I may or may not have struck out on my current ghostwriting project. We’re in the early stages, and it’s not yet committed. And so far, the client has suggested some very challenging objectives for the writing, and rejected significant elements of the tone I’ve been using. When problems arise in any freelance project, it’s…
I’m in the trail stages of a serious nonfiction ghostwriting project right now. It’s a great project; I really want to do it. The author has asked for the impossible. He wants writing that’s captivating and compelling, but the source material, while excellent, isn’t very sexy. I could keep trying to rewrite things until something…
Imagine that you were going to select a work partner who would take up half your time and generate half your income for the next year. How would you choose? Very carefully. That’s the situation when I ghost write. One book is half my income and takes up half my time for six months to…
If you write for a living — especially long-form material like ghostwritten chapters for a nonfiction book — then you have to tell your clients about what they’re reading. I just turned in 60,000 words — the second draft — of a ghostwritten book. There’s no way I’d lay a huge lump of prose like…
My freelance pricing strategy maximizes two competing priorities: the chance I will get paid properly for my work, and the likelihood that the client will be happy. That means pricing and billing on milestones, not by the hour. So let’s go over the best way to make that work. Why I price on milestones The…
In South Dakota governor Kristi Noem’s new book No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, she describes her meeting with a dictator: “I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring…
If you’re considering hiring me as a writer or editor, we’ll have to discover a few things about each other. You’ll likely interview me. And you might send me some samples of your writing and your ideas. I’ve been through this so many times that I no longer worry about the impression I’m making. I…
I recently received a query to see if I, as a ghostwriter, could help with some freelance work. Here’s how the query read (I’ve made minor edits to conceal the requester’s identity): Is this a ghostwriter? No. I’ve spent quite a lot of time this year with ghostwriters. Ghostwriters’ primary job is, of course, writing….
What does a it cost to get a book chapter written? There’s an eightfold variation in cost depending on the source material and process. Let’s assume you’re working with a writer who charges $250 per hour. (I charge more, other writers may charge less, but let’s keep this number because it’s easy to calculate with.)…