Ghostwriting: what to know

What the job involves, what changes the price, and what to ask a pro.

What ghostwriting is

A ghostwriter writes a book, article or speech in your voice, working from your interviews, notes and stories. The credit and the rights are agreed in advance, so you know whose name goes on the work and who owns it once it is published.

Signs you need it

  • You have a book or memoir in your head but not the time or writing practice to put it on the page.
  • You need articles or posts under your name for a business or a leadership role, and you do not have time to write them.
  • You are a speaker or executive who wants a book or column that sounds like you, not a generic corporate voice.
  • You have notes, recordings and old emails that hold the material, but nobody has turned them into a finished text.
  • You have started a book several times and stopped at the same point each time.
  • A deadline for a publisher, event or media outlet is coming and you need a draft in your voice.

What the pro does

  • Sets the agreement on credit, rights, deadlines and what the ghostwriter may and may not add.
  • Runs interviews or reads your notes and recordings to learn your stories, phrases and opinions.
  • Writes an outline or chapter plan so you can approve the shape before the full draft.
  • Drafts the text in your voice, and checks each story and detail with you before it goes in.
  • Revises after your notes and delivers the final text in the format you agreed.

What changes the price

Every job is different, so we do not publish prices. These are the things that move the quote up or down.

  • Length and form, such as a book, a series of articles, a speech or a set of posts.
  • How much material you already have, compared with what must be gathered through interviews.
  • Number of interview sessions and how long each one runs.
  • Research needed for facts, names or industry background.
  • Level of credit and rights, such as an unnamed ghostwriter or a shared byline.
  • Number of revision rounds and the deadline for each draft.

What a written quote should spell out

  • The form and length of the finished work, and the number of drafts included.
  • The number and length of interview sessions the quote covers.
  • Who gets credit and how the byline will read.
  • Who owns the text and any rights to reuse it, stated in writing before work starts.
  • Revision rounds and the deadline for each stage.

Questions to ask before you hire

  • How do you learn my voice, and do you need recordings, old writing or both?
  • What credit will I see on the finished work, and will you sign a confidentiality agreement?
  • Who owns the text after I pay, and can you reuse any of it elsewhere?
  • Will you show me an outline before writing the full draft?
  • How do you check facts and stories with me before they go in?
  • Can you show a sample of writing you did for a client in a voice like mine, with their permission?

Red flags

  • Wants full payment up front with no written agreement on credit and rights.
  • Offers to invent stories, quotes or credentials for you.
  • Cannot describe how they will learn your voice.
  • Says the book will be picked up by a publisher or will sell well.
  • Shares your private material with others, or cannot explain how they store it.

What you can do yourself

You can record yourself telling your main stories, keep a folder of your past speeches and emails, and write a list of the points you want to make. Hire a ghostwriter when the work has to meet a publisher's or event's deadline, when you need a polished book or article in your voice, or when you keep stopping before the draft is done.

Licenses and permits

Ghostwriting is not commonly licensed, so a license is usually not required for this work. Check with your state or local licensing agency about any business rules that apply to you, and ask the ghostwriter for finished samples in a voice and form like yours as proof of skill.

Ghostwriting questions

Will my name be on the book?

That is agreed before work starts. Some ghostwritten work carries only your name, some credits the writer in a small line, and some names both. Put the choice in the written agreement.

Do I have to be a good writer for this to work?

No. The ghostwriter needs your stories, opinions and examples. Your job is to tell them clearly and to approve the draft, which means checking that it says what you mean.

What if the text does not sound like me?

Say so specifically, with examples of phrases you would never use. The ghostwriter works from those notes, and the revision rounds in the agreement are there for this.

Pro reviewers

Pros who offer ghostwriting remotely can improve this guide, like Wikipedia. We check every edit before it goes live. Every approved edit is credited in the edit history and on the pro's profile.

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