(no subject)

[rivendellrose]

Okay, friends-list of mine, I have a question:

What do you lot know about ghostwriting?

I wrote in response to an opportunity to write up this person's book, and now they're asking what sort of pay per hour I'd expect. I have no idea what's reasonable, not to mention getting worried about making sure I get my money out of the work should I actually get accepted. I've googled, but everything seems to either be selling the ghostwriting service, or talking in general terms about how to get into the business.

Thoughts, anybody? This is basically a dream job for me if it's legit, I just need to find a way to make it possibly work.

Comments

[scearley.livejournal.com]

is it the science fiction guy in auburn/puyallup? He's always advertising.

as for ghostwriting, you've quoting per hour. Not per job, right? So quote per hour. Depends on how much the "author" has already done.

[scearley.livejournal.com]

I didn't really answer the question. Most 'unknown ghostwriters' *snerk* get in the $12-$15/hr. range.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Okay, thanks - that's about what I was guessing, but I wanted to make sure I was within the range of reasonable rates for a newbie. ;)

And no, it's not a science fiction guy. I wouldn't take on ghost-writing for fiction, 'cause people are crazy about their ideas. Only non-fiction for me, I think.

[shadawyn.livejournal.com]

Eek. Writing fiction for someone else would suck the life out of me. I want my creative bits... well, mine.

[scearley.livejournal.com]

90% of all ghostwriting is non-fiction (and most of that is "lifestyle" books anyway - cooking, diet, interior design, etc.).

On the other hand, you get paid to write. If you want to write and derive income from writing, you have to perceive it as a business, not "art" (cf. comic book artists).

[shadawyn.livejournal.com]

Ah, but getting paid to write someone else's work wouldn't appeal to me. (Non fiction, maybe, but definitely not fiction.) I'm not an artiste, and I've considered technical-type writing jobs in the past, but I think the allure of writing to me is the creation of my own stories. Writing is my medium. If I could draw, I might do comic book. LoL

I want to get paid to write, but that doesn't mean I'll write anything to do it :D

[shadawyn.livejournal.com]

Since you don't have any ghostwriting or other publication credentials (that I'm aware of), you may want to charge lower rates, but here are a couple of examples I found on the web (not all in US currency, but they give an idea):

http://www.ghostwords.com/ghost-writing-ghost-writers-rates.html

http://www.academicghostwriting.com/

Depending on the sort of project, you may want to consider charging on a per-page basis or on the whole project. Per hour can kill you or them, because (again, I'm unaware of the sort of project) you may only get a little done and they'll get charged to death and pull out of the deal, or you may find you aren't getting your worth from it either by money or by having to put up with the contractor :D

Experienced technical writers often earn 20-40+/hr, to give you a thumbnail. Since this would be your first gig, and you don't have any finished books already to guarantee completion that I'm aware of (this is NOT a value judgment, I'm just stating based on credentials/experience/etc factors), I probably would go lower to around 10-15$ hour of you went on an hourly scale.

Read your contracts carefully, and read those webpages you've already brought up, even if they don't discuss rates. Ghostwriting is an interesting business from what I've read of it. Frankly, not my cup of tea :D

Best of luck!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I've considered this as a career that I'd love to get into for quite a while, so I couldn't condone just passing the ad by... but it's nerve-wracking to enter into the whole thing without any idea what I'm doing. I think if I end up affirming my interest, I'll definitely be asking in the 10-12$/hr range. That was my automatic guess anyway, but I had no idea if that seemed right...

[ellid.livejournal.com]

wikdsushi ghost wrote for someone a year or so back. You might wish to get in touch with her about this...personally I'd be very worried, and definitely would consult a lawyer or agent about the contract for anything large.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm edgy about it. It's a small book (100-150 pages), but that's still bigger than anything I've really done before... Definitely not going to be signing anything or really getting set up on it until I have the chance to talk somebody more knowledgeable.

Thanks for the link, I'll get in touch with her, unless I end up deciding I'm just too nervous to even think further about it!

[narsilion.livejournal.com]

Your Grandpa Green might be a good person to talk to before you get too involved in it. Maybe he would even go over the contract/go with you to discuss the deal.
He was a government lawyer if I remember right and I believe he was heavily involved in contracts.
It's something you might want to run past your Dad and get his thoughts on contacting him anyway.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too.