Marketing Yourself as a Ghostwriter and Important Elements of a Ghostwriting Contract

by Linda Gilden @LindaGilden

This month we are going to finish our series on ghostwriting by discussing two things: 1) How to market yourself as a ghostwriter and 2) The important elements of a ghostwriting contract.

How to Market Yourself as a Ghostwriter

Let’s start with how to market yourself as a ghost. Marketing yourself in not always easy, especially if you are not an extrovert. You will eventually have to talk to others about yourself and your new ghostwriting endeavor. However, you will find many ways to market yourself even if you are an extreme introvert. As you will discover, many things can be done without even interacting with others while you build your confidence.

Word of mouth is still one of the best marketing plans. Those who read your book, especially those you have ghostwritten and get excited about them, will tell their friends. Give a copy to your family and friends and ask them to write reviews as well as tell others that you are also a ghostwriter. Sometime it feels like we are giving away lots of books. But rarely have I regretted giving one to someone who has a need and someone who will tell their friends about it. Your name does not always appear on the front of the book so you may need to take a minute to explain that to friends and family.

Many people post readily on social media even though they have never have met the people on the other end of their posts. But announcing ghostwriting as a new element of your career will help you get the word out. Social media allows you to use photos of you opening the box of books and the excitement on your face. Giving a copy to your friend have a good friend to take a picture of pulling your book out of a gift bag. Make sure he or she identifies it is a ghostwritten book in their post. If you have grandchildren, dress them up really cute and have them gather around your book. Maybe even have a few of them jumping up and down.

Find blogs that share the same message as the book you are ghosting and inquire about being a guest blogger. You could repeat that with many different blogs. Just be sure to be able to meet the deadlines. You may decide to organize this as a blog tour and blog for a different blog each week. If possible. Offer a “freebie” as an additional incentive to become interested in your book and your new ghostwriting segment.

When you add ghostwriter to your website, be sure to use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to drive your website higher in rank on Google. If you don’t know how to do this, there are experts you can hire to do a website evaluation.

Writing articles is an excellent way to get your name out about your ghostwriting. In your bio always be sure to include the word ghostwriter. Bios aren’t long but if you are trying to begin a ghostwriting career, make sure ghostwriter is one of your key words.

Important Elements of a Ghostwriting Contract

Any agreement you make with another writer such as co-writing, ghostwriting, editing, article writing, or whatever should be accompanied by a written contract. Many co-authors feel like they are really good friends but a contract has nothing to do with friendship but everything to do with business. When you have it in writing, there will be no questions twenty years later about the elements of your original conversation.

Here are a few things you want to be sure to include:

1. The date when you entered into the agreement.

2. Who the author and who the ghostwriter is. Along with stating that, it might be a good time for both the author and the ghostwriter to discuss whether or not the ghostwriter’s name will be on the cover or if a confidentiality clause is necessary for the contract.

3. The method you will use to get this book or story written. In other words, will you meet regularly so you will understand how to organize the story. Will you exchange information by email? Will it all be done by phone communication? If you don’t know your subject well, it is always a good idea to get together at least a few times.

4. A statement of the fees of the ghostwriter and how to be paid. Sometimes ghostwriters are paid a flat fee as a work made for hire. Then they receive no further compensation. Occasionally the author and ghostwriter will share the royalties depending on an already agreed upon split.

5. The deadline to complete the manuscript. You may want to break this down into phases for each section of the project.

6. The author agrees that any material he or she gives to the ghostwriter is his own material and not copied from anywhere else.

7. If the author withdraws from the project, the ghostwriter is entitled to a kill fee as determined by the author and ghostwriter.

8. What happens to royalties if one author dies, quits writing, or is unable to finish the project? Usually it is divided between the remaining heirs of the one who is unable to finish and the remaining author.

There will be other things you want to include after a conversion between the author and the ghostwriter. Once you have that conversation with your author, you should be able to “fill in the blanks” with other things you would like to include.

Now that you have enough information to get started, get to your computer and look for your first client. Or work on your bios and add ghostwriter in the appropriate places. If you have other questions, please put them in the chat and I will get back to you as soon as possible. 

For now, happy ghostwriting to all our readers!

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Marketing Yourself as a Ghostwriter and Important Elements of a Ghostwriting Contract, @LindaGilden on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Don't Miss the Other Posts in this Series!
WHAT IS GHOSTWRITING AND HOW TO GET STARTED (PART 1)
HOW TO GET STARTED IN GHOSTWRITING (PART 2)

MARKETING YOURSELF AS A GHOSTWRITER AND IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF A GHOSTWRITING CONTRACT

Linda Gilden has coauthored 11 books with 5 different coauthors, with #12 and #13 debuting in 2022, adding a new co-author to the list. She loves every one of her coauthors and enjoys collaborating on interesting projects with them. She also has written many books on her own and realizes what a treasure and blessing a good co-author is.