The number of “companies” that offer professional ghostwriting services has grown exponentially in recent years. Here are just a few services listed on the first page of Google (none of which I’ve ever heard of):
How is an author looking into these services for the first time supposed to know who’s legitimate? Who can you trust? Who can deliver a high-quality book that’s worth the price?
These questions have become increasingly difficult to answer as more and more ghostwriting service businesses have entered the market. As a result, the number of Authors wasting time and money on failed ghostwriting projects keeps growing too.
How can you avoid this happening to you?
First, you can gain a better understanding of different types of professional ghostwriting services. Understanding the pros and cons of each increases your chances of having a successful engagement.
That’s what this article is about. Below, I cover:
Note: We’ve worked with over 2,000 nonfiction Authors, including New York Times bestsellers like David Goggins and Tiffany Haddish. Our proven process takes you from book idea to published book in as quickly as 9 months. And we offer a money-back guarantee. If you’re serious about writing your book, schedule a free consultation with one of our Author Strategists.
Today’s options for ghostwriting services break down into 3 basic categories:
It’s possible to find a great ghostwriter in any of these categories, but depending on your experience with writing and publishing, the best option for you will vary.
Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know about each type of service to make an informed decision about which option is best for you.
The first option for hiring a ghostwriter is to hire a freelancer—an independent contractor that you pay directly for their services.
Freelance ghostwriters can be found on sites like Reedsy, LinkedIn, or Google. The advantage of hiring a freelancer is that you can often negotiate a cheaper price than when you go through a service company.
The disadvantage of hiring freelancers is the time and effort it takes to find, vet, and hire one that’s the right fit. Typically, Authors spend somewhere between 25 and 50 hours on this process (sometimes more).
If you have experience vetting and negotiating with ghostwriters, going direct is a good decision. But if you’re not exactly sure how to vet ghostwriters, then you’re almost certainly going to hire the wrong person because you won’t know what to look for.
This is why I recommend professional service companies for most Authors.
The second option for hiring a ghostwriter is a ghostwriting agency. These are “middleman” operations that connect Authors with a ghostwriter and take a cut of the fee.
In theory, the advantage of using a ghostwriting agency is that they do the work of finding and vetting great ghostwriters for you. It saves you time and provides you with certainty that you get a quality writer.
The disadvantage is that the vast majority of agencies are just brokers who take advantage of people who don’t understand the ghostwriting market.
They say, “You want to hire a ghostwriter? Cool. How much do you want to pay?”.
You say, “I’m looking to pay $50,000.”
They connect you with a ghostwriter charging $35,000 and take the rest. You end up paying $50,000 for a lower-quality ghostwriter. If you simply paid a freelancer $50,000 directly, you’d get a higher quality ghostwriter and finished manuscript.
Agencies are also incentivized to create a connection as quickly as possible and move on. They get paid whether or not the ghostwriter is actually a good fit for you. They have no incentive to ensure the ghostwriter they connect you with is good for you.
Generally, I don’t recommend using agencies. If you do use one, make sure you choose a reputable one with a LONG history of doing good work. Otherwise, you can easily get scammed.
The third option for hiring a ghostwriter is to choose a professional publishing company like Scribe.
In addition to ghostwriting, we offer complete self-publishing packages that include proofreading and editing services, book cover design and interior layout, printing and distribution, and more.
When you publish with Scribe, you own 100% of the rights and royalties to your book—and you don’t need a giant audience or exclusive deal with a traditional publishing house.
There are a number of advantages to working with a publishing company like Scribe versus a freelancer or agency:
Authors who don’t have experience vetting and hiring ghostwriters—or managing the self-publishing process on their own. They’ll save time, reduce the risk of wasting money, and provide you with a higher quality book.
Because many agencies now offer publishing services in addition to ghostwriting, it’s often difficult to tell them apart from professional publishing companies like Scribe.
The truth is, those agencies are still using the same “middleman” model. They just farm out the work to cheap subcontractors, and Authors get poor quality products as a result.
Here are some easy ways to tell agencies apart from legitimate professional publishing companies:
We offer 2 ghostwriting services at Scribe:
From finance and business books to memoirs and self-help books, Scribe Authors come to us for help in a wide variety of genres. However, our services are exclusively for nonfiction Authors—if you’re looking for a fiction book, we can’t help you.
Scribe Professional costs $48,000 ($4,800/month for 10 months) and includes everything you need to get your own book out into the world.
We only work with the best ghostwriters and have extremely strict guidelines for hiring them. Our Authors must have published at least 3 books prior to working with Scribe.
We offer a money-back guarantee for all of our services. And if the first ghostwriter we pair you with doesn’t work out, we provide you with another one who will.
Here’s what Scribe Professional includes:
Scribe Elite Ghostwriting starts at $135,000. You get everything in the Scribe Professional package plus:
To learn more, check out our ghostwriting service Scribe Professional or Scribe Elite—or schedule a consult to get in touch with our team.
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