Ghostwriting Contract Template

I encourage you to read the following blog from the bottom to the top if you're looking for a ghostwriter.

Meanwhile, if you're going to hire a ghostwriter, I STRONGLY encourage you to have a thorough ghostwriting contract. This could save you legal headaches and substantial financial loss down the line.

I have taken all of my experience as a ghostwriter and all the insights I could from ghostwriting books in order to develop my own contract, which I now consider to be the most thorough available -- and very fair to both client and ghost. It's available to you as a template that you can modify for your specific ghostwriting agreement. You can find it here:

Ghostwriting Contract Template

What services should I expect from my ghostwriter besides writing?

None.

Other services CAN be included, but no service besides writing should be expected.

If you are hoping for any kind of help besides the writing, you need to include that in a contract. Some writers have spent enough time in publishing that we have other talents or experience to help you along.

For instance, my ghostwriting service is a full-service operation. If needed, I'll visit my clients for an in-person interview. I'll research whatever is needed to write the book. I'll write the manuscript. I'll send it to a 3rd-party copyeditor to ensure a clean manuscript. I'll produce a query letter, cover letter, and proposal to be send in with the manuscript. And I'll produce a list of agents and publishers appropriate to the book. And if they STILL can't find an agent or publisher, I'll produce the book for them. ALL INCLUDED IN MY RATES.

And all included in my contract. And that's what it comes down to. Getting your writer to put everything into the contract that you expect of him or her.

If your writer has experience in publishing, this could be important for you to tap into. You may get a sense of your writer’s goodwill and know that you can rely on him/her to help you with that knowledge. But if you have any doubts and think you’ll need that help, get it in the contract!

This is especially important if you’re hiring a writer with the understanding that this person has publishing contacts. If you’re expecting the manuscript to be set directly into someone’s hands — an editor’s or an agent’s, for example — get that in the contract. That could be one of the most important things you’re paying for!

How long until my manuscript is published?

This is absolutely critical to understand before you enter into ANY kind of relationship with ANY kind of ghostwriter:

NO ONE CAN GUARANTEE YOU WILL BE PUBLISHED.

Again, the closest thing to a guarantee I’m aware of is my own service, only because I will personally produce your book if you don’t get in with someone else. No matter what, you'll end up with at least 1000 copies of your book printed and in your hand for sale.

The ADVANTAGE to using any ghostwriter is that a talented writer can produce a manuscript in the correct format and with the kind of professional style and finish that a publishing company is looking for. If you cannot do this yourself but you want to be published, you need to invest in some sort of outside help. A ghostwriter is the most comprehensive form of help.

(If you want to write the entire first draft yourself, you may do well enough to only require an editor or even a copyeditor if you’re quite good!)

If you decide to invest in a ghostwriter, you are investing in the production of a sellable manuscript. You are not necessarily investing in a published book.

What guarantees can I expect from a ghostwriter?

The only guarantees a writer can offer are those elements in the writer’s hands. This means that a writer can perhaps guarantee your satisfaction with the writing or your money back (though I don’t know if anyone goes even that far). But a writer can of course not ever guarantee publication, unless you are self-publishing.

A writer is in charge of the writing ONLY unless he/she has agreed to help you in other matters. That means the writing is usually the only area to possibly be guaranteed.

The closest thing to an exception that I’m aware of is my own service. I don’t expect my clients to understand the publishing world, so my service gives them EVERYTHING they need to get published. When the manuscript is finished, I work with them to develop anything else that's necessary for submissions to agents and publishers, including query letters, cover letters, and a proposal. I give them a list of all the agents and publishers appropriate for their book. And if they have proof of actually submitting their book and they can't get anyone to publish it after a year, then I actually produce the book for them. Then end up with as many as 1000 copies printed and in their hands to sell.

As far as other writers go, since very few will ever pay money back to you after providing work for you (in other words, if you’re unhappy with the writing), the best form of a guarantee may be to get samples — CUSTOM samples, written for your project — before investing. If a writer will not provide this kind of sample, you should definitely be able to see other samples … and you should be very comfortable with that writer to trust the work without something done on your project.

And if you are only provided samples from other projects, look for one written in the tone/style you’re looking for in your own project so you know the writer can provide what you need. Otherwise, if they want the job, tell them they need to produce something custom with that kind of tone/style. It’s the only way you can really feel a guarantee.

Can I expect a ghostwriter to include revisions?

This is completely up to your agreement with your writer, but be careful that this is spelled out before you start.

You may get a very low price on writing a book, but revisions cost this much per page or per chapter, etc. On the other hand, you may pay a very high rate to someone willing to offer unlimited revisions.

In fact, I think every ghostwriter ought to provide for at least one set of revisions for each chapter, but again, make sure this is spelled out so you know what you're really getting.

My rates include up to 3 sets of revisions per chapter. If you need more revisions than that (and hopefully you determined this by getting a custom sample up front), then you might not have the best writer for your needs.

Once you have approved a section of the book and the writer continues on, if you then request new revisions in the earlier section, that could mess up everything the writer produced AFTER your first approval. So in that case, you're producing more work based on YOUR error ... not the writer's. If that happens, expect to see some additional fees unless the extra work is minor.

Any included revisions, though, can only be included if the writer was offered all information up front … for the same reason as above. If a writer produces 10 chapters of your novel and then you throw in a new character that was supposed to be introduced in chapter 2 … the writer has to start all over again, and should not be expected to swallow all of that time.

Again, what a writer offers can vary. Just make sure to be clear on the agreement, and to be comfortable with it. The cost of a book isn’t a very good cost if a bad first draft means twice the cost in the end. ...

How long should it take for a ghostwriter to finish my book?

Timing on a writing project depends on many factors. First of all, what kind of workload is the writer already facing. Is he able to start right away? Will he work only on your project once started, or does he juggle multiple projects? Is this a full-time writer?

Also, what is YOUR timeline? A writer may be willing to speed up the project if you have a tight timeline, though costs may go up if you need a manuscript produced very rapidly.

Then, there is the question of YOU. How quickly will you look over chapters and ask for revisions? Do you mesh well with the writer -- in other words, do you see eye-to-eye about how the book should go, leading to fewer revisions?

The fact is, I have produced a short novel in about 2 weeks, and this book has had excellent reviews from its readers. (In other words, 2 weeks doesn’t have to equal trash.) Another book took me just over a year, including some major revisions we tackled after the first draft was finished -- these were based on a new approach the author decided to take.

In general, I think that having a first draft or even the final manuscript finished inside of 6 months is quite reasonable. I often allow for longer than that in my contracts because of all the unknowns and because I usually work on more than one project at once. But my clients have a lot to say on this point because I certainly want to make sure I'm meeting THEIR needs.

In the end, though, I think timing should be low down on the list of essentials, so long as it doesn’t become outrageous. The earlier qualities I said to watch for (marketing, quality of writing and writer, etc.) should guide your decision, and timing should be secondary, used to sort between multiple writers who you think are able to produce your book the way you want it.

How should payment to a ghostwriter work?

Most writers request an initial deposit before starting on your work, and then may ask for installments along the way, or may just get paid the rest when the book is complete. This varies between writers, but deposits and installments are very standard. This ensures that the writer gets paid for work done, but also keeps a client from handing over huge wads of cash without having some sort of product in hand.

Although it is possible to find, almost no professional writer (that means someone feeding him/herself and family on writing income) will write a book with the simple hope of making money from the profits. Unless the book is nearly guaranteed to be published (in the writer’s mind … not in the client’s mind), writing for free would be a very good way to lose a home. A near-guarantee often involves a celebrity.

The way I explain this when someone enquires about having me write "on spec" (this means "on speculation") is that no one else in the world is asked to work without getting paid for months on end in the hopes that a company becomes profitable enough to end up paying him. So why should writers do exactly that? Besides, most of us have plenty of ideas for our own books. We really have no incentive to be under someone else's guidance about a book, only to end up splitting any profits that are made.

In the case of non-fiction books, many publishers will agree to look over a book proposal along with 2-3 sample chapters, and in this case you may be able to invest less to produce these samples, then see whether the market is interested. (It’s possible a publisher would even offer an advance at that time.) This would be another case where a writer might see the potential and might consider 3 chapters a small enough investment that he or she would consider doing this work at no cost up front. Again, this all depends on the writer’s own sense of return on his or her time.

What should it cost to hire a ghostwriter?

This is often one of the first questions asked, and for good reason — a ghost writing project can be expensive! Consider, you are hiring a professional probably for a good 3 months of work. You are paying his or her salary.

Now, marketability should really still be the first question, because there is no point in making the investment if there is no market (or if you know the market is just you and a few friends) unless you have the money to do this as a personal project. After that, you need to strike the best possible balance between your preferred writer and a rate you can afford.

Costs can and do vary widely. You may be able to find a writer willing to produce a book for as little as $5000. Others will charge as much as $50,000 and ask for a portion of the royalties!!!

(In very rare cases — usually involving celebrities — a writer will work for nothing up front, expecting much higher than usual payment if the book does succeed. This is legitimate, since in this case the writer is taking on a substantial risk. You will need to make sure you are comfortable with how involved the writer becomes in royalties and other spin-offs. You may want to put a cap on the total possible the writer can earn.)

From my experience, you will generally find ghostwriters charging between $10 and $30,000. Again, go back to the 3-month model, and you are paying a professional salary of $3300 to $10,000 per month. Of course you're more likely to spend $10,000 on a book that only takes 1-2 months to write and $30,000 on a book that takes 3-6 months to write.

Now here's something important to consider: if you can only afford $5000 for a book that will take a few months to write, do you really want to work with the writer who jumps at the chance for those rates? Some will be willing to in order to break into this field, but others may not have work with good reason -- so be cautious about low rates. The low rate does you no good if you can't get the book published when you're done.

It’s important to also know that writers may charge by the page, by the word, by the hour, or may offer a flat rate for the project. The advantage of the latter is that you know what to budget for the book. On the other hand, if you can arrange for a definite word or page count (give or take), you can then compare this with flat-rate quotes.

For example, I know a writer who was charging 10 cents per word with additional costs for research or other work outside of the writing. So, if you wanted her to research and write a book of around 75,000 words, you'd probably be looking at a final cost of about $10,000. Of course she since found that books take a while to craft and her per-word rates have gone up. This is what most ghostwriters find, and it's why most eventually set their rates at $15-$25,000 for your average book.

By the way ... I recommend that you avoid hourly rates, only because you have no guarantee about how much will be produced in an hour. I know people who were stuck with huge bills for about 10 or 20 pages of finished work. ...

What should you look for in a ghostwriter?

The right balance of qualities in a ghost writer really is a matter of personal choice and finances. Let’s take a look at the essentials and the options and see what you’ll be choosing from.

• Quality Writing. This is obviously an essential, and you will probably find that not all ghosts produce what you consider quality. (See page on Guarantees.) No matter what someone’s background, if their writing is bad, no publisher will want to produce the book. If it’s good, you have a chance.

• Tone/Style. This varies from writer to writer, and you have to find the kind that fits with you. Even good writing might not suit your taste. Some writers can vary their tone/style based on conversations with you, and can revise any initial work into something you like better.

• Personality. Writing is a lonely art, and not all writers are necessarily "people persons." A book is a big undertaking, and a personal one. You should find someone you click with before investing your time and money into this kind of project.

• Knowledge. Depending on the topic of your book, some writers will be better suited to help you than others. A business book is very different from a romance. Some writers have the flexibility to do both; others may really need to focus, based on how they think about the world. Get familiar with a ghost’s background and capability with your topic.

• Experience. No question about it, an experienced ghost will have run into a lot of things that another ghost hasn’t. This may mean a better sense of timing on a book, a better sense of cost (if a flat rate isn’t provided), and this ghost may even be able to give you a hand with the publishing process. But with experience probably also comes a higher rate.

• Contacts. There probably aren’t a lot of ghosts with agent or publishing contacts. The ones who have these contacts MAY offer you a big advantage. (Find out how they will use their contacts SPECIFICALLY for you.) If they are offering you this substantial advantage, they may also charge a much higher rate. But wouldn’t that be worth it?

Does a ghostwriting investment make sense for the book you have in mind?

This is the first question you should be asking, and hopefully that your ghost writer is asking you. Remember, ask the dentist if you need a root canal and you’re sure to get one. This applies to every business, and you have to be careful that your ghost tries to approach this topic objectively.

For instance, many people want to write books about their lives. Because many people want to do this, there is a crowded market on life stories. Unless you are famous, your book probably needs to include a hot topic of the times or reveal something about society that has been hidden … or in some other way stand out. You have to make sure it relates to the public, and not just to you.

If you are spending the money on a book, you are becoming an entrepreneur … and any successful entrepreneur wants to know first what the market is asking for, and then what product or service can feed that market. You have to make sure your book has a hungry market to feed.

OR … you have enough money to produce this book without any hope of return — you are doing it for your friends and family … and even for yourself. If you know UP FRONT that this is your goal, then you do not face the above issues.

In any case, if we want to talk strictly finances here, you should treat this as any investment: it has a risk and it has a return. If you cannot afford to hire a writer, don’t do it. If you can afford it as an investment, do it, knowing that it’s an investment. Where there is greater risk, there is usually also a greater potential return.

Looking for a Ghostwriter?

If you're looking for a ghostwriter, this blog aims to help you find the BEST WRITER POSSIBLE for your needs.

It's important that you find a writer that meets your needs financially, of course, but it's also important to find someone you work well with, who can write in a style you're happy with, and who at least knows the ropes well enough to get you where you need to go.

This blog will tackle answers about how much ghostwriters should cost, how long a manuscript should take to write, what to do with your manuscript once it's finished, and much more.

I hope you'll find that the information here helps to save you from anguish you might otherwise run into in this potentially complex but also potentially fulfilling path to publication!