8 Great Ways to Afford a Ghostwriter

I currently have two prospects who want me to act as their ghostwriter for their books. They have gone through my early screening process, and when I asked them, “If money was no object, would you be ready to move forward?” they answered yes.

Cost is the most common reason a ghostwriting prospect doesn’t become a client. That’s understandable because ghostwriting isn’t cheap. According to Gotham Ghostwriters, basic ghostwriters—that is, ghostwriters who have not written for a Big Five publisher or do not have a New York Times bestseller in the portfolio—charge an average of between $30,000 to $60,000. If a ghostwriter has worked with Hachette, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, or Macmillan, or if said ghostwriter has a bestseller, the price goes up to as much as seven figures.

And that doesn’t include the costs for editing, designing, publishing, and marketing.

Most of the time, when my prospects can’t afford it, they either ghost me or tell me they can’t afford it. These two prospects have committed to trying to find the funds. It remains to be seen if they will succeed, but at least they’re trying.

Here are some of the more common ways people pay for ghostwriting.

1. Out of pocket. The most common way they do it is to already have the money. It’s also the simplest way. The prospect pays the ghostwriter directly in the manner the two parties agree to.

However, since ghostwriting can be incredibly expensive, it requires the prospect to have financial discipline and enough savings for such a project. A 2026 study by the National Institute on Retirement Security said the average American worker has $955 saved for retirement. If that’s true, how are they going to have money to have a book ghostwritten?

Furthermore, the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances said in 2025 the average American has only $8,000 in savings, and Bankrate’s 2026 emergency savings said only 46% have three months of expenses saved up.

2. The company pays for it. If the prospect owns the company or works in the C-Suite, he or she might be able to use business or professional funds to pay for ghostwriting. This is especially true if the book is part of some marketing or branding strategy. Entrepreneurs, consultants, and coaches also commonly pay this way.

This is a very successful method if the author plans to use the book to attract clients, raise credibility, generate leads, or establish bona fides. What’s more, the costs might be tax deductible as a marketing expense.

However, the prospect has to own a business—and one successful enough to be able to afford to lay out tens of thousands of dollars. If the person isn’t high enough within the company, the person might have to justify the return on investment (ROI) to those controlling the purse strings.

3. Others pay for it. The prospect could hit up his or her network (including family), announce the intention to write a book and ask for donations to pay for it. The more successful the prospect is in getting contributions, the less money he or she has to put up in advance.

This also builds early publicity for the target audience, and the right messaging can inspire enough people to give money to the cause. Then the prospect can reciprocate by offering perks such as signed copies, looks at early drafts, shout-outs in the book’s acknowledgment section, or invitations to launch parties. If the prospect worried about whether there was a demand for such a book, the excitement here will confirm it.

However, the prospect might not raise enough money to pay for the ghostwriter in Austin, Texas (campaigns fail, after all). The interest might not be there, or the prospect doesn’t have a large enough network to try this approach. 

4. Pre-sales or book royalties. This works better if the author has a large network and can raise money through people pre-ordering the book, whether on Amazon of through direct sales. This method can generate cash flow before hiring the ghostwriter, and it can help show whether there is high demand for the book.

But, again, maybe not enough money gets raised, and maybe the prospect doesn’t have a large enough audience. The better known the author is, the better this method’s chances for success.

5. Get a loan. Banks, credit unions, and alternative lenders offer personal or business loans that would cover the costs that go into producing a book. The prospect gets immediate access to funds.

But the risks are real. Since no book is guaranteed to sell—and this is especially true if the author isn’t famous or doesn’t have a publishing track record—there might not be enough of an ROI to justify the loan. Plus, the prospect still has to repay the loan with interest, so he or she had better have a repayment plan in place.

6. Get a grant, a fellowship, or funding. There are creative writing grants for ghostwriting If the book is the right category, genre, or type. For example, The Whiting Foundation Creative Nonfiction Grant awards $40,000 for well-researched, deeply reported, memoir-driven, book-length projects. The Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant provides between $15,000 and $50,000 for books and articles focused on contemporary art. The National Endowment for the Arts offers up to $50,000.

If a prospect secures one, that solves the financial problem. However, a lot of people apply for these grants, and the prospect probably would have to hire a grant writer to increase the likelihood of success. That could run thousands of dollars, too.

7. Get a sponsor/partner. Here, the prospect partners with brand, organization, company, and/or individual sponsors to fund the project in exchange for visibility, co-branding, shares of profits, rights, or whatever else they agree to. This method works very well when the book is aligned with the sponsor’s mission, messaging, or goals.

Again, the financial problems are solved. However, the prospect might have to cede some control over the project, and there will be negotiations with the sponsor—and that might mean attorneys and the associated costs.

8. Revenue sharing or deferred payment. Some ghostwriters will agree to write on spec, or be paid partially or fully from future book royalties. Again, there are no upfront costs to the prospect, but finding a ghostwriter in Sacramento willing to do that is hard, and the prospect’s longterm earning might be less.

For me to do that, I would have to see real earning potential from the book, and even then, I’d still want to take a partial payment up front and then a percentage of royalties. The percentage would be related to the upfront payment: the higher the upfront payment, the lower the percentage; the lower the upfront payment, the higher the percentage.

The bottom line is this: If the prospect really, really, really wants to get the book ghostwritten, there are ways.

Feel free to read and check out my other posts related to ghostwriting. Go to https://leebarnathan.com/blog/