How much does it cost to write a book from a ghostwriter?
June 13, 2024, 6:16 p.m.
Book writing services are provided by independent ghostwriters, traditional publishers and literary agencies. Besides, book orders can be taken by book producers, PR-agencies and other intermediaries. Different contractors offer different terms of cooperation and price the same work differently. Let's talk about the prices for ghostwriting in the Ukrainian and American markets, which were reported by industry insiders.
Ukrainian ghostwriting market
In the developed Western market, the cost of services depends on demand and experience of a ghostwriter. Newcomers are paid less, popular writers are paid more, the most expensive orders are received by a small part of ghostwriters, who are recommended by publishers, literary agents and media executives to their authors, friends and colleagues. Insiders give average prices for ghostwriting services, because they often conclude contracts for ghostwriting and know the figures well.
The Ukrainian market of ghostwriting is only developing. We have no specialized ghostwriting services, the institute of literary agents has not been formed, Ukrainian book producers accompany samizdat, but do not provide services to publishers, as in the West. No one can name average prices for ghostwriting services, because no one knows them: unlike in the United States, there are no such statistics in Ukraine.
A ghostwriter in Ukraine is usually sought among journalists, editors, copywriters, writers, publishers. The cost of services is determined through negotiations and depends primarily on the client's ability to pay: they ask for the maximum of what the client is willing to pay. Politicians, businessmen and celebrities are quoted higher prices not because their books sell better, but because they are more solvent.
In the West, a ghostwriter may receive a portion of the author's advance for his work. For example, Robert McCrum in his article 2014 writes that traditionally the British ghostwriter receives 33% of the author's advance, as well as royalties, but during the economic crisis this figure was reduced to 10%. This is possible only in a developed market, Ukrainian publishers do not give authors advances, especially so large, so that part of this amount can be paid for the work of a hired writer. Therefore, there is no great solvent demand for ghostwriters in Ukraine, even though the book market is now actively developing.
Public offers
There are literally several websites in Ukraine where writers openly offer ghostwriter services. Almost no one indicates prices publicly, so it is not so easy for a customer to compare them in order to choose a writer according to his budget.
Usually ghostwriters, agencies and publishers write that the payment for ghostwriting services is determined individually. The criteria for price formation are also non-public, although it is obvious that they include the scope and complexity of the work, the competence and ability to pay of the customer, and an assessment of the potential success of the book.
Although there is not enough information to talk about the market as a whole, the crumbs of data that are still publicly available allow us to conclude that from independent ghostwriters and ghostwriters seeking orders on freelance platforms, a small book can be ordered for $1500 - 2000 and a medium-sized book for $2000 - 3000. Payment is usually made in installments, so the customer pays no more than $300-500 monthly. Usually a surcharge of 30-50% is accepted for non-disclosure agreements.
Publishers, literary agents and book producers have prices at least several times higher, and they can hire the same ghostwriters from freelance platforms to write books, or they have a full-time writer (editor) working for a low salary with a heavy workload. Therefore, the quality of a publisher's ghostwriter is not always higher than that of a freelancer.
Public and non-public discussions of prices among writers, journalists and copywriters show that good pay is considered to be $100 per 10,000 characters, which means that ghostwriters are willing to write medium-sized books of 300-500,000 characters for $3,000 - $5,000. These prices can be considered average, because some ghostwriters who write for politicians and celebrities charge higher fees for their services.
For comparison: in the Runet, where Ukrainian authors have recently ordered services, writing a book to order is often offered for $5-12 per 1000 characters, the total cost of a small book is at least $5-8,000. As a rule, more than $7-8 are taken by intermediaries or scammers whose quality of work does not stand up to criticism. The total cost is divided between the intermediary, who appears to be a publishing house manager, a book producer or literary agency manager, a ghostwriter (freelance writer), and several other people (assistant manager, project manager, literary editor).
Orders on freelance marketplace
On freelance platforms the prices for ghostwriting services are the lowest, because there are a lot of potential contractors and they compete on price, not on the quality of work.
In Ukraine there are no specialized services that would connect ghostwriters and customers, because there is not enough demand for ghostwriting services. On universal Ukrainian freelance marketplace (Weblancer.net, Freelancehunt) for the last few years for writing medium-sized books writers offer the amount from several hundred to one and a half thousand dollars.
For example, a request to write a 200-page book in 2018 on Freelancehunt had 14 people respond, with a price range of $185 to $1660, that is, from $0.9 to $8.3 per page. If we discard the two lowest prices that are too out of line, the cost is about $2.7 per 1,000 characters.
Even if you only consider the highest rates on the exchanges, they end up in the cheapest price segment. Ghostwriters who have their own websites, work for publishing houses or PR agencies usually get twice or three times as much for their work.
Our own experience
We provide services as independent ghostwriters. This means that we do not work on the staff of any publisher, literary or PR agency or through intermediaries, whatever they call themselves (agents, book producers, etc.).
Independent ghostwriters who have their own websites and a portfolio of books that they have written to order or helped write, usually put average prices for their services, i.e. higher than on freelance exchanges, but lower than in publishing houses, agencies, and various intermediaries.
When we started working in 2011 on the runet, we charged $2 per 1,000 characters, meaning a 400,000-character book of average volume cost $800. In 2018, we made three tariffs:
- Assistant" tariff: $200 for every 50,000 characters.
- Contributor" rate: $250 for every 50,000 characters.
- Ghostwriter rate: $300 for every 50,000 characters.
Then it was found out that many customers choose the cheapest rate called "Assistant", which provides assistance in writing a book based on the customer's materials with a mention of the writer in the book.
Thanks to the rejection of non-disclosure agreement, we have built up our portfolio and increased the prices for our services. Now we help write books based solely on the customer's knowledge and experience. Our ghostwriting services cost $200 - $400 for every 50,000 characters of text, depending on the complexity of the topic and the quantity and quality of materials for the book. This means that a medium sized book of 300,000 characters will cost you $1200 - $2400, paid in installments.
Unfortunately, short texts in Ukraine are paid more than books, so it is more profitable for experienced writers (journalists, copywriters, speechwriters, analysts) to write articles, speeches, advertising texts.
Western Gostwriting Market
In the English-speaking market, ghostwriters work independently, through intermediaries or as full-time employees of publishers and content mills.
- An independent ghostwriter finds customers through his own website, pages in social networks, freelance exchanges. Usually his services are cheaper due to the refusal of intermediaries and contractors, and the commissions of freelance exchanges are low.
- Intermediaries between ghostwriters and clients can be publishers who hire freelancers, literary agents, book producers, and publicists who take a commission for finding a client and/or organizational work.
- Ghostwriters on staff work for a flat fee or a percentage of the individual order amount; most of the payment is usually received by their employer - publisher, book producer, owner of the ghostwriting company.
Below we provide price ranges for ghostwriting work provided by reputable market players — 2M Communications, Gotham Ghostwriters та Reedsy.
Keep in mind that speakers may list the cost of writers' work excluding agency commissions, taxes, and other expenses, meaning actual earnings are likely lower.
Gostwriter Agent Insights
2M Communications — U.S. agency representing the interests of ghostwriters, collaborators and editors.
Madeleine Morel, who founded and ran the agency for decades and is a well-versed participant in the ghostwriter market, said in a 2006 article that the average book ghostwriter's advance is "between $30,000 and $100,000, which is a hell of a lot more than they could make on their own". Morel takes 15% commission from the ghostwriter's fixed fee or from all his earnings (fixed fee, percentage of the author's advance, part of the author's royalties).
In a 2010 article, Madeleine says that the ghostwriters she represents "used to earn between $50,000 and $100,000 per project. That range has fallen in recent years to between $30,000 and $65,000, because author advances are down dramatically and the number of titles publishers buy has plummeted. Writers of multimillion-dollar celebrity books have taken a hit, too."
By compare, in a 2011 article, financial consultant and journalist Sydney LeBlanc says "Some experienced financial writers will charge anywhere from $20,000 to $75,000 or more depending on the complexity and the responsibilities required for a 250-page book".
In a 2013 article, Madeleine Morel reports that "A book ranges from $50,000 to $200,000, depending on the writer’s credentials".
In 2021, ghostwriters' royalties, she said, averaged $75,000-$100,000, and work on a single book typically lasted six months. The best ghostwriters have dozens of bestsellers in their portfolios; there are no more than 20 to 30 such people. Anthony Mattero of Creative Artists Agency, mentioned in the same 2021 article, estimates that the best-known authors (usually celebrities) have 50-100 ghostwriters working with them, creating two to three books a year. Only these ghostwriters receive above-average royalties.
In 2014, Kevin Anderson, who runs a ghostwriting firm, reported that the top ghostwriters that publishers hire to celebrities earn up to $500,000. Few ghostwriters earn million-dollar fees.
On the website of the ghostwriter recruitment agency Gotham Ghostwriters it is stated that they have no set prices for ghostwriting services, the cost depends on the level of the ghostwriter (experience, availability of bestselling books), someone charges $30,000 for a book, and someone — $300,000. As an online service, Gotham Ghostwriters connects more than 3,200 freelance writers and represents their interests in the author-ghostwriter, ghostwriter-publisher relationship. The agency takes a fee for finding a ghostwriter, as well as a percentage of the contract between the author (client) and the ghostwriter.
Apparently, prices have fallen. Whereas in the 1990s the cost of a book being created from scratch, i.e. from conception, research, and manuscript preparation, could start at $300,000 at elite ghostwriting agencies, now it's more often than not the amount you can get at best. It's part of a general trend — writers' earnings are steadily falling.
Conclusions of the ghostwriting service owner
Tucker Max, publisher and owner of Tucker Max Ghostwriting Agency, talked about the cost of a U.S. Ghostwriter as of 2016, using a 100-300 page nonfiction book as an example:
- $1,000 – $14,000 — the cheapest services from the least competent ghostwriters. Usually, newbies without portfolios and employees of ghostwriter factories who write a lot, quickly and in a shoddy manner work for such fees.
- $15,000 – $75,000 — services of professional ghostwriters. The specific price depends on the scope of work on the project, the skill level and workload of the ghostwriter. In this price range, there are ghostwriters who provide services of varying quality. Some experienced and competent writers charge too low in comparison to the quality of their work, and some greatly overestimate themselves.
- $100,000 – $250,000 or more — payment for the services of the most popular and competent ghostwriters. There are no more than a hundred of them. They have written many bestsellers and often have their own books with good reviews. Ghostwriters at this level are hired by people who are given large advances by publishers to write a book; the writer gets up to 50% of the author's advance, as well as a percentage of the profits.
According to Tucker Max, he knows ghostwriters who charge $30,000 and do a worse job than those who charge $15,000 for a book. Our experience and study of the post-Soviet market shows the same thing: often those who charge higher fees do a much worse job, so price cannot be an indicator of the quality of work at all.
Reedsy statistics
Reedsy is a freelance marketplace where you can find any professional to work on your book: a ghostwriter, editor, designer, layout designer. Ghostwriters are usually sought by authors and publishers.
Reedsy does its own statistics on the cost of ghostwriters' services. According to Reedsy the average fees for government writers in 2023 were:
- $6,500 and $42,000 for nonfiction books;
- $3,500 to $16,000 for novels;
- $1,500 to $5,000 for picture books.
A more accurate average price can be determined by considering the book's genre and word count. According to Reedsy's data:
- $12,000 to $42,000 for 75,000 words biographies & memoirs primarily on business and self-help topics;
- $8,000 to $32,000 for 60,000 words business books and management books;
- $6,500 to $26,000 for 52? 000 words self-help books.
Reedsy's commission is 10%.
In Ukraine, the volume of books is more often measured by the number of characters or author's sheets. One author's sheet equals 40,000 characters, including spaces (illustrations, tables, etc.). A 75,000-word memoir in Ukrainian is a book of about 500,000 characters (12 copyright sheets). A 60,000-word business book is a book of about 400,000 characters (10 author sheets). And a 52,000 character self-development book is a book of about 360,000 characters (9 author sheets). These are medium-sized books (200-300 printed pages).
The cost also depends on the experience of the ghostwriter. While beginners earn $10,000 on Reedsy, experienced writers get $40,000 for the same project.
They charge per word, hour, or project. The larger the book, the more likely it is that payment will be taken for the project. If ghostwriter order a small text, it is more profitable to charge per word or per hour. Reedsy's ghostwriters charge an average of 35 cents per word for books and more for marketing texts, so, as you can see, even in the West, work on books is cheaper than work on other texts.
For comparison: the lowest rates for newbie ghostwriters on Reedsy ($6,500 - $8,000) is a high payment for an experienced ghostwriter in Ukraine to work on a non-fiction book of average length. The cost of living in the West is also much higher, so it cannot be said that American or British ghostwriters earn significantly more than Ukrainian ones. Apart from a small number of top ghostwriters with million-dollar fees, American ghostwriters complain that their profession is undervalued and advise each other to double their rates.
Change: Oct. 18, 2024, 12:55 p.m.
Nataliia Tolmachova
Ghostwriter. I have been helping write business, memoir, motivational, and popular science books since 2011.
prkniga@fastmail.com
https://writerbywriter.com/en/
Maksym Momot
Ghostwriter. I have been helping write books on business, self-development, sports, and technology since 2014.
prkniga@eml.cc
https://writerbywriter.com/en/