5 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Ghostwriter
In 2019, I signed up for a free webinar that I’d found on Facebook. I was hoping that it would teach me how to do book marketing, especially for ebooks, since that was an avenue I was exploring at the time. At the time, I was still more focused on book editing than ghostwriting. I still saw ghostwriting as a bit of a cop-out, and “not real writing.”
And then they taught something in the webinar I wasn’t expecting:
“You don’t even have to write these books yourself. You can go on Fiverr and Upwork and hire a ghostwriter to write the book for only $100…”
Wait? What?!
I did the math. Even if you’re only talking about a really short book of 10,000 words, that’s only a penny a word. And it’s definitely below minimum wage if we want to look at it from a time perspective.
Something about it seemed really unfair. Because it is.
Which brings us to our questions, which honestly, should probably be called “considerations” instead. Because these aren’t questions for you to ask the ghostwriter you’re interviewing…they’re questions you need to ask yourself.
Question 1: “What do I value? Quality or Cost?”
Ghostwriting ain’t cheap—at least, not skilled ghostwriting. Sure, you can plug in something to AI and spit out some schlock, but tell me how that goes for you. The AI Book Bros aren’t telling you the full story, and running $1,000 of Amazon ads is only going to help you so much.
So you have to ask yourself first what you’re willing to pay…
If a ghostwriter is willing to take less than $10,000 for a 50,000 word book, they are either:
Inexperienced (Still on their first or second book and need more in their portfolio.)
Overworked (They’re having to work on multiple projects at once to make ends meet.)
Exploited (Looking at you, Fiverr and Upwork.)
I’ve been all three of these. My first ghostwriting project only paid me about $3,500, but it was a short book, and I needed to get my reps in. I was just happy to be making more than $1,500 on a project.
Same when I landed my first $10K deal. Fiverr and Upwork had totally skewed my expectations about what fair pay for ghostwriting should look like. I thought I was rolling and had no idea that other ghostwriters with my same experience were making $25K-plus.
Which landed me in a cycle of having to take on many projects at once. Because when you split up $10,000 over six months (or longer…) of work, suddenly it’s not so great.
So ask yourself which thing you value more. Having a ghostwriter who is going to be paid fairly and more attentive to your message because they’re not overworked/exploited? Or saving some dough?
Better yet, ask yourself, “How much do I like to get paid over the course of 6 to 8 months?” Now that $50,000+ price tag for ghostwriting might sound more reasonable.
Look, I get that not everyone can afford a premium ghostwriter, and maybe you’re realizing you want to try to write the book yourself. If so, I’ve got a resource for you—my book Start With Story.
Question 2: “Do I need an expert or a student?”
There are wildly difference of opinions of this, even in the ghostwriting community. Some ghostwriters swear by the “Write what you know” mentality, and that you should stick with a niche where your experience and knowledge already reside.
Well, that would suck for me, because I spent 8 years in social work and 6 years in B2B sales. If I only worked on social welfare and sales books, I’d burnout from boredom.
Then there are those of us who take the “Write what you learn” approach.
I’ve told many a prospect, “I’m probably closer to your reader than you are, so treat me like your student—what do I need to learn?”
Over the years, some prospects have chosen other ghosts instead of me because they wanted someone who already knew the jargon, who already had a baseline of familiarity. And that’s great. I’m not a fit for everyone.
But you need to be clear for yourself which type of ghostwriter you prefer: The Expert or The Student.
Given that I tend to hate the word “expert,” I’ll always opt for The Student.
Curious what that looks like? Then let’s chat.
Question 3: “Do I want to publish Traditional, Hybrid, or Self?”
Alright, if you’re not sure about the differences between the three paths of publishing, take a little detour over here.
Not all ghostwriters work with all types of publishing.
Some are stalwart “self-publishing is the only way to go because you have full control!”
Some are preaching “hybrid is the best of both worlds!”
And yet others are hardwired to say “traditional is the only real publishing path!”
There’s truth (and misconception) with all these stances. Which is why I work with all three. Granted, traditional is my least experienced path, but I’m changing that with the help of some new-ish partnerships.
If you want to take a shot at Traditional publishing, then you need a ghostwriter who also knows how to write a book proposal and query agents—not all of them do. (I won a querying contest in fall of 2024.)
If you want to go Hybrid, then you need a ghostwriter who can also give you some advice/counsel on services you might need that the hybrid press doesn’t provide. Not all hybrids offer marketing support, for instance. Does the ghostwriter have connections to PR or book marketing pros?
And if you want to go with Self-Publishing, is your ghostwriter going to also help you through the process of getting your book out into the world on platforms like Ingram and KDP? If not, then you’ll have to figure that out for yourself—or be willing to pay for the help as part of your service agreement.
Question 4: “Am I willing to acknowledge my ghostwriter?”
I used to think a ghostwriter was better unseen, unheard. That’s our lot in life, right? But I’ve been coming around to the fact that we need credit. Otherwise, it’s hard for us to move up in the world.
Think about your own career—what if your wins were never noticed?
Granted, there have been a few books I’ve worked on where I was perfectly okay with NOT being acknowledged. One of those was a project that went totally sideways and where the authors decided to listen to advice from someone they knew who didn’t have publishing experience. (Naturally.) So I was totally cool when they left me out of the acknowledgments section, because I couldn’t stand by the work that was done.
But in general, we want to be acknowledged. So you have to ask what you’re comfortable with:
Am I willing to share credit? If I give the ghostwriter a byline, then can we negotiate a reduction in the total fee?
If an NDA is involved for legal reasons, then what are some alternatives that make us both happy? Could I list my ghostwriter as a book coach, writing coach, or as a developmental editor? (All these are perfectly honest.)
Am I willing to let the ghostwriter post about the book online and use it as part of their portfolio?
Part of appreciating a great ghostwriter isn’t just paying them well, but allowing them to take credit where credit’s due. You’re still the author. Nothing changes that. I’ve yet to work on a ghostwriting project where I thought, “Wow, I could have written this book on my own because I’ve had these same ideas.”
Author and Writer are not synonyms. They’re like rectangles and squares. All squares are rectangles, not all rectangles are squares.
By calling myself a book coach (because I am one), I’ve been able to dance around this line a bit. When you visit my portfolio, you’ll see a mixture of books that I’ve edited, coached, book doctored, and ghostwritten. I just keep mum on which is which.
Question 5: “What is my Timeline?”
This one kind of circles back to Question 1, because timeline is a major factor in cost.
Want that first draft ready in three months? Then you better be willing to pay extra because that ghostwriter is going to have to turn down other opportunities and put a block in their pipeline.
Wishy-washy on when it needs to be ready? Well, then you also might have to pay extra. The longer a ghostwriter keeps you on their slate, it hurts their availability (and cash flow).
So it’s always better if you can go into a meeting with a ghostwriter with a clear idea of your timeline. This can also help you decide which publishing route to take, because Traditional can take 2 years (or forever), Hybrid usually averages 12—18 months (though I’ve seen faster), and Self can go as quickly as 8 months if you’re really proactive, though I still advise to give yourself a year so you can begin marketing and growing your online presence with that time.
So yeah, before you book that call with a ghostwriter and waste time (including your own time), ask yourself these questions. Then you’ll be in a much better position to know whether ghostwriting is right for you and in how to decide which ghostwriter is right for you.
And if you came here because you thought the mug in the graphic was funny, well, I’ve got a whole Etsy shop devoted to humorous wordsmithy mugs.
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