FAQ

Unless you anticipate your book being significantly different from the norm (much longer, for instance, or perhaps requiring lots of research) you can expect a fee of $45,000. This includes writing, editing, and proofreading. A polished, professional manuscript that you’ll be proud to call your own. And not only that, I’ll even provide, at no extra charge, the self-publishing steps necessary for you to get your book on Amazon and elsewhere!

Run for the hills from any ghostwriter who asks for the fee up front. Even fifty percent. I’ll break my fee into stages and you’ll pay monthly over the length of time I think it will take to write the book. Six months? Then six even payments.

I get asked this question probably eight to ten times a month. The answer, I am sorry to say, is no. Sure, I realize you no doubt have the next great bestseller and we could both become obscenely wealthy once the book comes out and Oprah recommends it and the book then gets made into a blockbuster movie. But even though I believe that, I don’t trust that a publisher will feel the same way. They’re strange like that. And I can’t gamble with my livelihood, so please don’t ask.

I know. Everybody’s is. Nevertheless, my answer is the same.

In some cases, I’m willing to travel to meet prospective clients before a decision is made. We’ll spend a half day discussing your story, and afterward I’ll prepare a detailed outline for your book.  Then—and only then—you can decide whether you’d like to move forward. The only thing I ask is that you cover my travel expenses (up to $1,000). If you decide to hire me, I’ll credit that amount toward your project. If not, we’ll part as friends and you can keep the outline. Contact me to see if this would be an appropriate first step for us.

Are you a halfway decent writer? If your goal is to write a compelling memoir, you might want to check out my course, Your Memoir Journey: A Comprehensive Course on Writing & Publishing Your Life Story. Nineteen video modules taking you from the blank page to Amazon and beyond. Only $495 for a limited time! Check it out.

AI can generate language. It’s good at that. But it doesn’t have judgment, structure, or narrative instinct. A book isn’t just words. The hard part (and the human part) is deciding how to shape a life or an idea into something that actually works as a compelling, genuine narrative. Without that, you’re going to lose your reader by the middle of chapter 1. Your book is too important and too personal to be manufactured with cold, mechanistic language.

Willing? I insist upon it. Once we get started, I will come to you at my expense (anywhere in the Continental United States or Canada), to make sure we get off to a flying start. (Please don’t hire a ghostwriter who’s unwilling to do this!) OR, if you’d rather come to me in beautiful and charming Greenville, South Carolina, I will put you up for two nights (my treat) at the elegant and historic Westin Poinsett right on Main Street, and very close to my office.

No. And neither can any other ghostwriter. Run from anyone who says they can guarantee publication by a mainstream publisher or even tells you it should be easy. With the book industry in flux, it’s more difficult than ever these days to get published. How to choose a ghostwriter.

I insist! For no extra charge, I will take you through the tricky process of self-publishing. I’ll even provide a professional author website for you, giving readers a place to learn more about you and your book. Read more about the self-publishing option right here.

Through smoke and mirrors. What they’ll do is upload your book to Amazon under some really obscure category, a category with few books that make few sales. It’ll be a bestseller, all right. An Amazon bestseller under that category. You might only sell three or four books, but the company will be able to keep their promise. Tell them you want to be a New York Times or USA Today bestseller and see what their guarantee is then!

Yes! Check out my coaching sessions. I make it simple. No package, no commitments. Just help when you need it.

Well, for a sample of some writing I’ve had published in my own name, please feel free to check out these published pieces. To find out what previous clients have had to say about my work, please check out the testimonials scattered around this site.

You do. There will be no mention of me as ghostwriter.

I recommend that our first meeting be in person. I can come to where you are (at my expense) and we can spend at least a solid half-day together, enough time for me to gather all the information I need to write a detailed outline. From there, we’ll regularly conference by phone and communicate by email as we proceed chapter by chapter. More information about my ghostwriting process.

Yep. My ghostwriting contract includes a confidentiality clause. Your secrets are safe with me. I am Your Confidential Ghostwriter!

Depends on the length of the book and the amount of background work I need to do to gather the content. Could be a month, could be a year. Seven months is probably a good average. I will always give a firm estimate going in how long I think it will take, and we’ll stick to a tight schedule to ensure we make it happen by the target deadline.

Absolutely. The first thing you’ll see is a descriptive outline I’ll put together for the book. This will help us identify what will be the chapters. Then I’ll forward you the work chapter by chapter, even parts of chapters as I go along. You’ll be right there every step of the way to make sure I’m getting it just right.

Included! I never lose sight of the fact that this is YOUR book. Consequently, you have to be completely satisfied with it. We’ll keep tweaking until it’s just how you want it. That’s what a good ghostwriter does! Hire a ghostwriter.