I charge .04 per word (so a 20k novel would be $800). I write about 5-10k a day. (Or $200 - $400 per day.) My first book (under this pen name, of course) hasn't made more than $10 yet. So for the nearsighted people like me, that feels like a huge loss when I could have sold that novel for $1,280.
Thanks for posting this thread.
For me, this is the nub of your post. A clear one. I can well understand your attitude when you could hit that kind of income reliably every week. It's also the problem because I'm looking for a ghostwriter to write a book that is US-based, knows all the cities because this story meanders across the USA and who can write in the 'slight' paranormal. Location and genre are not my scenes, so I actually can't write it myself unless I relocate it to the UK. Trouble is the market isn't in UK-based books.
So, I either go to a writer who is successful in that genre, obviously good enough for my book (which is a bestseller, by the way 
) and co-write it with them (I doubt either of us would survive that interaction) or find a ghostwriter who can meet my needs in the above and is identifiably successful. Which is where the problem comes in. Your NDA's and the desire to only write the words without knowing if they will sell or not hold you back from launching your own books. Which also explains my reticence in selecting a ghostwriter. We're both damned if we do, and damned if we don't.
This long-winded explanation leads me to my question. If you know me and I don't know you, how do successful ghostwriters get their business and what constitutes the normal process of working through such a project? What would you initially expect from me, and what 'should' I expect from you throughout the process.
If I know more about how the integral workings of a ghostwriting project I might be able to gauge my expectations better. Because, at the moment, the whole thing is looking like an expensive gamble on an unknown number of things. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to know.
Sorry if this post seems a little cheeky, but it's not something that seems to be out there.
Okay, you've got a lot going on here and it's late for me (12:32 AM here!) So I'm going to respond point by point as best I can.
-I feel for you – that’s something I hadn’t considered. I do get a lot of requests from people outside the US looking for US based writers only. This sheds light on that for me, so thank you. But that doesn’t help you. You *could* use things like google maps to learn about the cities in question, if you really need that kind of detail. Or you could try to fake it – which can be done also, if locations aren’t the big deal here.
-The key to co-writing is to find someone that’s a good fit for you. I’ve done it, though I find it stressful, it’s doable. You could try going into it with an open mind and a clear set of expectations. Let the other person know EXACTLY what you expect. Like anything else, communication is key! Don’t expect the other person to know what you want – tell them!
Still, some people aren’t well suited to handling that kind of working relationship and there’s nothing wrong with that.
As far as writing words without knowing if they’ll sell, I’d like to expand on this. I NEVER give subpar work. I give my best every job. I have a lot of pride in my work and have no doubt the work can sell, given the client knows marketing better than I do. Of course, some books flop (that’s the nature of the beast, right?) but quality is not all it takes to sell. (I know that's not what you said and likely not what you intended, I just wanted to be very clear here.)
That said, if you go with a ghostwriter, ask them to write a trial for you in a world with your rules. It can be anything. This makes it hard for the cheaters to trick you. It’s easy to have a beautiful sample and hand over crap quality work. I’ve heard that complaint more times than I can count from clients over the years.
You could also consider a beta with knowledge of the places you’re writing to point out errors. Maybe a syntax editor? Research yourself, then get help making sure you got the details right. Just a thought.
-I work through Upwork. They have protections in place to make sure ghostwriters get paid. (And clients don't get ripped off.) There are other freelancer sites and I’ve gotten clients from facebook, writer’s groups, etc. Upwork does charge fees on the front and back end, though. (They charge the client and the freelancer.)
You would want to:
1) Ask for samples!
2) Ask for a trial – (you might have to pay for this, but maybe at a lower rate. I half my cost for trials, generally, if they’re 2k or less, but that’s freelancer based, not industry based. Discuss this with the potential ghost you’re talking to at the time.) This trial needs to be on your term, your rules. Make up a world, make clear cut rules, give them a character bio, all the details needed to make sure that what they write is written on the spot by them. It’s not fool-proof, but it’s a good start. If they give you something you want/can use, move forward.
3) Make sure you have guidelines. No swearing. YA. No sex. No kissing. No romance side plots. No deviating from the agreed upon plot. No creative freedom on this project. Check in every 2k words written so I can make sure you’re on track and we’re still on the same page. If the ghost doesn’t agree to your terms or won’t negotiate at least, leave. It’s a work contract, money for product. Make sure you get the product you want or you might pay for something you don’t want. Every client has their specific rules and I follow them to a T – your ghost should too or they’re not professional.
4) Set due dates that give you cushion (There are a lot of horror stories of ghosts not sticking to agreed upon deadlines – make sure you don’t get yourself into, say, a preorder deadline that requires them to be on time.).
5) Skype or video chat your potential ghost! Just do it. Trust me. I do this all the time – it’s peace of mind. And trust your gut.
6) When in doubt, ASK. I had a client burn me in reviews because I wrote book one in a series and they – without asking – set me up to write book two and expected it right away. Since I juggle clients, I do no more than one book per month per client. If they’d have ASKED first, I’d have worked with them and done the crunch to get it done. Since they DEMANDED it and decided to call me names when I told them I couldn’t work within the un-agreed upon deadline, I refused and we gave each other mutual bad reviews. Communicate with your ghost! We’ve got lives too.
Honestly, that's the best advice I've got. Communicate, communicate, communicate. I can't read your mind, you can't read mine. Please don't expect your ghost to just know what you want.
You can ask for non- NDA covered work, some ghosts have it! I highly recommend, if you have the money to do so, set up your first chapter for the book you want written. Set it up as a trial with the world built. Have all info ready and a chapter outline of what you'd like it to be. Then get multiple ghosts that seem to fit your qualifications and ask them to write the samples for you. (If you do it at a lower rate than you're going to pay for the work, say that up front! I've turned down jobs that have too little info in the job description or were for super low rates). Have each ghost write the specified scene. The one that hits closest gets the job.
ALSO! Check and see what the ghost's policy is on revisions. Some ghosts do no revisions, some do extensive revisions, some fall in the middle. This is a way that skirts the co-authoring thing. You can get chunks of work (2k, 5k, whatever) Read them, give feedback to influence the story moving forward, etc. They write the whole story, but you have heavy influence. Again, communicate this expectation with your ghost to make sure they know that's what you'll be doing. This goes for editing. Some ghosts give clean first drafts, some don't. Make a list of your expectations, expand on it, then find a professional to work with you to achieve your vision.
I didn't find anything cheeky about this post. It was well communicated and very well mannered. Thank you for being civil. Believe it or not, I'm not kidding when I say some people don't take kindly to ghosts.
I hope I cleared some things up for you. If I missed anything or if you need/want clarification or have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask!
