Important Things to Consider When Choosing a Ghostwriter

A ghost-writer is an individual who writes books or other forms of written content on behalf of another person. Once a ghostwriter has completed writing something, it is then usually sold or published in the client’s name. Ghostwriters are required to sign non-disclosure forms before starting, just so that they don’t try to make a claim for the written content later on or try to damage the client’s reputation by making it public that they don’t write their own content.

If you think that you need a ghostwriter, then this post will tell you a few things that you should consider first:

Good Reputation

If you want to hire a ghostwriter, then you need to find one with a good reputation. Some places are more known for having better ghostwriters than others. Take Vancouver for example, some of the industry’s finest ghostwriters are located there. If you are looking for Vancouver ghostwriters for hire, then there are plenty of guides and reviews that you can use to find them. Guides and reviews are always a good way to find ghostwriters with good reputations because you will be able to use them to figure out a writer’s skill level, experience, and reputation.

First Interview

Once you have found a ghostwriter that you are interested in, then you need to hold the first interview with them. In this first interview, you will be given the opportunity to ask them important questions and learn about them. During the first interview, you should try to ascertain what their level of experience is. If you have a very serious project that you need to work on, then you need to find a writer with the right level of experience.

Ask Questions

It’s always good to find somebody who asks questions. If the person that you have interviewed is uninquisitive, then you should pass on them. A ghostwriter that doesn’t ask questions is one that’s disinterested. In order to be able to write something that will capture other people’s eyes, they need to possess an interest in the subject themselves. If they do not ask any questions about the project, then it’s a strong indication that they are not interested. You should also ask them questions to figure out who they are as a person and what their work ethic is like.

Read Brief

You also need to make sure that the writer has read your project’s brief. To ascertain whether they have or not, question them about the brief extensively. If the writer is unable to answer even the most basic of questions, then it’s a sign that you shouldn’t work with them. Anybody that attends an interview for a project and hasn’t actually read the project’s brief is lazy and should be avoided. With that said, try not to write a sprawling, disinteresting brief. It could be hard for you to capture a writer’s attention if your brief’s too longwinded.

Has Passion

It’s very easy to tell whether or not a person has a passion for a subject just by speaking to them. The writer that you are working with does not necessarily need to be passionate about the specific topic that you want to be written about, but rather, they should have a passion for writing as a whole. So that you can learn about the writer, ask them what their favourite things to write about are, and gauge where their primary area of expertise lies. Learning this information will help you to learn about them as a writer.

Planned Approach

The writer with whom you intend on working needs to approach your project in a planned and meticulous way. The best way to figure out if the writer that you are interviewing is going to do this is to ask them to tell you what their plan for the project is. If it seems rushed or uncoordinated, then it’s highly likely that they made it up on the spot. If the writer you are interviewing seems to be making things up as they go along, then perhaps find another to work with. You can’t entrust your money and project to somebody who’s not prepared.

Reasonable Prices

When you hire a ghostwriter, you should find one with reasonable, but not cheap prices. A ghostwriter whose cheap will be cheap for a reason. The average price for a ghostwriter is around $1.40 per word. You might be able to negotiate to get their price down, but you shouldn’t try to get it down by too much, because this can come across as disrespectful. Ideally, when you are writing your brief, you should put the figure that you’re most comfortable with paying there. When writers read your brief they will then know how much you expect to pay. If you don’t have the money to hire a ghostwriter, you could always seek outside investment so that you can fund one. 

Ask Revisions

Revisions are something else that you need to think about. When a book or article’s being written, there are bound to be revisions. Some ghostwriters charge for revisions, while others don’t. It’s a good idea to sit down with the ghostwriter prior to commissioning them so that you can ask them whether or not they will perform revisions free of charge. Simply for the sake of saving money, you should try to find one that will. It’s inevitable that revisions will need to be made to the text. Even the world’s finest writers have to go back and edit texts before they can be completed.

Timeframe

Lastly, figure out how long the writer with whom you intend on working will take to complete your project. Once you have both worked out a timeframe, try not to rush them. It’s very common for people to rush writers when they are working on projects for them, but this is a very bad idea. The reason that this is such a bad idea is that rushing them can force them to take shortcuts just to please you. Shortcuts can then result in the content that’s delivered being of a low standard.

If you have a book or article that you want to be written, then you need to hire a ghostwriter. Before you can hire one, however, you need to search extensively for a writer that’s high-quality and experienced, and then you need to interview them and ascertain their level of skill and commitment.