FAQ
A ghostwriter is a person who writes for and gives author credit to another.
He or she is a professional writer who, through contract, collaborates together with you in the writing of a document or literary work. A ghostwriter turns ideas and outlines into a professional work ready to publish.
Who hires a ghostwriter?
Anyone with a story to tell or a document to prepare.
Business leaders and professionals, famous personalities in entertainment, sports, and politics, and people with unusual or motivating experiences all hire ghostwriters. People who hire ghostwriters are usually highly motivated, with a strong desire to complete their project with high professional standards.
What can be ghostwritten?
Just about anything.
Books from true life stories to business practices. Fiction from contemporary to romance to science fiction. Articles, short stories, and screenplays. Poetry and memoirs. Corporate manuals, brochures, proposals, letters, reports, and website content. Video and audio scripts. A ghostwriter helps you to express your ideas with completeness and impact.
How does it work?
ERROR MSGA ghostwriter can work with you at all levels of the writing process. The goal is to take your ideas into a fully completed work.
In fact, the best time to bring in a ghostwriter is at the beginning, where he or she can help you organize your ideas in a way that saves you time and money. However, collaborating with a ghostwriter can happen at any stage in your writing process: You can have an outline, a large portion of your material together, or nothing on paper at all. Your ghostwriter will arrange your words with the best clarity and impact possible.
What’s involved in the process of ghostwriting?
Working with a professional ghostwriter is a step-by-step process.
- Contact your professional writer.
- The ghostwriter will review your project or book, preferably in person. If the client is corporate in nature or bound by time and travel constraints, phone or video conferences and electronic files may be used.
- Based on rough drafts, outlines, written ideas, and discussion, the ghostwriter will gain understanding and get an overall “feel” for the work, asking questions to clarify the scope of your project or the content of your book.
- The ghostwriter writes and presents a proposal, or agreement, to you that outlines the purpose and scope of the work, timeline for completion, rates and payment schedule, and completion date.
- ERROR MSGIf you accept the proposal, the contracted process begins.
- For a book, the ghostwriter interviews the author face-to-face, as well as gathering supporting sources of information through phone, email, postal mail, research, and informal discussions. For corporate work, the ghostwriter may use any or all of the same methods of gathering information.
- For a book or corporate manuals, the ghostwriter drafts an outline and first chapter or section to be OK’d by the client before further work. For poetry, articles, letters, pamphlets, promotional material, website content, or other corporate work, the ghostwriter directly drafts the work for review.
- Larger works are drafted in installments, and review takes place after each installment.
- The final draft is completed. You are responsible for editor revisions or re-writes from the completion point forward. Additional drafting and editing is available at extra cost.
- ERROR MSGYou enjoy the success of completing an excellent, well-written work and feel the satisfaction of reaching your goals.
Whose name goes on the work as the author?
Yours.
Through collaboration, your ideas are professionally brought together and completed. The fact that you collaborated with a ghostwriter is confidential.
When the work is complete, whose book or document is it?
Yours.
The final work is your property. The professional and financial rewards are yours.
Who owns the copyrighted work?
You do.
If your work is a book, I’ll help you to fill out and register your work with the Register of Copyrights at the Library of Congress.
How long does it take to finish a book or writing project?
Project length varies, depending on the scope and nature of the work.
ERROR MSG Book projects usually take four to eight months but can take as little as three months or as long as nine. Many factors play into the length of time that it takes to complete a work, including how much material you have when contracting the ghostwriter, the clarity of your ideas, the length of your work, and current writing projects of the ghostwriter.
Do you publish or market books?
Though I work with a publishing company, no work is guaranteed publication.
Our contract is to collaborate together to produce a finished manuscript or work.
When complete, is there a guarantee that my book or written work will be accepted by an agent or a publisher?
No.
Your work will get the utmost attention, with the commitment to produce an excellent professional work. But there are no guarantees beyond the ghostwriting contract.
How do I know that hiring a professional writer’s right for me?
Hiring a ghostwriter is not for everyone. But it is right for many.
Hiring a ghostwriter’s right for you if you
- Can confide in a professional writer.
- Work well with collaboration.
- Feel comfortable with a professional writer arranging your words for you.
- Can work within a structured amount of time and return edits with timeliness.
- ERROR MSGDesire excellent results.
ERROR MSGI'd like to talk with you about my writing project - What's the first step?
Call or email.
It might be just the right answer to your writing project.
