Contracting with a ghostwriter

Tips on how to contract with a ghostwriter

If you’re looking to publish a book, but you don’t have the time or simply don’t enjoy writing, hiring a ghostwriter can be a great solution to achieve your goal of becoming an author!

Want to know more about ghostwriters, how you can hire a ghostwriter, and when you should hire a ghostwriter? View my previous blog posts for more information about ghostwriting.

When you’ve decided you want to hire a ghostwriter, and you’ve found a ghostwriter which you believe will be an excellent fit for you, your subject and your personality, the next step is signing their contract.

But not so fast!

Do you know what you are signing for? Are all the ghostwriter’s jobs for your novel spelled out for you? Is the contract transparent, or are there terms that you don’t understand woven into the agreement?

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These are all considerations you must think about before you sign on the dotted line of a legal contract.

My suggestion is to hire an attorney to review the contract. An experienced attorney can give you the 411 on what terms you are tied into and what conditions you can change. You can always request for the ghostwriter to change their contract terms.

Why would you want to change contract terms? Copyright, use of your book into an audio book, and many other proprietary items can be owned when you publish your content. Make sure you are comfortable with the terms of the contract BEFORE you proceed with signing. When changing terms, if the writer doesn’t want to change the terms and you aren’t comfortable, then you may want to find another writer. Remember, you are going to be working with this person for a very, very long time. Best to start off on the right foot and feeling comfortable with the writer, you will be “going to bed with” when writing your book.

Not sure about your contract? I can recommend a great business lawyer who can review your agreement for a reasonable price! Contact me via email lynn@writeforyou.me, and I’ll connect you with an experienced lawyer whom I’ve used for several years to create and review my contracts.