How to Hire a Ghostwriter

Download a free copy of my book HOW TO HIRE A GHOSTWRITER from my website at William Hammett -- Independent Ghostwriter. This book is a "must read" for anyone looking for a professional ghostwriter since the profession has no oversight or regulation. Don't trust your book to amateurs, moonlighters, or the inexperienced ghosts on the marketplaces where people post brief resumes filled with grammatical errors.

Also beware of ghostwriting companies, which subcontract their work to inexperienced writers across the country (contrary to their claims that their writers are on-staff or work in-house). I personally know most of the writers working for companies, and they're not centrally located or employees of these corporate entities.

You should also be aware that most ghostwriting companies recruit writers and categorize them as "student or apprentice" ghostwriters. Some companies are even establishing ghostwriting schools and academies in order to get more subcontractors to do their work. These rookies have no writing credits and have never written a full-length book or engaged in ghostwriting for money.

Companies show glowing testimonials for bestselling authors, but this is a case of bait and switch. A few  clients who can pay $75K to $150K may get a top writer, but the other 95% of their customers get a writer with few if any credits and no publications under his or her own name. Also, companies now advertise that they are known and respected by agents, editors, and publishers, but this simply isn't the case.

In HOW TO HIRE A GHOSTWRITER, you'll learn who the ghostwriters and companies really are--the ones advertising online. You'll learn the marketing strategies of ghostwriters and companies, their business models, and their POD and promotional package deals that are ineffective and designed to take your money while capitalizing on your ignorance of ghostwriting and publishing.

You'll also learn about my own background, how to more intelligently target your ghost, write a query email, how the ghostwriting process works, what you need to know before emailing prospective ghostwriters, and learn what your publishing options are. Do your due diligence. Don't spend thousands of dollars on a bad writer. Educate yourself and learn how to select a writer who is the right fit for your book. You'll only get one chance, so learn how to hire a ghostwriter.

I've been one of the country's leading ghostwriters for the past twenty years, and I know the profession from the inside. Thanks for stopping by.

~William Hammett

Complaints about Ghostwriting Companies: Twenty Things You Need to Know

The complaints against ghostwriting companies are out there if you do your due diligence.  In fact, ghostwriting companies are far more vested in being vanity publishers and marketers.  Ghostwriting is a way for them to bring in customers for these other services.

If you don't believe me, Google the name of the company you've seen advertising online and type the words "scam" or "ripoff" after the company name.  After you recover from shock, ask yourself if you really want to give them your money.

Here are some of the things you'll learn about these companies.

1) Many subcontract writing to inexperienced writers across the country.

2) Many companies abandon customers after they get paid.

3) The owners and CEOs of most of these companies have no background in publishing.

4) The companies have been sued several times and have complaints lodged against them with the Better Business Bureau.

5) Some work is outsourced to other countries.

6) The sales reps, owners, and department heads at some companies are often lawyers, not people in the publishing industry.

7) The contracts at many companies are detailed, and if you read the fine print, you'll learn that you have no recourse for work that is not performed or just plain botched.

8) Complaints against these companies exist on dozens of sites online (and the best place to begin is the trustworthy "AbsoluteWrite WaterCooler")

9) The editing at many companies betrays a lack of basic knowledge of grammar and punctuation.

10) Marketing and promotion are usually package deals that offer to send your finished book to reviewers who are not interested in your genre or category of book.  The press releases they send out are almost always ineffective.

11) The claims that they have handled bestselling books are usually false or based on a different definition of "bestseller."

12) One company features pictures of book covers on their websites even though it never handled the books.

13) Most mainstream publishers, as well as most reputable literary agents, have never heard of these companies, which claim to be industry leaders.

14) Sales reps know little of the publishing industry and frequently tell potential customers things such as "Successful books are rarely longer than 200 pages anymore."  The statement is totally false.

15) To keep their costs down, many of these companies try to restrict the length of a book, sometimes to 200 to 225 pages long.  The truth is that books are as long as they need to be.

16) Offering you coffee mugs, T shirts, posters, postcards, and other "stuff" with your book's name will probably not result in sales for your books, but this is another part of the "package deal."

17) Prices for creating cover art and eBook conversion are extremely high.

18) Most companies deal in volume, meaning that one-on-one contact is often limited.

19) Ghostwriting and self-publishing are simply business models that some entrepreneurs found lucrative. when POD became popular.

20) Many companies prey on customers' lack of knowledge about the publishing industry.

When searching for a quality ghostwriter, it's better to hire an independent writer who has training, experience, credentials, and knowledge about the publishing industry.  Let the buyer beware.