Hiring a Ghostwriter?
Four things to make sure about
By Henia

If you’re about to hire a ghostwriter, you better make sure you’re spending your time and money wisely. After all, your book is a reflection on you.

Before deciding who to hire as your ghostwriter, make sure your ghostwriter meets the following four criteria:

1. Good Writing
This one should be obvious. But don’t take it for granted. Just because someone is advertising as a ghostwriter doesn’t mean he/she is any good at it. This is especially true for those low priced ghostwriters you see all over the Internet. (How hard would you try to write well, if you were getting five dollars a page?)

Look at the ghostwriter’s samples. If there are no samples on the ghostwriter’s website, ask the ghostwriter to send you a few samples of his/her work. Not only should the writing have good grammar, spelling, and punctuation, but it should also be clear and compelling. After all, it’s your book and you want to keep your readers reading.

2. Good Listening
This is your book-not the ghostwriter’s. The book should have your thoughts, your ideas, your opinions, and your feelings. Your ghostwriter should not be interjecting his/her own ideas into your book. To do that, your ghostwriter must be a good listener.

So how can you tell if a ghostwriter is a good listener? You should have an initial consultation with the ghostwriter you are thinking of hiring. Hopefully the ghostwriter gives a free initial consultation. Ask yourself, based on your initial consultation, if this ghostwriter seems to you like a good listener

3. Honesty
Be suspicious of any ghostwriter who promises you the moon. That means any ghostwriter who promises he or she will get your book accepted by a traditional publishing company. Yes, your book could possibly get accepted by a traditional publisher, but what is suspicious is when a ghostwriter promises to get your book published by a traditional publisher if you hire him/her to write your book

Some ghostwriter’s websites say clearly that he/she cannot promise to get your book picked up by a traditional publisher. Ghostwriters who openly say this on their website are honest ghostwriters.

4. Someone You Like
If you want a ghostwriter to write a full-length book for you, you will be working with your ghostwriter for months to come. You want to make sure not only that he/she is a good writer, a good listener, honest, and that you’re comfortable with the price- you want to make sure that you are comfortable with your ghostwriter as a person. You want to know that he/she is a pleasant person and easy to get along with. This is something you should ascertain at your initial consultation.

By keeping your eye on the above four criteria, you will enjoy seeing your book in the making, and end up with a book you will be proud of.