How Much Does it Cost to Have Someone Write a Book For You?
Having someone else write a book for you might initially seem like a thing of convenience, but it is not. Sure, it is decidedly less work than you having to write it yourself, but you still require patience, understanding, and most importantly of all, money.
That is why the discussion of how much it costs to have someone write a book for you is so important. The discussions is not just about the figure, but everything else you need to do and be able to do to understand that figure, and what kind of service you are getting to have someone write a book for you.
Ghostwriting is About Having Someone Write a Book – Your Book
First off, you need to understand that the ghostwriter will most likely not be operating without certain conditions, as well as the fact that they are using your ideas.
That means they are not just writing a book for you. They are writing YOUR book for you.
Almost every idea they get to use has to be yours, unless you make it clear that the ghostwriter can use their own.
However, you also have to know how good the ghostwriter is as well. They might be able to write a book for you, but it also matters if they can bring something of their own, and truly give you the full value of what you pay for.
So, What Does it Cost?
Of course, having a ghostwriter write a book for you does not come cheap.
Some might think you should not spend upwards of around $10,000, but that figure is a little too low to hire a quality ghostwriter. Of course, you cannot hire the cheapest of the bunch. That will most certainly result in a book that reflects the quality of the help you have hired to write a book for you.
As you can’t skimp out on the ghostwriter, you will need to spend somewhere in between $25k and $250k.
There might seem to be quite a lot of difference initially, but this cost is not just for the ghostwriting itself, though if you hire a quality ghostwriter, that is the going rate for top-notch best-seller quality these days.
The Cost of Producing and Publishing Your Book Also Has to be Considered
If you are hiring someone else to write a book for you, chances are that you either do not have the necessary skills to write a book yourself, or you don’t have the time. Chances are even higher that you don’t have both.
However, writing the book is only one part of the process.
You also need to produce and publish your book, and that is a whole another story. For one, producing your book requires that you take your draft and format it.
If you need any illustrations or graphics, you need to have them made, as well as the front and back covers of your book. They need to be created with a professional quality as well, so you will need plenty of resources for hire there.
More often than not, the cost here can be even more than what you paid the ghostwriter to write the book, and considering this is not always the lengthiest part of the process, this might surprise some people.
Pay Someone to Write a Book with Quality
It does not matter if you are selling a book as one of few you will make in your lifetime, or if you plan on making hundreds of books (or eBooks) in the future. Quality is always paramount.
People will often judge you and your book based on its quality. Skimping on the cost of hiring someone to write a book for you will most certainly result in a book where quality is distinctively lacking.
Choosing a cheap ghostwriter will result in a book that saves you the money now, but costs you dearly on your reputation later, and the losses on the latter are far more difficult to recover from then on the former.
You Will Pay Someone to Write a Book in More Than Just Money
That is, time and energy.
It is important to note that you are hiring someone to write a book for you, means that the person will need to ensure that they write according to how you want them to. That means you have to spend your time and your energy with them as well, a cost that rarely gets calculated or put in the books.
You are essentially hiring someone as a client where they will require that you review their work and submit your approval in a timely fashion to ensure that they can continue your work according to the schedule. The same also goes with any graphic designers your hire for designing and producing your book, as well as any agent you pay to publish it.
In terms of ghostwriters, however, you need to check the current going rates for an average ghostwriter to write your book, the indirect cost of working with them, as well as ensuring that you go through a negotiation process.
Here at U.S. Ghostwriting, we do pride ourselves in our interconnectivity and providing a one-stop-shop solution. So, you might find it interest that we have entire teams of ghostwriters available who are ready to start work on any projects you bring forward and write a book for you!
The Cost Depends on What You Need As Well
In terms of writing a book, some might be thrilled at the prospect of ‘only’ paying a $50k for a ghostwriter, while others may shudder at the idea of it costing as much as $10k.
Your requirements, expectations, and needs are all that matter in this regard. That, and of course, the budget you set for it. As the figures previously dictated, hiring a ghostwriter to write a book for your is expensive, so you need to consider a few budgetary tiers as an example of how you can separate the quality from the others.
For a 100 to 300-page book, the following rates will be for ghostwriters based on our research:
- Low-quality ghostwriters will go for as low as a few thousand to even $24k. You might find some hidden gems who are talented yet inexperienced, building their portfolios and such, but that is a rare case. More often than not, these types of budgets are not recommended for a quality ghostwriter. Professionals with an established track record won’t charge you these rates, which is telling for those that do.
- $25k to about $50k, or even in the $75k ballpark, will net you some good quality ghostwriters to write a book for you. The ones with some actual credentials behind them might go for the higher price range in this ballpark, so you can be looking out for the inexperienced ones to avoid them.
- Any ghostwriter charging you $100k and above is someone confident in their work, and is very likely to be of high quality. These aren’t just ghostwriters who will write a book for you, but these are true professionals who have themselves been successful authors. These kinds of ghostwriters are few and far between, so don’t believe just any ghostwriter asking for such a price. Browse some of their samples or published works first.
The range of pricing here depends on what you need. A 100–300-page book has quite a lot of variations in it. The ghostwriters will also have varying levels of expertise, as well as with yourself having different levels of information or content for them to mull through to get started. You might set your own conditions, which might require different kinds of ghostwriters as well, so the pricing can truly vary when you want someone to write a book for you.
Some of the higher-tier ones may even demand part of the royalties you earn. This can be great for both, as a higher number of sales means more money for you, and more money for the ghostwriter who you hired to write a book for you.
Always Go For Installments
A smart ghostwriter will go for installments instead of a flat fee paid upfront, but you should go for that nonetheless. The advantage of having someone to write a book for you, is that the structure of payment is for you to decide.
You can chose between being paid per chapter, half payment on the first draft and half on finishing, hitting specific word counts, finishing 25, 50, 75, or 100 percent of the book broken down into payments, etc. There are a lot of ways to handle payment, and it depends on you and the ghostwriter to decide which way to go.
Conclusion
Not only does U.S. Ghostwriting have its own team of ghostwriters ready to assist, but we provide entire packages with both the writers and the designers ready to write a book for you, design it, and publish it as well!
So, why wait? Get started today!
