A Subsequent Guide On How To Hire A Professional Ghostwriter For Your Book

Searching “book writers near me” on Google lands you to a page with hundreds of professional book writers categorized based on their expertise. Numerous authors avail themselves of their services as ghostwriters because of their exposure to professional writing and expertise in story development. 

Writing a book yourself is a gratifying experience as a writer. You gain command over the subject with excessive research and its implementation in your writing. Likewise, hiring book writers is pretty beneficial compared to writing yourself because of their expertise in writing books as a ghostwriter.

However, learning how to hire a reliable writer for your book can be a daunting experience as partnering with a writer means that you will have to share your thoughts and opinions, problems and try to mind-meld at the same time. You have to explicitly open your thoughts and ideas for the writer, which could be a pretty intimate experience.

Regardless, it is not easy to find a writer you can trust with this connection. But if you accurately approach the hiring process. You will end up partnering with a fantastic companion. I will highlight to you how to do it right in this blog. But first, let us see what do you expect from a ghostwriter.

What to Expect from A Ghostwriter?

Typically, for non-fiction book writing, ghostwriters usually depend on the author for all the stories, research, case studies, and other information that needs to be used in the project. Ghostwriters might also conduct interviews with the experts and the author to collect data, and sometimes he might also do brief research over the topic.

Likewise, for fiction projects, the ghostwriter follows the outline set by the author and stays within the topical boundaries. Some authors provide them a basic plot, a lead character with an idea or two that how the book might look to readers. And the rest allow the writer to move forward and start writing. However, others work on chapters by breaking them down before the initial draft. 

therefore, with both fiction and non-fiction, professional ghostwriters significantly help you innovate your storyline, assemble your material in a meaningful way for the readers, and escort you to make decisions for your book’s best interest. So, it is pretty essential to hire a ghostwriter you trust not because of confidentiality but also because you depend on their expertise, knowledge, and advice.

So, have you searched Google for “Book Writers near me” or are you still waiting for the right time?

How The Standard Process of Ghostwriting Works?

Most partnerships between authors and ghostwriters follow this simple process.

  • Ghostwriter brings out the first draft
  • The author provides feedback for any correction
  • Ghostwriter and author discuss the corrections
  • Ghostwriter brings out the second draft
  • The author provides feedback over details or any factual errors
  • Ghostwriter bring out the third draft

Once the writer brings out the third draft of the whole manuscript, the next step is to edit, followed by proofreading. Both of these jobs need to be done by someone other than a writer. However, suppose you are curious about how much it would take out of your wallet. In that case, I recommend exploring the charges of editors and proofreading services and select the one lying within your budget.

So, it seems now that you are all caught up, so finally, it’s time to answer an essential question, how do you hire a ghostwriter?

How Do You Hire a Reliable Ghostwriter?

Googling “Book Writers near me” would land you with countless ghostwriters, which might be difficult for you to select anyone. But if you invest your time and effort in finding the correct ghostwriter for you, it will totally be worth it. Eventually, you will get a beautifully written one at the end of your collaboration journey. 

So, without any further ado, let us get straight to the point of how to hire a ghostwriter with simple elaborated steps.

Clarify Your Project Goals

Before investing your time, efforts, and hard-earned money into your project, you first need to be precisely clear with yourself about what you eventually want to achieve. This approach will significantly help you in the writing process when elaborating your goals and objectives to your ghostwriter. So, to identify what you want to achieve from your endeavor, ask yourself:

What is the scope of your project for your readers?

So, are you willing to teach your audience something life-changing or valuable? Are you willing to entertain them or trying to awaken them with a different outlook or surprise them with an alternate reality? Similarly, are you hoping that your book will make a difference or affect your audience’s decision-making process regarding a specific aspect?

How will your project benefit you?

So, are you exploring ways to expand your outreach, enhance your credibility, or make yourself or your business a brand? Do you desire the opening doors of speaking engagements? Or is it your dream to make it to the New York Times bestseller list? 

So, give yourself enough time and real thought about how you want your book to benefit you, as it will be a pretty important factor to consider your book’s value.

Learn Where To Search For Ghostwriters

Moving to the next step, you need to find ghostwriters yourself, which is far easier than done. Professional ghostwriters are not pretty easy to find. Not all of them but many of them usually stay low profile. For this specific reason, numerous agencies came to existence to solve this significant problem for both authors and writers. Simply Search “Book Writers near me” on Google, and several ghostwriters and writing agencies will be listed down in the search results.

So, after selecting the marketplace you want to proceed with, list down some four to five choices, read their profiles, and explore the projects listed in their portfolio. Pick three or four from them, whichever seems the best fit for you.

Now, contact your top two choices and provide them with detailed information about the project that you want and need from your project. Allow them some time to think and grasp the project details so he could quote you a reasonable fee for his services. 

However, you can also explore the acknowledgment section of your favorite books to see if that author has praised a specific writer or wordsmith. Usually, authors praise their ghostwriters as editors, which indeed they are not.

So, search on Google “Book Writers near me” now to start your writing journey and follow this guide side-by-side.

Evaluate The Ghostwriters Skill

The pioneers of ghostwriting industry feature exceptional writing and storytelling skills. They possess the attributes of problem-solving skills and the ability to organize and process tons of information simultaneously.

So, if you know any editor or literary agent to whom you can trust, you can ask him for a recommendation. Reading their past projects can help you identify that whether that ghostwriter is fit for your project or not. A published ghostwriter is tuned with some delicate nuances that help make a significant difference in any project. Keeping it simple, you can also create an assessment based on your recommendations and what you demand from a ghostwriter. It will help you find the perfect fit for you.

So, ghostwriters with traditional publishing experience are the most sought-after ghostwriters globally. Searching “Book Writers near me” can result you with numerous writers and writers reviewing sites to have a better exposure. However, many new and aspiring ghostwriters were unable to meet that benchmark, and eventually, this escorts us to our next step.

Explore The Ghostwriters Previous Projects

Here, I am not talking about tracking them down on social media platforms like Instagram or Facebook, but the chances are that you might find some handy info there. However, here I am talking about the ghostwriter’s previous projects. But how to evaluate their track records?

  • At first, evaluate what they have written in the past; and
  • How long they have been working as professional ghostwriters

The first question is far trickier than the second one. Ghostwriters often negotiate with authors over permission to tell their potential clients the scope of the projects they have produced. So, greater chances are that ghostwriters you are about to hire might have projects they can show you and discuss and the projects they can’t show because of the confidentiality agreement.

However, you can still have better exposure to a ghostwriter’s work by exploring their websites. Numerous writing agencies and ghostwriters feature books on the websites they have worked on but don’t disclose what role they have performed. It includes designing, writing, editing, directing, and publishing services. Unless your ghostwriter is a professional in the industry, he should have some published acknowledgments that he can show you.

But remember, the experience of a ghostwriter should be lined up with your project. If you need a ghostwriter to produce a website copy or a print brochure, you might most probably not need a ghostwriter with fifteen years of experience. So to create your expertise with your book written by a ghostwriter. Broaden your outlook and look for someone who has written at least two traditionally published books. Here, I am not stating that ghostwriters with self-published books are not qualified, most of them are, but traditional publishing agencies have strict standards that are far more enhanced than those of self-publishing authors and agencies who assist authors in self-publishing.

Ultimately, to find the best ghostwriter, read book rankings and reviews of the one they have worked on and explore whether their books have acclaimed any literary awards. If a ghostwriter tells you that he has written a bestseller, check which list his book is ranked in. This is because the terminology Bestseller has lost its essence as numerous authors have started to claim it. So, if your book is a bestseller in your town, you can claim that, but if a ghostwriter claims that, it should be included in some of the renowned lists like New York Times that have a weightage in credibility.

Calculate Whether Your Ghostwriter Can Impersonate Your Voice And Style

Googling “Book Writers near me” can let you explore numerous professional writers but not all of them are good impersonators. Impersonators are the ones who use their voices and expressions to mimic other individuals. Ghostwriters use precisely selected words, pace, and rhythm. However, an experienced ghostwriter with a handful of books can offer various writing styles and voices. That is the reason that reading what a ghostwriter has already written may not be the best trial of whether they can impersonate the voice and style you desire for your project.

A quick solution is to simply pay the ghostwriter for a writing sample before committing the project. However, don’t expect them to grasp your voice and style immediately. This also provides you the opportunity to find out whether the ghostwriter communicates and works efficiently or not.

However, if you don’t have any writing style or voice in fiction or cannot write in contrast to non-fiction, an experienced ghostwriter can help you find your lost voice. For non-fiction, you most likely not don’t want the voice in your book to sound like someone else. That creates a lack of engagement for readers who have physically met you or heard you and know how you usually sound. 

Be Specific About Your Demands

At this point, you have found your desire ghostwriter for a partnership in your book writing journey, and the connection is established. But now what?

Be sure to inform the ghostwriter how vital that project is for you and create specific guidelines. Decide you are providing creative freedom to the writer or asking them to stick with your outline. It is pretty essential to create some boundaries. Are you open to suggestions and ideas from your ghostwriter? Alongside, is your ghostwriter willing to contribute with his thoughts, or will he depend on the guidelines you provide?

Simultaneously, you need to decide whether you want a physical meeting with your ghostwriter or virtual meetings that will be suitable for you. The majority of ghostwriters work with their clients long-distance, but some authors demand the ghostwriter be around and available to travel, attend events, and do interviews.

Discuss The Writing Process

Cooperation and seamless communication between the author and the ghostwriter are essential. But it entirely relies on the author’s needs and the writer’s process. Some ghostwriters will actively participate initially with the author at the project’s outlook, asking questions, conducting interviews, gathering information, reading and processing research, and then vanish for months as they begin to draft the chapters, showing the author either the chapters or the whole book when finished. However, others work with the author side-by-side on a chapter basis and keep the author in the loop upon completing a chapter. 

Here the most important thing is that you should understand the ghostwriter process and ensure whether it is compatible with your working style or not. If you have a micromanaging approach, the first working style will drive you crazy. If you have a busy routine with a job to do or a business to run, you might want the ghostwriter to work independently, as you will prefer that he sends you a few chapters at a time to review.

So, determine what you would do upon receiving the drafts. Will you give suggestions using a tracking tool or write down your feedback and allow the writer to make amendments? How many rounds of revision do you prefer, and are they included in the pre-designed process?

Final Thoughts

So, I hope this blog served the purpose of highlighting the factors of hiring a reliable ghostwriter. So, what are you waiting for? Google “Book Writers near me” and explore countless ghostwriters, but keep in mind these factors as they will save your time, money, effort and, most importantly, prevent you from disappointment.