Survey: 8% of Authors Happy with Ghostwriting

In November, I wrote about the actual return on investment (ROI) authors could get by having a business book ghostwritten. Read it here. Earlier this month, I attended another webinar that went into more detail about it. 

But first, to summarize:

For business books that have been out for at least six months:

● Ghostwritten business books generate median income of $92,000. That’s five times the revenue of other books.

● Ghostwritten business books generate median profit of $43,250. That’s four times that of other books.

● For every dollar an author invests in the book, the author generates $1.24 in revenue.

“Investing with ghosts pays off,” said Dan Gerstein, CEO of Gotham Ghostwriters, one of the study’s sponsors.

The study, found at authorroi.com, summarizes findings from a non-random sample of more than 300 authors of business books. These people, who ran the gamut from first-time authors to longtime veterans who published their books in all the major ways—traditional, hybrid, and self—were asked about experiences writing, publishing, and promoting their books. They answered a 30-minute questionnaire between April and August 2024. 

The ghostwriter services study was sponsored by Gotham Ghostwriters, Amplify Publishing, Smith Publicity and Thought Leadership Leverage.

This second webinar added more detail. For example, 

● Only one in 12 business books (8%) among surveyed authors was ghostwritten. Those authors were mostly between ages 45-65 and mostly identified as consultants, corporate executives, or entrepreneurs. They wanted the book written primarily to generate leads, get more paid engagements, and boost their reputations. Nobody said books sales was the goal.

● 96% of clients were satisfied with their ghostwriter. That was the highest percentage. Next highest was 88% of people satisfied with their thought leadership strategist. The lowest was 50% satisfied with their social media strategist.

● Many ghostwritten books generated at least $80,000 from speaking engagements (18% increased revenue that way), consulting gigs (32%), leading/creating workshops (36%), or an organization’s sales (32%).

In fact, compared to all authors, the ghostwritten books generated the most median revenue increases: $150,000 in organization sales, $138,000 in speaking monies, $126,000 in courses, $80,000 in consulting, and $50,000 in workshops.

For the eight percent that used a ghostwriter, the pair worked together for an average of nine months and mostly spent between $10,000-$49,000, which added up to between 40-60% of the total book budget.

The previous webinar made it clear that investing in a ghostwriter, a PR firm and a launch strategy were the three best ways to make money off the business book. The people who used ghostwriters usually invested in other services, too. First and foremost was a copy editor (50%), but 36% used a PR agency; and about 25% used a coach, a developmental editor, a graphic designer, and/or a social media specialist.

They also used a hybrid publisher by a wide margin, 64%, compared to 31% of all surveyed authors. That’s another big investment because hybrid publishing is pay-to-play.

“We are seeing a market shift of authors bypassing traditional publishing,” Gerstein said. The reason, he said, is because these authors aren’t well-known enough, or their story doesn’t have a large enough audience or they don’t have a sufficient platform for a traditional publisher to make any money—and traditional publishers only care about making money.

Plus, hybrid publishing has this advantage despite the cost: The author has final approval on things like the cover art and speed to market; traditional publishers might take two years to put the book out, and hybrid moves faster (after all, you are paying for that).

The bottom line remains, as Gerstein said and we all know: “You get what you pay for.”

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