I found the above solicitation on freelancer.com. This is, unfortunately, not an unusual solicitation for ghostwriting services.
To those who may be new to my blog or to ghostwriting, let’s do the math and break this project down.
- The rate is $1 per 2,000 words or $0.0005 per word. That’s less than 1/2 cent per word.
- The prospective client wants anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million words.
- The average time needed to write and polish 1,000 words is three hours and 20 minutes, so 3.3 hours. (The writer you hire may be faster or slower.)
At the lower end of this project’s spectrum (500,000 words total), the ghostwriter may expect to spend 1,650 hours working on this project. The total project at the stated rate will net the writer $250. So, the writer’s expected hourly wage for this project would be $0.15.
Yes, that’s 15 cents per hour.
How is this reasonable?
Unfortunately, generative AI is driving down ghostwriting rates because anyone can type some prompts into the software and receive content within minutes. The fact that such content will be banal and much of it plagiarized from countless other documents is beside the point.
Clients such as the one offering this opportunity don’t value the craftsmanship of good writing.
If you want to write a book but don’t have the skill, time, or inclination to do the writing yourself, then hiring a ghostwriter may be a great solution for you. However, the ghostwriter must consider the realities of producing content: the time and effort necessary to research the topic, to generate the content, and to polish the content. No professional ghostwriter would consider such poor terms as this project offers, especially when the prospective client requires an initial first chapter of 2,000 words be submitted for free.
So, what does ghostwriting entail? This excellent article by Gotham Ghostwriters explains it: “Straight Talk: What to Expect About the Cost of Hiring a Ghostwriter.” The caveat to the article is that it focues on nonfiction, specifically business books. Fees for a memoir often run similarly to business books, but fiction goes for less—a lot less. Fiction depends more upon the ghostwriter’s expertise than the information which must be drawn from the client through multiple interviews and insightful questions.
Ghostwriting fiction often requires client interviews, too, but those interviews tend to be less on the “interview” side and more on the “bouncing ideas” side. For fiction ghostwriting, both Kindlepreneur and the Editorial Freelancers Association offer similar guidelines.
Of course, these rates are not prescriptive. Lesser known and novice writers tend to charge less—not the paltry amount specified by the solicitation above.
If you decide to hire a ghostwriter, there are some best practices to follow to ensure a good experience for both you and the ghostwriter:
- Review the ghostwriter’s writing samples. A professional ghostwriter will have writing samples of published work you may read to discern whether his or her style appeals to you. Do not ask the ghostwriter to write a sample for you unless you’re willing to pay the going rate for the work.
- Get a contract from the ghostwriter. If you decide to hire a ghostwriter, make sure you have a contract. The contract should establish a common understanding as to the scope of service and who is responsible for what. It should specify any deadlines, the fees for service rendered, allowed rounds of revision, payment schedule, delivery of completed work, and terms for cancellation. My contract also includes a confidentiality clause and transfer of copyright to the client.
- Remit payment promptly. Some ghostwriters charge a substantial deposit to begin work; others require payment in full prior to delivery. Regardless of the payment schedule, understand that while you may have come up with the story premise, characters, etc., the ghostwriter is doing the heavy work of developing the story. After the contract has been signed and countersigned is not the time to haggle the ghostwriter’s rates. In fact, haggling may result in quick dismissal as a client. Also, most ghostwriters work without corporate backing or a financial safety net: prompt remittance is expected and greatly appreciated.
There are many, many places where you can hire ghostwriters. From premium services aggregating freelance professionals (e.g., Gotham Ghostwriters, the Editorial Freelancers Association, Reedsy) to platforms swarming with low-bid vendors (e.g., freelancer.com, fiverr.com, upwork.com) to professional and social media sites (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook), you’ll find an enormous range of writers eager to work on your project. When hiring a ghostwriter, it’s best to offer project specifics so as not to waste your time or the ghostwriter’s time:
- Fiction or nonfiction
- Genre or topic
- Anticipated manuscript length (word count, not page count) (For genre length guidelines, go HERE.)
- Deadline for completion
- Budget.
With this basic information, a ghostwriter will know at a glance whether the project is potentially a good fit. For instance, I don’t take on horror or academic work. If your project is a horror novel or scientific treatise, then I won’t waste my time or yours by submitting a proposal for a project I don’t want and wouldn’t do well.
If you have a story burning to be told but you haven’t the storytelling skill or time to tell it, then consider hiring a professional to tell that story for you. Will you recoup your investment? Perhaps. No ghostwriter can guarantee sales, but hiring a skilled professional will give your story its best chance to turn a profit.
Every word counts.