Ghostwriting Factories, Ghostwriter Drones, Ghostwriting Disasters?
Every month we are contacted by people who are unhappy with either the independent ghostwriter or the ghostwriting company they’ve hired.
What went wrong?
In most cases the unhappy customers hired cheap, inexperienced people, sometimes working out of “factories” in Third World countries. But that’s not always the problem. Sometimes they hired expensive writers with track records who just didn’t give their projects the personal attention needed. Writing a book—especially one that sells—is not easy and can’t be done with a fill-in-the-blank approach. Every story is unique, maybe not as unique as fingerprints, but pretty darn close.
The first potential red flag you’ve hired the wrong person is if you’re given a lengthy questionnaire to fill out. Conversation is needed to establish what “feel” your book should have: the tone, the voice, the driving force. It’s not simply about creating a chronology, arranging facts, and getting dates right.
A second red flag is if the writer doesn’t understand your end goals. If your writer isn’t an expert in the genre of your book and isn’t aware of the latest, shifting trends in the publishing industry, chances are your book will fail to find an audience. You’ll either be stuck with a warehouse full of books or have an eBook that is never downloaded.
To protect yourself, follow these rules:
* Never sign a contract where you pay more than one-third up front. If things go bad, you want to be able to cancel and move on with minimal losses.
* Before the first word of the opening chapter is written, make sure an outline is created that addresses characters/subjects, themes, plot arcs, and hooks for your intended market.
* Make sure you’re working with a writer who is passionate and challenges you. If no one questions your choices and concepts, you will end up with a book that is written for an audience of one: YOU. But, most likely, no one else will want to read it.
So what do you do if you’ve already hired and paid the wrong person to write your book?
Well, you have to find someone else to fix your manuscript. Don’t put blinders on and push ahead with a flawed product. In the end, you will waste even more time and money, and your goals will never be reached.
We are your one stop shop for getting your book out there. We partner with authors to write, design, publish, and market their books. We bring our know-how to every book project we undertake.