how to find a good ghostwriter and then work together to create a great book.

The Truth About Modern Ghostwriting

Recently, a blog appeared on Everything You Need to Know about Modern Ghostwriting by Tucker Max that suggests this is a broken system.  However, it was written by someone who is not actually a ghostwriter, but uses interviews with authors and then uses editors to turn the transcripts into self-published books for about $20,000, or more for a memoir.

Different Approaches for Different Types of Writers

This interview and transcript approach might work for authors who have $20,000 or more to spend, want a self-published book, and are articulate enough to express themselves through a series of interviews, which the editors can use to create a published book.  But a great many authors would like to be published by a traditional publisher and get a royalty.  Moreover, many authors have other material to include in a book to use instead of or in addition to interviews, such as notes, journals, and sources of research in books or articles.  This interview approach usually doesn’t work for a novel, which most writers write themselves, sometimes with the help of a ghostwriter to better dramatize the story or create better dialogue. 

And many writers of non-fiction books, hoping to find a traditional publisher, might do better to start with a proposal that includes a chapter-by-chapter outline, description of the market, the author’s bio, a public relations and marketing plan, and one to three sample chapters, at a cost of about $3000-$5000.  At this stage, there’s no need to pay a ghostwriter to write the whole book. That only comes into play if the author sells the book to a publisher and usually gets an advance along with a royalty.  Then, the advance can help to pay for writing the complete book.

The only other time writers need the complete book is if they decide to self-publish.  The cost can vary widely depending on the length of the book, if there are illustrations, and other factors.  Generally, a self-published book can vary in length from 50 to 300 pages, and a big cost factor depends on that.  Typically, the cost might be about $3000 to $20,000, depending on the book’s length, amount of research required, number of rewrites, and other factors.  Thus, there is no one size fits all approach to publishing all books.

Then, any public relations and marketing for the book after publication should be considered separately by the author.  This will depend on what the publisher does and what is up to the author, though many ghostwriters help with the marketing, including myself.  Many ghostwriters assist in finding a publisher or agent, too, such as I do through my own company, Publishers Agents and Films (www.publishersagentsandfilms.com).

The Real Truth about Ghostwriting

There are some generally agreed upon advantages of ghostwriters, such as saving time, getting your book done professionally, and getting a book if you are new to a subject, 

based on my own experience and that of three other ghostwriters who are members of the Association of Ghostwriters, of which I am also a member.  All of us are full time writers of both our own books and ghostwritten books, so we know well whereof we speak.

Saving Time

While saving time is a clear benefit of ghostwriting, it is not necessarily the main benefit, and any claim that it takes a normal author 1000-2000 hours to write a non-fiction book by themselves, such as one author claimed, is ludicrous.  That would mean working 40 hours a week over the span of 25 to 50 weeks, just writing, and no one does that. Moreover, it does not take that long to write a book, even for a novice book writer.  In fact, many writers have collected notes, papers, and research sources, so when they decide they want to write a book, it can take as little as a few weeks to pull this all together, and a few more weeks to write it.  A good ghostwriter can then take that book and perform an editorial polish, filling in any gaps.  The ghostwriter can also organize this material if the writer wants, as well as supplement what the writer has written with their own ideas and research on the subject.  In many fields, writers want this additional input for such things as books on self-help, popular business, and health.

The Cost of Ghostwriting

Any claim that no good ghostwriter charges less than $15,000 is totally wrong, because the charges depend on numerous factors, including the length of the book, the ghostwriter’s experience, and if the writer starts with a proposal or a few chapters.  I have written numerous proposals for clients for about $3000-5000, which subsequently sold to publishers, and in some cases the authors decided to credit me as a with author, though this was a totally voluntary decision made after the book was published.  Most recently these books included American Justice by Paul Brakke which sold to TouchPoint Press; Growing Up in Nazi Germany by Wolf Dettbarn, which sold to Truman University Press; At Death’s Door by Sebastian Sepulveda, which sold to Rowman & Littlefield, and was also produced as a TV series; and Credit Card Fraud by Jen Grondahl Lee, which also sold to Rowman & Littlefield.  Despite a misperception some may have that all a ghostwriter is responsible for is writing the book, I was also involved in finding the publishers for the authors.

Another ghostwriter with the Association of Ghostwriters, Wendy Scheuring, similarly disputed a claim that no good ghostwriter charges less than $15,000.  Here’s what she had to say in response:

I myself have ghostwritten books for less than $15,000 for a number of reasons: I like the story, I think the client and I will make a great writing team, or I think the client has an excellent cause and want to help him or her share the message. The price for ghostwriting services also depends on the length of the book as well; I have ghostwritten books that are less than 100 pages, which don’t require much research. Projects, such as these, warrant a less expensive price.

Moreover, as Scheuring points out, a high price in the $15,000-$75,000 price range or even higher doesn’t equate with a ghostwriter's talent.  Rather what’s important and what a prospective client should evaluate is the type of writing the ghostwriter does, which may be indicated on his or her website, as well as look at some writing samples, endorsements, and past publications.  Then, the prospective client should have a consultation with a ghostwriter to see if they will make a great team in working together.  As Scheuring emphasized, Price is not an indication of quality. Teamwork and the ghostwriter's ‘aim to please’ is.

Organizing and Managing Your Project

The article about ghostwriting that inspired this book wrongly suggested that the client has to manage the project and has to be a good manager, resulting in concerns about missed deadlines, payment issues, conflicts, poor work, and other problems that may arise from managing a freelance contract, or dealing with a ghostwriter who is already looking for his or her next project.  But that isn’t the case. 

In fact, typically, the ghostwriter handles such details, which can include creating a timeline for what happens when, subject to the client’s agreement on when he or she would like the project completed – or when a publisher wants certain materials from the writer. Along these lines, the ghostwriter will work out what he or she needs from the writer in order to meet the schedule. Should the writer later want to change anything – usually to delay the project, the ghostwriter will work out a changed schedule.

Moreover, if the writer has a book project which involves 20 or more hours a week, the ghostwriter won’t be actively looking for another project, since this one project may fill up the ghostwriter’s schedule.  However, if this is a proposal that can be completed in a few days, naturally, the ghostwriter will already have other clients lined up or will be looking for other projects.  At least that’s my experience.  Since I’ve been recently handling the final editing of three complete books, which I previously wrote and sold to publishers, I’ve expanded the hours I normally work to complete the editing to the publishers timeline, and have been too busy to look for anything else for several weeks.

Wendy Scheuring had a similar response.  As she wrote to me: Ghostwriters are usually freelancers who schedule projects according to their editorial calendars. They need to know a client's desired deadline and they need to hear from clients during the process, such as to read and review chapters or segments of the book.  Clients need to be available for interviews and be ready to send any documents, notes, photos, etc. to the ghostwriter that are integral to the project. There have been times when a project has come to a halt because the client does not respond or is unavailable.

The Quality of Work You Can Expect

Ghostwriters typically work until the book is complete, including making edits and final revisions.  They don’t work as fast as possible at a sacrifice of quality, as suggested by the article on ghostwriting.  Depending on the contract, one or two rewrites might be included in a package price, which would factor into the ghostwriter’s per word rate, which is based on the amount of work and number of hours likely. Or the ghostwriter might work on an hourly basis, with the client advised regularly, often daily, about what the ghostwriter has done in how many hours.  Frequently, a package price will come in a little higher than an hourly quote, since the ghostwriter has to take into consideration the possibility of extra time for revisions and additional material the writer might submit