originally posted May 4, 2018; updated June 13, 2025

A ghostwriter is a professional writer hired to write a book on behalf of a client.

PROFESSIONAL GHOSTWRITER TRAITS

Ghostwriters are more than writers though. We are strategic partners who serve as sounding boards, coaches, publishing consultants, and sometimes task wranglers.

We have a knack for asking questions that identify your ideal reader, highest goals, best ideas, personal and professional strengths, and unique selling proposition. We do all that and find your voice and replicate it in writing.

A great ghostwriting partnership is one in which you and your ideas shine without you having to spend hundreds of hours away from your primary work or suffer through the creative process.

Professional ghostwriters love the creative process, know the conventions of the genres in which they write, and have honed their writing skills and developed efficiencies that improve results.

WHO HIRES A GHOSTWRITER?

Celebrities, entrepreneurs, executives, athletes, activists, consultants, speakers, and anyone else who has a strong vision for how their experience, expertise, and mission will benefit readers but doesn’t have the time and/or skill required to write a book hire ghostwriters. In fact, the majority of traditionally published nonfiction books are written by ghostwriters.

IF A GHOSTWRITER WRITES MY BOOK, WHO IS THE AUTHOR?

The book is the visible product of your experience, expertise, and vision; it reflects your voice and authority. So, you are the author. Sometimes ghostwriters will negotiate and status, meaning their name is on the cover as a coauthor: [author’s name] and [ghostwriter’s name]. And sometimes they will negotiate with status: [author’s name] with [ghostwriter’s name].

THE GHOSTWRITING PROCESS

Every ghostwriter has their own process, but it typically goes something like this:

• initial author interview(s)
• rough outline with a table of contents and chapter synopses
• author review and revision requests
• more author interviews
• review of transcriptions
  • sort
  • conceptualize
  • research
  • write
  • revise
• deliver 1st draft
• author review and revision requests
• deliver 2nd draft
• finalize project

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR A GHOSTWRITER TO WRITE A BOOK?

How long it takes for a ghostwriter to write a book depends on many factors, including how organized and engaged the client is, how complicated the project is, the standard of excellence the client and their readers expect, how experienced the ghostwriter is, and how much the ghostwriter is being paid.

Turn-around time can be 6 weeks to more than a year. In general, a professional ghostwriter working with a professional client can complete a 50k-70k-word nonfiction manuscript in 6 months.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO HIRE A GHOSTWRITER?

Cost varies widely. In general, the author’s established brand and their book-related goals determine budget. Professionals hire professionals. It’s about risk management, which despite its downer phrasing is really about opportunity and impact maximization.

Qualified ghostwriters typically charge $50,000-80,000 per project, some command rates of $250,000 and more.

On the other hand, there are plenty of people out there who say they’ll ghostwrite a book for $7,000-9,000. And since I originally wrote this post in 2018, there’s been an uptick in ghostwriting services that charge far less and promise to deliver a full manuscript or even completely produced book in a matter of weeks. Buyer beware. Can you luck out and find and skilled up-and-comer willing to work for what often ends up being below minimum wage? Absolutely. But how likely is that to happen? And does that kind of potentially exploitative relationship match your values and align with any publicly available mission and vision statements?

Regardless of who you work with and what you pay for ghostwriting services, results are not guaranteed. There are simply too many variables, and it’s important to define up-front what success looks like to you. Individuals publish books for many reasons. Financial and marketing success are rarely ever directly measured by book royalties/income from unit sales alone.

Determining how much you should pay requires an understanding of where you are, where you want to go, and who is available to work with you on those terms.

Related: The Aware Author Approach™

HOW DO I FIND THE GHOSTWRITER WHO’S RIGHT FOR ME?

Start with your network. See if anyone you know has successfully worked with a ghostwriter. Ask specific questions related to their experience with that person, keeping in mind that their topic, needs, and goals may be far different from yours and that a great fit for one person can be a terrible fit for another.

When you review websites and blogs of potential ghostwriting partners, pay attention to whether they provide details or make broad claims and/or emotion-based appeals. Many Testimonials and About pages rely heavily on how clients felt about the process. The client’s experience is very important, but most of us hire someone to do a job because we want results. There should be a good mix of facts and feelings. Put another way, look for longer testimonials because those are typically the ones with the information you really need to make an informed decision.

Schedule consultations calls with at least three prospective ghostwriters to see which one if any are the right fit. If none are, keep looking. A forced fit is a bad fit.

WriteNow, LLC

2025