Should You: Hire a Ghostwriter? Or Write it Yourself? What to Consider Before You Decide
Last week, I talked about the basic differences between fiction and non-fiction. This week, I thought I would talk about whether you should write your own material or elect to hire a ghostwriter, instead.
What is a Ghostwriter?
When it comes to written work, specifically, a ghostwriter is basically a writer who is paid to write content for an author so that the author can pass it off as their own work. The ghostwriter signs a contract with the author they are hired by, and that contract legally hands over all of the rights to the work the ghostwriter produces to the paying author.
Reasons Why Authors Hire Ghostwriters
There are many reasons why an author may decide to hire a ghostwriter. Some of the main ones are listed below:
An author has a great story or non-fiction book idea in mind but needs someone create the outline and turn the idea or concept into a complete story or non-fiction book
An author has a great idea and an outline for their story or non-fiction book, but needs someone to flesh it out and put it all together
An author has no idea what to write or even how to write it, but they want to be a published author--whether it be fiction or non-fiction
A person or business has a website and needs content written for the webpages on their site
A person with a blog needs original content for their blog posts
A music artist wants to sing but doesn't know how to write music lyrics
Again, these are just some of the reasons why a person may wish to hire a ghostwriter. There are many, many more. In this particular article, however, I specifically want to discuss the ghostwriters for fiction and non-fiction written works.
Benefits of Hiring Ghostwriters for Written Work
Of course, there are both advantages and disadvantages to hiring someone else to write your work for you, and you definitely want to consider both of these before you make your decision. Some of the benefits of hiring ghostwriters can include:
You can work on numerous writing projects all at the same time (according to your budget, of course)
You can write in several different genres/niches all at the same time (again, according to your budget)
You can publish numerous fiction and/or non-fiction works simultaneously
Your written works production can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc... (according to your budget, as always)
You can produce written content in genres and/or niches that you personally don't have any experience/expertise in and/or knowledge of--thereby expanding your reader base
There are, of course, many more possible advantages to hiring one or more ghostwriters to write material for you, but just like pretty much everything else in this world, there are also disadvantages/drawbacks to hiring ghostwriters to produce content for you.
Disadvantages of Hiring Ghostwriters for Written Work
It can be expensive! Especially depending on the length/word count of the written work(s) you need
Your ghostwriter(s) may or may not meet the deadlines for the work you need
Your ghostwriter(s) may or may not produce work that meets your desired standards
You may need to also pay a proofreader/editor, if your writers do not efficiently proofread/edit their own work (and you don't have the professional level of proofreading/editing skills to do it yourself)
Again, these are just some of the main drawbacks of choosing to hire a ghostwriter. As you can see, when it comes to written work, there are a lot of things that need to be considered before you make a decision.
Now, let's look at writing your own work:
Advantages of Producing your Own Written Material
You don't have to pay anyone to write for you, which makes the writing part of your project FREE
You can write in the genres/niches that you are most passionate about and most knowledgeable in
You may only need to pay a professional proofreader/editor (if you don't possess professional editing skills yourself)
You are always absolutely certain that your written work will meet your own desired level of quality
You can set your own deadlines for your project completion (no worrying about ghostwriters missing deadlines)
And, once again, there are drawbacks/disadvantages to writing your own material, of course.
Disadvantages of Producing Your Own Written Work
You can only work on so many writing projects at one time (if you ever want to complete any, that is)
You can only complete and publish so many written works at one time
You can only write in genres/niches that you are personally knowledgeable in (if you want your work to maintain a high level of quality, of course)
There are other drawbacks too, but again, these are just some of the main ones.
Some authors will produce their own content in specific genres/niches where they are the most knowledgeable, and then elect to hire ghostwriters for some of the other works in genres/niches that they are less knowledgeable about or experienced in. Some authors publish under different aliases for different genres/niches.
For example: an author whose name is Jane Doe may publish her historical fiction romance under her real name, and then publish Urban Romance (for which she hires ghostwriters to produce) under the writer alias of: J. Krave. She may also publish some ghostwritten nonfiction works under the name: Vera Knowles. And, hey, maybe even some sci-fi/fantasy works under the name: Jenny Wrights.
Where to Start
In any case, the first place to start is always at the very beginning. Do you have writing talent? If so, in what genre(s) and/or niche(s)? Are your editing skills professional enough for you to proofread and edit your own work? (This is another subject that I plan to cover in future blog posts, btw!)
Is quality more important to you, or quantity? Do you have a large budget to start out with, or is it pretty limited? These are all questions that you need to ask yourself before you even think about making a decision on whether or not to hire a ghostwriter--or four. :)
Thank you for reading my blog and stay tuned for next week's post! I invite you to check out,"like" and share my new author page on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorTLSallie
***I will be starting a sign-up page soon and everyone who signs up will receive a FREE short story every month from me, personally! YOU get to choose what kind of free book you want, as I will be holding a vote every month for the type of free book to send to my readers!***