How to hire a ghostwriter

Whether you’re looking to hire a ghostwriter for business or a memoir, take your time finding the right person for you.

A client-author recently explained to me how projects fail at the beginning, not at the end. Why is that? Poor initial decision-making.

Don’t leave it up to someone else to make your ghostwriter hiring decisions for you. Hiring your ghostwriter is going to take some time and effort.  There are three main routes you can take.

  1. You can hire a ghostwriter from online freelance sites for next to nothing. But you’ll probably get what you pay for. Beware of low fees. Writing a book takes months of commitment.
  2.  You can hire a ghostwriter from a ghostwriting service. These are agents who will take your requirements and then post them to a large group of writers. You can expect to pay professional fees for writing books.
  3. The third (and, unsurprisingly, better) option is what you’re doing now. Find a specialist through search or recommendation, read material on the site, and set up a meeting. Both parties should decide whether there is a good fit before proceeding.

The relationship

The relationship between you and your ghostwriter is clearly a business one. There’s a contract spelling out expectations, scope, and who is responsible for what. And then there’s the personal relationship.

It’s worth taking your time to find the right person because you don’t want to have to restart a project with someone new. Time is an investment in your decision-making process. Arrange to meet your potential writing partner via video.

Ghostwriter-author confidentiality

Business can be defined as a struggle, a game, a journey, or a conversation.  A story needs both successes and failures, direction and obstacles. Tension keeps things interesting. And in order to delve into these situations, both ghost and the author have to feel there is a safe and confidential place to explore shortcomings as well as successes.

Finding your ghostwriter is work. But it will save you time in the long run.