How To Hire Your First Ghostwriter

 

What is a Ghostwriter?

You may have a great idea for a novel, but never knew how to start it. Perhaps you have a book you’ve wanted to write since childhood, but adulthood came around and stole all of your time, leaving you with little or no time to write. Maybe you aren’t the best writer in the world, and want a professionally written book. A ghostwriter is someone who can assist you. This is their profession.

Ghostwriters can help you with your new and existing websites, with your speeches in the office when you are indisposed, with your writing projects, and so on. There is so much a ghostwriter can help you accomplish and for all these reasons, you should consider hiring one.

A ghostwriter makes an agreement with the client that they will receive no official credit for the written work, and that all copyrights will be transferred to the client with the completion of the job. So there is never any confusion as to whom the work belongs to at the end. The ghostwriter receives the payment, and you receive your commissioned work.

Why Hire a Ghostwriter? 

You may be capable of getting the job done yourself, but would time permit you? That is one of the questions you should be asking yourself. Aside from the time factor, there are numerous reasons why you should hire a ghostwriter: 

1. Ghostwriters give a touch of professionalism to your work. It would be best if you had your work to be top-notch and error-free. 

2. Ghostwriters can use their writing prowess to help get your brand out there. Hiring a reputable ghostwriter can help grow your brand in just a little time. 

3. Great ghostwriters have a very sound knowledge of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). If you’re creating online content, a ghostwriter can help customers and prospects find your contents online.

4. Experienced Ghostwriters have significant knowledge of the formula of multiple book genres, like thrillers, romance, sci-fi etc. There are specific formulas that certain book genres generally follow, and ghost writers who have experience writing professionally for many authors know what the audience typically expects and likes.

Hiring a Ghostwriter

Let us say that you woke up one day and realized that you require the services of a ghostwriter. How do you go about it? Well, you don’t have to go far. Here is a thorough guide for finding and hiring your first ghostwriter:

1. Know What You Are Setting Out For 

You need to know what you hope to achieve with the project at hand and what is required of you to achieve it. You need to be clear about what impact you desire to make in the lives of others. Also, you need to explain your goals to the ghostwriter so that you can work together to do so successfully. 

2. Seek Where To Find Ghostwriters

There are several ghostwriters out there ready to offer their services for a fee, but the question is: where do you find them? Ghostwriters are everywhere, yet keeping low profiles. Sometimes it’s a lot of work to fish out the right ones for your project. 

You can start your quest for professional ghostwriters by visiting matchmaking websites or ghostwriting companies. Make a list of some of the best professionals you can lay hands on. After going through their profiles and comparing them with what you need, you may eventually be able to get the right one for yourself. 

You can also have a look at the part of your favorite book where you have acknowledgments. Sometimes the author sends words of appreciation to a specific writer, which they have referred to as an editor. You can reach out to such a person; they may turn out to be the right person for your project. 

3. Test The Ghostwriter’s Ability 

This step is a crucial one. Spend time discovering the skill level of your prospective ghost writer. You are required to check out the writing, storytelling, and problem-solving skills of your prospect. Great writers are known to have the edge over others in these realms. 

You can tell a promising ghostwriter by their ability to process a large amount of information. A great writer has capabilities like capturing the author’s actual voice, and so on. There is a thin line between good writing and writing that is nothing to write home about. You need to hire one that would sell your brand. 

4. Check Out What The Ghostwriter Has Written In The Past 

We are often judged by our past, what we have done for other people, and our results. You can do the same with a ghostwriter that you intend to hire. There are many ways to do that. You do not have to stalk them on social media, even though researching is a part of it. 

What a ghostwriter has written in the past and their years of experience adds to their overall value. Even though ghostwriters are not allowed to share particular information, which is due to their agreement with their writers, there is still a lot you can get on their works if you check in the right places. 

5. See Whether Your Ghostwriter Can Capture Your Voice And Style

Seeing what your ghost has written is not enough to determine whether he is capable of emulating your desired style or not. A Ghostwriter with experience often possesses the ability to tune into whatever style or pattern you want. 

You can set out by paying for a writing sample to see if they can give what you want or not. It is pretty simple. Just get a topic you want them to write on, with a particular style or pattern that would suffice for you. Give them time to deliver, and then see if your satisfied with their work based on the requirements you gave them.

Even if you have no voice or writing style, it is also an opportunity for you to work with your ghost in developping one. However it goes, your ghostwriter is less likely to arrive at your writing style immediately.  See the process as an avenue to measure the quality of the interpersonal relationship between you and your ghost. 

6. Reach A Standpoint As To How You Want The Job Done 

Now that your prospective ghost has scaled through all your assessments and has been found worthy, how do you want your ghostwriter to carry out the job? It is imperative to state your terms clearly from the beginning. It will help your ghostwriter to adapt quickly. 

You must state clearly which direction you want the job to take. If you’re going to be involved in the creative process of the job, you need to communicate it. If you have a book outline, you need to provide it to your ghost. If you are giving your ghosts the creative license to do whatever they want, you need to state it clearly, too. All these will give the job a defined course. 

It is also sacrosanct that you agree with your ghostwriter on how you want the job to go. You may decide to want to meet your ghostwriter from time to time, virtually is fine. However you want it, you must have a one-on-one talk with your ghost. It is necessary. 

7. Talk To Your Ghostwriter About The Process

You will need to cooperate with your ghostwriter to achieve the goals you both laid out. 

The amount of time a ghostwriter spends with you depends on how much work he has done. It depends on whether it is at the beginning, the middle, or the concluding episode. For instance, most ghostwriters spend much time with the author in the beginning. They ask questions, gather information, conduct interviews, and the likes. After that, they disappear and do not return until they have covered a significant part of the book—or the entire book. 

What is most important is that you get to have a thorough look at the starting pages of the book. It gives you an insight into the voice and writing style the ghostwriter has decided to adopt. You can compare it with your preferred style to see if the ghostwriter is doing justice to the job. 

Regardless of what you choose to do, you need to see a few pages of what the ghostwriter is doing. You may not want them to complete a whole book before realizing that they have completely wasted your time. The sooner, the better. 

8. Choosing A Good Writer Is Tiresome, Be Patient

We know how fast you want the job done. You would like to finish up quickly and move to the next task. We would advise you to take your time. Don’t be in a hurry; you may end up running into a bad writer, and a poor experience. You won’t want that. 

You need to understand that not all available writers are good. Even though some may have high standards, others are idle and always available because of how poor their writing is. Great writers have lots of jobs to attend to because everyone wants their service. 

Most great writers require you to book them in advance. The longer your project, the more you would have to wait before they begin your job. It helps if you have patience. We trust it will help you in the end. 

9. It Should Not Be All About The Fees, Quality Matters!

Sadly, there are many people out there who think that writing is easy and that ghostwriters should not cost a fortune. This is the wrong way to see ghostwriting and writing in general. Writing is a skill, and ghostwriters are wordsmiths. They have honed their crafts for years to be able to write professionally. If you are the type who thinks a cup of ice cream should be more expensive than a writer’s service, you seriously need to reevaluate.

It would be best if you did not settle for less because you are on a low budget. If you are embarking on a project, you should hire someone who has the required expertise, even if it will cost you more than what you budgeted for. Quality truly matters. 

People who will buy and read your work deserve some respect. The critics amongst your readers will not spare you, not a bit. Publishing your book is like sending a piece of yourself out into the world. You wouldn’t want a substandard you flying all around the place.

Also keep in mind that fees do not make a good writer. Have some discretion. Some writers charge higher prices for an inferior job. Our primary concern is that you should not settle for less solely because of the fees when you come across good writers that charge high. You can put some good negotiation out there; there should always be a price you can afford.

Hiring your first ghostwriter can be a very taxing experience, especially when you don’t have good hands around to assist you. However, you are just a read away from hiring your first ghostwriter with the steps listed above. 

You can also contact Publish Pages Services. We are a team of professional writers that can help make the process stress-free. We have writers that would suit your taste and style. All you need to do is reach out to us, and we’ll help you realize your dream of publishing your first book!

In addition to ghostwriting, we also offer the best proofreading services. If you need beta reading services, we’ll happily fill that need. And for those looking for editing, detailed book outlines, and book descriptions, Publish Pages Services is here for you. 

Whether you’re writing a fiction or non-fiction book, we’ll help you get it ready for publishing. The services we offer also apply to fiction and non-fiction manuscripts. Last but not least, your book will be 100% plagiarism-free! 

We’re also growing our library of insightful courses, so check them out if you need in-depth help with growing your self-publishing business.

We are committed to transforming your content into tons and tons of sales! Click here to begin your self-publishing journey with us!