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Ghostwriting FAQs
Jerry Payne - Ghostwriter
If you can write (and write well), know your grammar, are well-organized, disciplined, and have the time, you might not need a ghostwriter. In fact, if you’re all of those things, you might even want to consider becoming a ghostwriter yourself! But if, like most people, your writing needs a little help, you’re having trouble sorting out your thoughts, or you just don’t have the time to do what it takes to write a decent book, then you might want to consider delegating. That’s why I’m here.
No. And neither can any other ghostwriter. Run from anyone who says they can guarantee publication, or even tells you it should be easy. Getting published is not easy. Everybody and their brother has a book they think should be the next great bestseller. It’s a crowded market. But that doesn’t mean you can’t try!
Yes. This I can do. I have a list of literary agents at my fingertips and I know what gets their attention. We can package your book into exactly what they need to see. I can’t guarantee we can get your book published, but we’ll give it the best shot possible.
I never delegate. If you hire me, you’ll work with me. I am not a “writing service” with a staff of writers whom I supervise. I am the writer. And I want to be YOUR writer.
You do. There will be no mention of me as ghostwriter.
Not at all. You’re writing the book. I’m merely taking your thoughts and transferring them to words on a printed page. You’re the driver. I’m just the vehicle. Besides, you know all those celebrity autobiographies? Who do you think writes them? The celebrities themselves? Guess again!
Writing a book is hard work and very time-consuming. A good ghostwriter doesn’t just write. He or she REwrites, too. A good ghostwriter goes back over the work time and again making sure it’s perfect. It’s a total commitment. You’ll be asking somebody to put aside perhaps months of his or her life to write your book. To help with your cost, though, I normally take my fee in stages over the course of the work. If I think it’s going to take three months to write your book, I’ll split my fee in thirds. Never work with a writer who asks for all the money up front!
In any way that’s convenient for you. We can work by phone, fax, or email. If you need me to come to where you are, then that’s what I will do. If you have written material to give me, I’ll take whatever you have. If you want to just verbally give me your information, we can sit down and I can take notes or record our conversation. We’ll spend as much time as we need to. An hour, or weeks. Whatever it takes.
Yep. My ghostwriting contract includes a confidentiality clause. Your secrets are safe with me.
Depends on the length of the book and the amount of background work I need to do to gather the content. Could be a month, could be six months. I will always give a firm estimate going in how long I think it will take, and we’ll stick to a tight schedule to ensure we make it happen by the target deadline.
Absolutely. The first thing you’ll see is a descriptive outline I’ll put together for the book. This will help us identify what will be the chapters. Then I’ll forward you the work chapter by chapter, even parts of chapters as I go along. You’ll be right there every step of the way to make sure I’m getting it just right.
Included! I never lose sight of the fact that this is YOUR book. Consequently, you have to be completely satisfied with it. We’ll keep tweaking until it’s just how you want it. That’s what a good ghostwriter does!
There are a myriad of factors that go into the cost of ghostwriting. Are you giving me existing material that needs edited or maybe just tweaked, or am I writing from scratch? Will I have to do any research? How long will the book be? (I can help you determine what its length should be, by the way, if you're not sure.) When do you need it done? In very general terms, you can expect to pay anywhere between $10,000 and $40,000 for a decent-sized book. But I will always give a firm price up front.
I get asked this question probably 8-10 times a month. The answer, I am sorry to say, is no. Yes, I realize you no doubt have the next great bestseller and we could both become obscenely wealthy once the book comes out and we're on Oprah and the book then gets made into a blockbuster movie. But even though I believe that, I don't trust that a publisher will feel the same way. They're strange like that. And I can't gamble with my livelihood, so please don't ask.