Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Will you tell me if my book is marketable?
A. Yes, I will give you my opinion as to the marketability of your book. This opinion is based on my years of experience in the industry. I can also sometimes give you ideas as to how you can alter your book to make it more marketable.
Q. Do you recommend that I try to get a publisher or self-publish?
A. This depends on your situation. If you don’t have a significant following already, it’s very difficult to get a traditional publishing deal for your book. In that case, you may have no choice but to self-publish. Please see my blog post on the pros and cons of traditional publishing vs. self-publishing.
Q. Can you get my book published?
A. No. You need a literary agent to find you a publisher, but I can help you create a book proposal, which is what agents and publishers require for most nonfiction. (If you’re writing a memoir, you can often submit the full manuscript to agents and publishers without a proposal.) And while I know literary agents, I can only recommend authors to them who have a significant following – what we call a “platform” that guarantees people will buy the book. If you have a decent platform, I can indeed make introductions to literary agents. As for self-publishing, I have a Self-Publishing Checklist to guide you through that process.
Q. Will you write my 200-age ebook for $200?
A. Sorry, no. A book is a book, whether it’s in print or electronic. It still requires a lot of time and effort. I charge five figures to ghostwrite a book and usually four figures for editing.
Q. Do you use artificial intelligence (AI) when you write or edit a book?
A. No. As a professional writer, I’m quite biased against the use of artificial intelligence for writing. I believe in human writing, so that’s what I do for myself and all of my clients. First, writing that uses AI CANNOT currently be legally copyrighted – at least not in the U.S. Second, whatever you plug into AI teaches it your proprietary information before you publish, which it might spit out to others. While it’s okay to use AI for research and citations, I don’t recommend using it for anything else. In fact, most literary agents and publishers make you sign something saying you haven’t used it at least for the writing of your book. All of that said, I use Microsoft Word’s editing and proofreading tool, which is deemed acceptable in the industry. Grammarly’s tool is also deemed acceptable.
Q. If you help me with my book proposal, can you guarantee that it will get me a literary agent?
A. No. While no one can guarantee the marketplace, I can give you the best possible chance because of my extensive experience with writing proposals that have sold to publishers.
Q. Can you get my self-published book in bookstores?
A. No. I know that some hybrid publishers profess to be able to get your book into brick and mortar stores beyond Amazon.com, but I think this is rare. These stores don’t even shelve all books released by big publishing houses.
Q. How much information do you need from me to get started on ghostwriting my book?
A. This depends on the subject matter. I don’t write books from nothing. If I can research the book entirely without your input, that would mean you aren’t an expert in the field. So your input will be necessary to make the book yours. In most cases, I have phone conversations with clients and write the chapters from that. Then, we both edit the chapters back and forth. But I’m happy to work in whatever way is easiest for you, and I always try to take as much work off your plate as possible. Nevertheless, you will need to be involved.
Q. How long will it take you to finish my book?
A. This varies from book to book and depends a lot on your availability. Ghostwriting a full-length book requires a minimum of four months and usually takes 4-12 months. Editing can happen in a matter of weeks.
Q. Can you write my book by just talking to me on the phone or Zoom?
A. Absolutely! This is usually how the process works. I record our conversations and write from those.
Q. Will you ghostwrite my book for a percentage of royalties?
A. No. When you sign a publishing a contract, you are given an advance against royalties. So you don’t make any royalties until the publisher has made back that advance from book sales. For this reason, few authors ever actually make any royalties, and self-published authors rarely make any money at all from book sales. A book is more like a robust business card that allows you to make money from the coaching, teaching, and speaking clients you get as a result of the book.
Q. If you ghostwrite my book, who will own the copyright, and will you tell people you ghostwrote it?
A. Once you have paid me in full, the copyright will revert to you. If you don’t want me to disclose that I ghostwrote your book, I won’t, and we will put that in the contract between us.
Q. I want to write my life story. Can you do that for me?
A. Yes, as long as you understand that ghostwriting a memoir, family history, or autobiography costs five figures.
Q. Will you ghostwrite a novel for me?
A. No, I don’t ghostwrite fiction.
Q. Can you just look at my manuscript and tell me what you think?
A. Yes. This is called a professional critique, and i can do that for a fee based on the length of the manuscript. Write to me for more information about this.
Q. Can you help me market my book?
A. No. I don’t do marketing, but I can make recommendations of people you can hire who will help you with marketing.