Ghostwriting

Ghostwriting a book involves using a professional writer to craft a manuscript on your behalf, while you retain authorship credit and ownership of the work.

Do not worry, ghostwriting is completely legal and ethical. It involves transparent contracts where clients maintain full ownership of and credit for the written material – there is nothing dodgy about it. Ghostwriting is a legitimate, widely accepted practice within the publishing industry. It is a respected service that helps individuals share their stories and ideas effectively.

I work in the following areas:

Non-fiction

Academic/subject matter expert

Memoir

Autobiography

Humanities

Business and leadership

How-to/self-help

And more. If you don’t see your genre on the list, contact me and we can talk about your project!

In brief:

A pre-interview email exchange about your initial inquiry.

Initial interview to discuss your project in greater detail and I answer your questions.

We agree and sign a contract specifying things like deadline dates, price, expected length, expected services, number of revisions, etc.

Researching your project. This might include: interviews (in person or online); exchanging questions and answers via email, phone call, messaging or voice note; and my own independent research.

We work on a detailed outline to determine the structure and contents.

I write the first draft.

You send me revision notes.

I edit the manuscript.

You receive the completed manuscript.

Your privacy is my priority, and my ghostwriting agreement contains a confidentiality clause to back that up. If needed, I will also sign a non-disclosure agreement to safeguard your ideas.

Yes, you own all the rights to the final work and to any derivatives of that work.

It is my job to capture your unique voice and tone in the writing.

This varies depending on the size of the project, but usually I offer one or two rounds of revisions per chapter/part to make sure that you are happy with the final product. The exact number of revision rounds is agreed when we write up the contract. If you want more later on then these will be charged separately.

Turnaround times will vary depending on the scope of the project and both our schedules. An 80,000-word book might typically take 3–6 months. Shorter deadlines can be negotiated but they will require an additional charge.

I am a professional writer and editor with many years of writing and researching under my belt. See my About me page for further details.

I offer clear pricing structures to fit your project’s needs and budget. Payments are usually made in instalments at agreed points prior to delivery of the final manuscript.

While royalties can be part of the compensation package, ghostwriters do not accept royalties instead of a fee. Please understand that ghostwriters are paid before publication and cannot work on a deferred payment basis. You would not expect an architect to design your house on the promise of a percentage of the profit you might make when you eventually sold it!

I will always do my own independent research to find out what I need to write your story. Research is an important part of my ghostwriting process. And as an academic by training, boy, do I know how to research! Rest assured that I will make sure that I understand the subject well enough to portray it as faithfully as possible. I am scrupulous in the quality and accuracy of my research sources.

Yes, you have the exclusive right to publish the content under your name or brand.

Of course, I am happy to provide samples of previous work so you can get a sense of the quality and style. Please send me a request for samples using my contact form.