Freelance Ghostwriting: Understanding the Basics

Ghostwriting is one of the most common types of writing jobs available for freelance writers.  It is estimated that about half of all the published non-fiction materials have been written by a professional ghostwriter.

What is a Ghostwriter?

A freelance ghostwriter  is someone who is given a particular topic to write about for someone else.  The topics and the scope of the job varies.  In some cases, it would be to create a number of different articles from scratch.  Other ghostwriting jobs merely involve arranging and expounding on pointers the client would like to discuss to make it more cohesive and interesting to read.

Ghostwriters are rarely given any recognition for the work that they have accomplished, hence the name.  In fact, many ghostwriting contracts would include a clause that once the completed written material is submitted to the client, the freelance ghostwriter also gives the client the ownership and all rights to it.  

How Freelance Ghostwriters Get Paid

Freelance ghostwriters  are usually paid a fixed rate by their clients specified in the contract.  In some cases, professional ghostwriters would lower their fixed rate for a certain percentage of the royalties earned from the sales of the published material.  

The Ethics behind Ghostwriting

Some industries may consider freelance ghostwriting  as not only being unfair on the part of the writers since they can't include these completed works in their portfolios.  Many industries regard this practice of hiring freelance ghostwriters  to be unethical because it deceives the public into thinking that the person written on the material is actually the one who wrote the entire thing.  

In reality, ghostwriting has been a common practice.  Businessmen have their secretaries to pen and send out different types of correspondence to employees and colleagues on their behalf.  Politicians have their PR assistants who create their speeches.   Freelance ghostwriters work in the same manner.  The main idea and points that are included in the published material is the client's.  The role of the ghostwriter is to help the client bring them all together in order to come up with something that would be accepted by the general public.

Here are some additional resource materials to learn more about freelance ghostwriting:

Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: The Writer's Guide to Making Money Ghostwriting and Coauthoring Books by CreateSpace

Ghostwriting (Writing Handbooks) by Andrew Crofts

The Secret World of Ghostwriters: And How to Work With One by Julie-Ann Amos

Unsealed documents in Prempro case expose scope of ghostwriting.(Arkansas): An article from: Trial by Allison Torres Burtka