HIRING AN E-BOOK GHOSTWRITER: PROS & CONS
You must have heard the word “Ghostwriter”, someone doing the job of “Ghostwriting” or about to hire one, but have very less to zero knowledge as to how to go about the procedure. Don’t worry as this article will help you know more about ghostwriters with its advantages and disadvantages in “Hiring an E-book Ghostwriter: Pros and Cons”.
First, let’s give you an idea that who is a ghostwriter
These are freelance writers, who are paid to write but are given no credit for the work they produce. Seems unfair, but their bank accounts are being filled too.
In this complicated relationship two people are involved:
One is the ‘author’, who hires the freelance superman to generate content for an already agreed amount of money, and takes the credit for all the original work produced and hard work contributed by the freelancer.
The other is the ‘freelance writer’, who is generally paid in advance of completing the task, gets the money as a “work for hire” job, and assumes none of the credit for their ghostwriting work.
Why are ghostwriters hired?
Ghostwriting has become a common practice now but it’s not as much publicized as freelancing is.
When it’s time to write new copy for the website, a ghostwriter may be hired to rewrite the existing copy.
Similar jobs such as writing ad or business copy, or supplying new or rewritten material for personal or professional use do exist, but ghostwriters are hired mainly as professional freelance writers, in order to produce high-quality writing copy that reads professionally.
A paid professional freelance writer is often the only source to turn to get an appealing, well-written website copy or other quality content. A ghost is hired to bring the written beauty in front of the world, either as an on-staff writer or as a freelance writer who is paid specifically for the job at hand.
Ghostwriters are also hired to write books for people. In such cases, the author of the book is the person who hires the ghostwriter, unless the book author wants to share some of the credit with the ghost. In this case, the ghost may be listed as a coauthor or as the “editor” of the book; generally, this is listed somewhere on the acknowledgments page.
In short, ghostwriters are writers who work for others and arrange their scribble of ideas into authentic and informational books. If you want to work with them, you should trust the writers and should build a strong connection with them.
If you are looking to hire an e-book ghostwriter, the hunt won’t be easy, but if you put in the time and effort to find the right ghostwriter for you, it’ll be worth it and you never know you end up finding the perfect one who might make you super happy at the end of your collaboration with a beautiful book If so follow these steps:
Step 1
Define Your Goals:
First, you need to be clear with yourself on what you want to achieve before putting any of your hard-earned resources into this project because this will help you in the later parts of the process when you’re explaining your objectives and goals to your ghost. Question yourself as to why should the readers or consumers take interest in your text. What different ideas will you be giving to them through your work? Is it about some type of entertainment? Do you want to give them a reality check? Surprise them with your innovations. After reading will they be so impressed that they start thinking from your perspective?
Then how will this project change your life? Are you looking to expand your outreach? Will the work increase the credibility of the brand, yourself, or your business? Do you want the book to open doors for speaking engagements? Is your ultimate goal to end up making the fiction list for famous newspapers or publications? Before diving into the hiring process make sure you are very clear about both views as to how you want this book to benefit you because that will be an important factor in determining the book’s value.
Step 2
Search for Ghostwriter Platforms:
Where to search for these heroes without a cape? They are not someone to be found that easily as they keep low profiles and are limited in terms of sharing the work that they have executed.
Here we are suggesting a few mediums to find your perfect e-book ghostwriter
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Hire e-book Writers
For professional and quality e-book writing service that provides you with the best writers and quality work, ‘hire e-book writers’ is precisely the place where you can find that. Their professional team of writers and editors working around the clock make sure to provide you with the book you had always desired.
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Aston Ghostwriters
Aston Ghostwriter is a great option for outsourcing e-book writing as being in the industry for many years, they bring you a team of writers that hold expertise in the subject matter and can create a top-notch e-book for you.
Step 3
Assess the Ghostwriter’s Skill Level
The best professionals in this field have strong writing and storytelling skills, keen problem-solving skills, and the ability to process and organize large amounts of information.
Whether your project requires the best in the business or just a strong writer, will solely depend on your goals.
If you have professional writing friends, then make them judge the writing and they will be able to assess amazingly as to which one is horrible and which gives you a good reading.
Ghostwriters with traditional publishing track records are among some of the most sought-after writers in the world. There are, however, lots of new ghosts who won’t make it, therefore check the writer’s portfolio.
Step 4
Go Through the Ghostwriter’s Portfolio
When you hire or outsource any individual or company to do your work, you also tend to see what they have done previously so that you can trust their skills as to how long have the e-book ghostwriter been in this field and the number of successful e-books they have published.
Ghosts will negotiate with authors over whether we’re permitted to tell potential clients about the scope of the work we’ve done with them. So, be prepared that the ghostwriter you’re considering hiring has work they can show you or tell you about as well as work that they can’t mention. There are still ways that you can get an idea of the work that ghosts have done by checking out their websites. For example, our website lists books we’ve worked on but doesn’t state the role we played in each book.
You should be looking for someone who has written at least two books that have been traditionally published, then read the book reviews and rankings of books they’ve worked on and find out if they have books that received awards.
Step 5
See Whether the Ghost Can Capture your Voice and Style
Ghosts use carefully chosen words, rhythm, and pacing. An experienced e-book ghostwriter, one who’s written more than a handful of books or scripts, can typically match a variety of writing styles and voices. If you don’t have an established style or voice in fiction, or can’t seem to write like you talk for non-fiction, an experienced writer can help you to find or capture your voice.
Step 6
Tell the ghostwriter how hands-on or hands-off you want to be with the project. Will you give them creative license or ask them to stick close to your detailed plan? It’s very much important to establish clear boundaries. Plus are you open to feedback and ideas from your ghost? Maybe the writer might have greater ideas as to how to go about the specific project.
On the flip side, is the ghost willing to contribute some of their own ideas, or will the content be more than enough to rely on?
You can even decide whether you want the ghost to be available to meet with you in person or whether virtual meetings will work for you so plan easily. Most ghosts work with clients long distances, and this has proven to be effective as well.
Step 7
Discuss the Details of the Process
Ghostwriting involves communication and cooperation between the author and the writer, but the amount of both depends on the author’s needs and the ghost’s process making it a two-way process. Some ghosts will spend a great deal of time with the author discussing the outset of a project, gathering information, asking questions, reading and processing research, or conducting interviews, and then disappear for months as they draft the chapters, showing the author the chapters in batches or possibly the entire finished book. Others work with authors on a chapter-by-chapter basis, gathering information and delivering drafts as they proceed.
Step 8
Remember that Availability Isn’t Everything
Authors miss out on working with better writers because they’re in a rush and want a writer who’s available immediately. A skilled ghostwriter should never be available immediately. Talented writers are always busy and book their projects in advance. The longer the project, the longer the advance time typically is. Writers who specialize in short projects have much more availability to begin a project quickly.
Step 9
The Money Part
If your project is meaningful to you personally, professionally or both please don’t cheat on yourself by choosing a writer based solely on fees. Of course, fees will have to be included in your decision-making, but the expression that you get what you pay for holds true with ghosts. Your book represents you so don’t compromise there as readers won’t spare you since their money is put in your e-book, naturally, they will expect the best instead of regretting it.
You must be curious to know the pros of hiring an e-book ghostwriter if you are an author then as discussed at the very beginning of this blog the ghost doesn’t get to use their name for the wordplay and all the clapping will be for you, but apart from this what benefits do you get here are as follows
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Time Savers
Your job is a constant attention seeker and you can’t afford to waste one second of it. Whether you’re trying to launch your business or building your individual brand on the side, you’ll need to take out a lot of time to write an eBook since it’s a time-consuming process.
The E-book is not a piece of cake so it will remain just an unfulfilled wish if you don’t give it proper time; therefore this responsibility is happily bestowed upon ghostwriters as they save you time by writing and delivering a high-quality eBook to you within a few weeks or months, depending on the number of pages.
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E-Book Priority
We are sure that in your list of priorities, the E-book number is extremely down, but when the same task is given to a professional e-book writer, he will make you dance with joy by speeding up the whole process which will further help the brand to be heard and seen by your target audience. It really won’t matter even if you’re a good writer yourself; because you can’t spend even one hour writing your eBook, just imagine how many pages will it take to share your entire brand story with your target market.
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SEO Content Optimization
Ghostwriters can optimize your content for SEO and make it rank on many search engines such as Google. Whether you’re selling your eBook or you’re giving it away for free in exchange for leads, you’ll need to optimize your e-Book to show up in search engine results when a user enters a specific term.
Your e-Book will come up in the search engine results, increasing the possibilities of the user visiting your website, checking out your products and/or services, and downloading or buying your e-Book. This is what you wanted all along right so why be so doubtful now?
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Brand Authenticity Increases
The same e-book writer will increase brand authenticity and the professional one end up doing wonders by mimicking the style and tone of an eBook written by a different writer. If you want them to emulate your voice, they can even do that.
Once you have found the perfect eBook writer, you can work closely with them to help them capture your voice and unify it across every piece of writing they produce for you.
There is nothing in this world that is flawless; therefore we consider it our responsibility to prepare you for the dark side of ghostwriters as well.
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Cost of Ghostwriting
Ghostwriters are some expensive people so only dream of outsourcing if their fees suit your budget.
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No Guarantee of Quality
Even after paying a hefty amount to a ghostwriter, unfortunately, there is still no guarantee of quality work.
If you find a good ghostwriter, you might end up with a fantastic book delivered on time. If not, you could find yourself paying a lot of money for a book that runs over time simply leaving you shattered.
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Time-taking Procedure
Ghostwriting clients have to remain available during the process of writing whether at the beginning of the process, answering questions during the writing process, or reviewing and providing feedback on drafts but if they are not available, the book won’t turn out as good as it could have been, and time frames can blow out as they wait for feedback.
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Only a Manuscript is Provided
The ghostwriting process (and fee) only covers the writing of your book it doesn’t cover design, printing, distribution, or any other parts of the publishing process. Until and unless you are working with an end-to-end provider, otherwise you have to manage on your own.
We hope that now you are clear about the hiring procedure for an e-book ghostwriter with its pros and cons. If you are ready, then excellent, but if you have dropped the idea then it’s sad that you did not even try.