The Role of a Ghostwriter is to tell you exactly what’s going on at all times.
By Karen S. Cole – who knows what to charge you
What do ghostwriters charge? Or, what do ghost writers charge? A set amount of money, as signed to through a legitimate contract, is the general method. Or possibly an hourly rate, or a rate per page. Or per word, or per each several hundred or thousand words. Almost any method works, as long as you actually pay your ghost.
Some ghost writers or ghostwriters work without a formal contract. But it’s not the best method. When you do things that way, the client forgets they have begun the project and starts waiting around for “free work” to be performed.
What do ghostwriters charge, and how do they charge it?
Meanwhile, a boilerplate contract where only the ghost writer or ghostwriter benefits is not good either. This is because the client may feel “gypped” and not like his or her ghost after that. A contract shouldn’t be slanted one way or the other; it should cover the rights and responsibilities of both the writer and his or her client. Their clients, in other words.
So…you must sign a contract between you two. The writer and the client. It must lay out what’s needed in legal language between two people, including any companies involved. Next, it should be understood that the contract is held legal in whatever venue it’s signed in or under. If the Internet, that changes the rules. If written up by the ghost writer or ghostwriter (this is usually the case, not by the client.
Yet sometimes it is that other way around), it is in the venue of the state of residence (or country) of the ghost writer or ghostwriter. If by the client, it is under the jurisdiction of the state and/or country of the client. Or clients. Or company of the client or clients. It’s that simple, but if under Internet venue, it’s a different situation.
To lay out what and how ghostwriters charge – sign a Book Ghostwriting Contract that does so!
Anyway, the contract will lay out what do ghostwriters charge…in other words, what the ghost writer is going to charge. This may be any amount from say $250 USD to $250,000 USD, depending on the nature of the project, the amount of expertise and experience of the ghost writer or ghostwriter, etc. It definitely also depends on the budgetary needs of the client, each and every time. So a 200-300 page book ghost writing project (whether or not it’s a book ghost writing project is up to you and your ghost) may cost between $1,000 to $50,000 USD for example, paid upfront all at once or in installments. It’s flexible and loose. But remember, your book ghost writer, affordable or otherwise, needs to be paid.
The ghost is a professional ghostwriter, such as a professional book ghostwriter or affordable book ghost writer of some stripe or other…you need to sign a contract with said person before starting on said job. If you don’t, and let things fall through the cracks, it can end said job. Make sure there is a contract each time, and sign it with your partner, whether it is the client or the ghost writer. That said, all book ghostwriters should pay careful attention to one fact. Regarding if you don’t sign a contract and have that on your side legally. So the client pays you only after you complete the work…you are asking for trouble. Often the client doesn’t make the full payment.
As to ghostwriter charges – setting a price and following through is best.
They may not ever pay you. You must collect your pay in advance. It’s not a “on spec” world anymore, for either clients or writers. It is now a world where payment must be made in advance, in spite of on spec books. Those are by celebrity clients for celebrity purposes, not ordinary and business oriented people. Regular and business folks, please do bear that in mind. On spec is out of reach nowadays. Sign that contract, and make those payments in advance.
That’s all you need to know. As to setting the price, you have a wide range to choose from. And most manuscripts can be written out in advance, and just book coached or rewritten or edited. So if you want to save money, write out your book and have it edited. Or, if you need it mostly ghost written, you must spend more money. Ghost writing an affordable book nowadays requires somehow finding an affordable book ghost writer. Answering the question: what do ghostwriters charge? This entails setting a budget, and sticking faithfully with it.
Remember you will need to have a decent amount set aside. Such as $2,000 to $20,000 for a 200-300 page book (range is editing up through ghost writing/rewriting). In order to hire a decent, professional affordable book ghostwriter. If you go lower than that, you might as well hit up a third world country and see what you can get. They might not give you anything but a poorly written, poorly edited book manuscript.
Your ghostwriter’s fees will vary according to what you can afford to pay.
That said, yes, Virginia and Virgil, it is a matter of what you can afford to pay. Keep that in mind, set aside the most you possibly can for such a long-lasting and significant important project as a book or other ghost writing work, and stop thinking you can get away with arranging percentage payments. That said, the book publisher will arrange percentage payments for you. It is a long struggle to figure out how to get a book publisher in line with your own thinking, and to get paid the right way through percentages. It’s a whole other business, one which you will have to work like sixty to figure out. A whole other story than what do ghostwriters charge.
Good luck with it, because it is still doable to make your own percentage payments that way. By the publishers paying out to you. But you will not get pay in advance, except for a book advance. It’s the best thing to try for to begin with, if you can lay out your ideas and get a book advance from a book publisher. If not, hire a good affordable book ghostwriter to help you create something professional that will get a publisher’s attention.
