Professional Ghostwriter – What can we do for you?
By Karen Cole, Founder, Owner and President of Ghost Writer, Inc.
I am writing this article under request by someone who needed some integral questions about ghost writing answered. I am going to take on these questions one at a time, and try to answer them as fully as humanly possible.
What do ghost writers do, and how do they help authors?
A ghost writer can immeasurably help an author when it comes to putting a book in order and preparing it for being published, especially commercially published as versus self or independently published. Usually, a book written by someone who is not a professional writer contains a lot of structural and grammatical errors, and needs thorough professional editing before it is released to the general public. While a book author may have great ideas, a poorly written and edited book will often fail to get them across properly. So you should hire a ghost writer to help put your book into shape before sending it off to literary agents and publishers.
When might an author decide to use the services of a ghost writer?
As I cited above, when a book author is not a professional writer, the services of a ghost writer or professional book editor are often called for, and you should really hire someone to lend a “second set of eyes” to your book manuscript before releasing it to be published. Even self or indie published books could use the services of a professional ghost writer or book editor, as you want your book to read well and to not appear to be sloppy or messy to your reading audience. Plus this, you can get a more professional layout and appearance to you finished manuscript by hiring the services of a professional writer or editor. It really does improve your book, and makes its chances of being bought by a wider audience much better also.
What kinds of questions should authors ask prospective ghost writers?
Well, it’s best to always get a potential ghost writer’s background, to determine if the ghost writer is adequate for the task at hand. The scope of a project can be determined by both you and the ghost writer, by going through your present manuscript and determining what type of further writing and/or editing it needs. Some manuscripts only need simply line editing for grammar and final proofreading, while others need full developmental and content editing for their ideas, characters, scenes, plot devices, etc. to draw out sequences and make the manuscript read far better than before. So you need to find out from the ghost writer what type of editing or rewriting your manuscript may need. Also you need to ask the ghost writer about their resume, portfolio of samples, and for any references the writer can supply showing previous work and how well the writer actually performed it, before you hire a ghost writer.
What do ghost writing services typically cost?
This can vary widely from ghost writer to ghost writer. Generally, it’s a matter of “you get what you pay for” when it comes to hiring a ghost writer or book editor. The more you pay out, the better the job will be done for you, in most cases anyway. But you really must check out a ghost writer’s credentials, resume, samples and references in order to determine how decent the ghost writing work will be for you. Pricing is usually determined by the ghost writer, who will try to work within your budget, and may include marketing and promotional costs as well as project fees. Many ghost writers charge from $10,000 to $25,000 to ghost write a 50,000 word book manuscript, for example, so it’s a sizable investment that you must carefully consider before making it.
Hopefully you now have a much better idea of what a ghost writer or book editor can do for you when it comes to preparing your book manuscript for publication.
AUTHOR’S RESOURCE BOX:
Hi, I’m Karen Cole, your friendly neighborhood ghost writer and editor. I run a small online business called Ghost Writer, Inc., and we do all kinds of freelance writing, ghost writing, editing, and marketing or promotions services for your books and screenplays. Nowadays we also have ghost writing services for music and lyrics. All our ghost writing and editing services are offered at highly affordable rates and fees.
LINKS:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ghostwriterwriting
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/karencole37
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bookghostwriter
