Let’s talk about expectations. Because ghostwriting is so collaborative, the ghostwriter has the responsibility of managing a prospect or client’s expectations. If not, things can go wrong quickly. Example: A prospect wanted me to write five high quality articles related to his business, that he could post and then share on different social media sites.…
I recently wrote about the importance of having a contract. That’s all well and good, but if you don’t know what to put in a contract, the importance won’t make sense. Since a contract’s purpose is to record rights, duties, obligations, responsibilities, collaborations, agreements, and payment schedules, among many others; and since a contract should…
In the classic 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy, Broadway icon George M. Cohan (played by James Cagney) famously recalled that he and his partner Sam Harris operated for sixteen years on nothing more than a handshake. While that level of trust makes for great Hollywood nostalgia, real-world publishing requires far stronger foundations. Even major studios…
What people see as pros and cons of ghostwriting, I see as pros. Last week, I wrote about why ghostwriting is expensive. Some people consider that a reason not to use a ghostwriter. I believe just the opposite: Since you get what you pay for, it’s actually a positive to fork over good money for…
Proof that ghostwriting is expensive: I remember speaking about ghostwriting at a networking event. Afterwards, a member came up and asked just one question: “How much?” What I wanted to say was, If you have to ask, you can’t afford it. Instead, I responded, “It depends on several factors, but if you want quality ghostwriting,…
Clients want publishing deals. I’ve recently had conversations with a client and a prospect. I ghostwrote the client’s manuscript, which she appreciated tremendously. Now, she’s trying to get it published and is finding it very difficult. She showed me how one publisher wanted $50,000 to edit, publish, and market her manuscript. “I can’t believe how…
I recently wrote about why ghostwriters don’t work on spec. It’s also true that ghostwriters don’t usually take a percentage of an author’s advance, sales or profits on the books they ghostwrite. Just like in my previous post, one reason comes down to money. Ghostwriters want to get paid. They want to guarantee the revenue.…
As I recently wrote, all ghostwritten work has to start somewhere, and that somewhere is the first draft, that often ugly, messy, incomplete, error-ridden, Frankenstein’s monster of a draft. Ghostwriters must impress upon clients that the first draft is just that: a beginning. Then comes the shaping, molding, building, forming, forging, and producing the work…
Ghostwriting is one of the truest forms of collaboration there is. On one side, there’s the story expert: the person who has the compelling story that simply has to be told for whatever reasons the person wants to tell it (also known as the client). Joining that person is the storytelling expert, the ghostwriter, who…
Recently, I turned down a potential ghostwriting client because he clearly didn’t have the money to pay me. He then asked me if he could pay me after the book sells. I responded, “No, I don’t work on spec.” That pretty much ended my conversation with him, but it made me realize that maybe not…
