1 Big Ghostwriting Secret: Don’t Use One

As a writer, it’s easy for me to see that more people need a writer’s help than they want to admit. I remember how at networking meetings people would come up with a rhyming tagline and thought they could write. They didn’t realize that it takes so much more to really write. You need passion, a strong grasp of language, creativity, imagination, research skills, time management skills, drive, persistence, and discipline.

It’s the same with ghostwriting. I naturally see numerous reasons why people should hire a ghostwriter, even when they don’t need help proofreading and writing. 

Some are basic: 

—They have a story they’re just dying to tell but you lack the skill to write it, they don’t know how to organize their thoughts, or they hate writing.

—They don’t have the time to write it because they’re busy professionals managing their companies with packed daily schedules. 

—They don’t know, realize, or understand how compelling their story is.

—They can’t make a deadline to save their lives.

Some reasons are more nuanced: People fear failure, that nobody will read their book if they write it themselves. They don’t know how to get it edited, designed, published, marketed, and sold.

However, here’s a dirty little secret about ghostwriting: You don’t have to use one.

Yes, it’s true. I said it. For all the considerable advantages to hiring a ghostwriter, there are times where people shouldn’t. Here are six.

1. No idea for a book. If a person doesn’t know what to write about, a ghostwriter can’t invent something. Idea is the first of seven steps in the entire book process, so if there’s no idea, there’s no going further and no need to contact a ghostwriter.

I have been told marvelous ideas for a story, only to find that the client has just the idea and nothing else. That’s okay. Ghostwriting can help flesh out the idea. For example, a current client wanted to tell his entire life story. The problem was that life is full of boring parts that nobody wants to read. We needed to focus the Idea more, and we settled on how he grew up in a bad neighborhood but escaped while his brother didn’t.

2. Not clicking with the ghostwriter. Recently, I got a job writing a five-minute speech for an award recipient. After about twenty minutes of his asking me questions and me explaining how the process works, he hired me. “I know I picked right. I’m getting good vibes from you,” he said.

This illustrates what I mean about clicking with the ghostwriter. The client and I related well to each other; our philosophies on how and why the speech should go matched, we were enthusiastic about the project, he appreciated my candor, my personality, and my humor.

Here’s a point from Tucker Max on the Scribe Media blog:

These are all the ways ghostwriting can go wrong that can’t really be guaranteed against:

● You’re a bad match with your writer,

● Your writer delivers a bad manuscript,

● There’s no defined process to rely on, so you can’t really check the work of the ghostwriter ahead of time; you just have to hope they can get it done right.

● There is no centralized authority to appeal to.

This is a LOT of risk.

This is why the best ghostwriters are so expensive—the more money you spend, the more experience and reputation the ghostwriter has, the lower the risk.

A book project takes years, and some equate the time together like a marriage. Assuming that, you’d better be comfortable with the person–and the ghostwriting services– you’re going to spend that much time with.

Speaking of time:

3. No time. Wait a second. Didn’t I say that was a reason to hire a ghostwriter? Yes, yes I did. Just because a person isn’t taking the time to write the story doesn’t mean they aren’t spending a lot of time on the project.

Since ghostwriting is such an in-depth, collaborative effort, the person with the story has to spend hours and hours with the ghostwriter telling him/her/them the story. If you don’t have the time, a ghostwriter is of no help.

As The Writers for Hire blog said, “Bottom line: Partly because good ghostwriting requires such deep communication and back-and-forth, it’s a heavy time commitment from both parties.”

4. No money. You get what you pay for when you hire a ghostwriter. That means one of two things: Either you can’t afford a quality ghostwriter, or you only have enough money to hire someone who will provide low-quality work. Either way, don’t hire.

A quality ghostwriter has a track record of successfully writing numerous manuscripts that get published or meet the client’s demands and expectations if publishing is not the goal. According to book coach Lisa Tener, that’s $40,000-$75,000 and up. 

Gotham Ghostwriters breaks things down into three tiers: basic, mid-market, and elite. Elite means the ghostwriter has written multiple New York Times bestsellers. Those people can charge a minimum of $150,000 to $300,000. Mid-market ghostwriters have written books for major publishers, and they can charge $75,000 to $150,000. Basic ghostwriters are everyone else and charge an average of $30,000 to $60,000.

The other way is to use a content mill, where you won’t pay much and won’t get high quality. I checked fiverr.com and found a guy in Nigeria willing to ghostwrite a 10,000-word ebook for $200 plus fees. Can the story be told in 10,000 words or less? Will there be any language, religious, or cultural barriers to overcome?  

5. No drive. If a person comes to me and says, “People think I should write a book,” I immediately ask, “What about you?” If they don’t show me they have the inherent passion, I’ll pass.

A person who has a burning desire to tell their story but lacks the ability to do so is a prospect I want to talk to. I’m not interested in dealing with people who would do this because of what their friends or family say.

“If your desire to write a book is fueled by what other people think—industry pressure, client expectations, or that vague ‘everyone says I should’ energy—it’s worth questioning,” says Allyson Machate, who runs The Writers Ally, a book editing, publishing, and marketing site.

6. Do it yourself. There are people who have the time, skill, experience, and expertise write the book themselves. They should. 

A ghostwriter can write a manuscript that sounds like the client, but the client can do one better: sound exactly like himself/herself/themselves.

A ghostwriter can infuse a level of personal passion, but it won’t have the same emotional connection that comes from writing it yourself.

Use a ghostwriter in Denver, or don’t. Ghostwriting isn’t going anywhere because there are always people who want to put their stories out and lack the ability to do it themselves.

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