Ghostwriters are the writers who get paid for the writing work, but in the end, they don’t get any credit for that job. There are two elements involved in this type of agreement:
- The author. He/she looks for the writer and hires them at a fee, and takes the credit for the work.
- The ghost is a freelance writer who gets advanced payment for the job and assumes no credit for their work.
Why Ghostwriters get hired
Many people practice ghostwriting. It gets no publicity as other types of writing. For instance, if someone wants to have a new copy of an article for a website, a ghost gets hired to do the rewriting. They get hired as professional writers, and they have to produce quality pieces. They are the go-to people when you want a website copy of the content.
The ghosts also get hired to jot books for other people. The author is usually the one who hires the ghostwriter to write the text. Some of the credit gets shared with the ghostwriter. He/she may get a listing as an editor or coauthor.
Is it possible to make money while Ghostwriting?
Ghostwriters usually aim to work for a lump sum of money. Although recently, they have faced competition from countries like China and India. The companies that bid look for the highest bidders on projects. The standard fee for a ghostwriter ranges from $10,000 to $25,000 that mirrors exquisite work that will take them 3-6 months to complete.
Ghosts get hired because of their quality work. They can also strike deals that can be both beneficial to them and the authors in place of a contract. For instance, the ghostwriter can settle for a low fee of $10,000 to write the book or novel. After the book gets published and gets sold, he/she can take 10-20% of the profit. The method works well if there is a projection that the book will break records and rake in huge profits.
The rate differs if:
- The writer gets an advanced payment
- The ghost shares the credit with the author or
- The ghostwriter chunks off a percentage from the gross sales.
Becoming a Ghostwriter
The business of being a ghostwriter can get lucrative to some degree. In case you want to bag a substantial amount of money while in this business, you need to have a lot of experience at your back as a freelance writer. Having the required knowledge is the first thing authors look for when they want to hire someone to do the load of work. You can showcase this by providing books that you have written before under your name. Alternatively, you can provide evidence of writing that you have done for the years you have been jotting. You can also provide copies of business writings that you have done in your writing career.
It does not matter whether the economy is falling or collapsing. There is always room for another freelancer in the profession of writing. The moment you get out of your way to discovering the bends, ins, and outs of the deals, how to handle and deal with different clients and their expectations, you can secure a living while doing the business of ghostwriting.