What is a high profile ghost writer? If for instance a ghost writer's credit is on a bestseller their fees will be much higher. Whether their credit on a best-seller is an indication of the ghostwriter's ability or the book marketer's ability is a matter for very worthy debate.
For your purpose though, which is to get your ebook or book written, what you need to be certain about is whether or not you agree with the skill of the ghost writer. You can only determine that, as you determine the authenticity of their claims as a ghostwriter, by looking at their independent work. Note that 'independent work'. The final product of a superior book or ebook is a pure reflection of the author, not of the ghostwriter. To judge a ghost writer by a finished book or ebook they have ghost-written, is in reality judging the author and not the ghostwriter unless you are judging its accuracy in representing the author.
Their independent work however tells you who the individual really is. If they have a blog, this is excellent. Remember for a book or ebook you and your ghost writer must have a relationship (hopefully a friendly one) if you are to get your person correctly represented. On a one on one interview you can pick their vibe in a meeting. Online, however, a blog is the closest you can get.
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More information: answers to frequent author questions
• Ten tips to a successfully completed ghostwriter project
• Specifics of billing and online ghostwriting costs for ebooks and books
• The most efficient way to author your own book
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You will encounter several billing structures when working with a ghost writer. There are three main ones but individual ghostwriters will utilize either a pure form of one or a hybrid form combining several. Whichever way, all billing should flow along milestones agreed upon by both the author and the ghost writer.
Project billing can be:
• Per hour: it is the responsibility of the ghostwriter to log in the amount of time they spend on the project and send that information to the author.
All ghost writing projects should have a time guideline, and this billing is the most efficient in ensuring adherence to that guideline. However, per hour billing tends to cramp the author's style in a book or ebook project but works perfectly well for short projects such as article writing.
It is common for writers who charge per hour to start fussing when the correction stages start. In my experience, this causes the author to bring their amendments to a premature (and I daresay uncomfortable) close.
• Per word: the writer works within an agreed number of words and is paid either to the word or to within a range of words. To the word means if you agree on 10,000 words and they present 11,000 words, you only pay for the 10,000 words. Within a range means you can agree to pay for the additional 1,000 words up to a specified maximum.
• Per page: the writer works within an agreed number of pages. The author and ghost writer should agree at the price negotiation stage on the pages inclusive of the technical pages to avoid unforeseen added costs. It is the responsibility of the ghost writer then to make sure all the book or ebook chapters and technical pages fit within the agreed pages.
All ghostwriters will have a basic price guideline to give to you (well, I hope they will). The three major factors that they will take into consideration are the extent of research your work requires to present a well researched book or ebook, the size of the final document, and the going market rates in light of their skills.
The fees for a ghost writing project do not in principle include travel and accommodation costs which will often come up if you are writing a site specific book or ebook such as a biography, memoirs, and some types of fiction.
A professional and experienced ghostwriter will not shy from guiding you, at no extra fee, to decide on content scope and the optimum size for your book.
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More information: answers to frequent author questions
• Ten tips to a successfully completed ghostwriter project
• Six steps to find and hire a ghostwriter for your book or ebook
• Components of the written agreement with your ghostwriter
• Specifics of billing and online ghostwriting costs for ebooks and books
• The most efficient way to author your own book
