Your Ghostwriter Online

Why Should I Hire a Ghostwriter for My Book?

By T.R. Locke on August 15th, 2011

Perhaps you should consider hiring a ghostwriter.

Whether to hire a ghostwriter for your book or to try to write it yourself can be a difficult decision to make. Hiring a ghostwriter can feel a bit like cheating. After all, your name goes on the cover of the book, not the ghostwriter’s, so is it right to actually have someone else write the book for you? When you look at the issue more closely, the decision becomes easier than you think.

Consider this question: Would you build your own house? Not would you hire an architect and contractor to build your house, but would you actually draw your own blueprints, buy your own materials, take up hammer and nails, and construct it in your spare time–While on vacation? When you get home from work on weekday evenings? On the weekends? Part of answering that question involves considering your level of expertise–Do you have building experience? Have you drawn blueprints before? Do you know the building codes for your city? Do you have the money and time? Do you have the tools?

These might seem like absurd questions today, but years ago it was commonplace for people to build their own homes with their own hands. In fact, you could order a complete home kit from Sears along with your summer wardrobe. The kit would arrive on a train car and you would take it from there. But today the closest most people come to building their own home is driving into a developer’s office and picking the lot, style, colors, carpets, and upgrades. More demanding buyers might custom order blueprints to build a home exactly the way they envision it. They may hire the architect and contractors, submit the blueprints to the city and arrange for their own financing. They might even show up with a hammer and nails to work, too. People tell their friends they are “building their house,” but not exactly–they, of course, leave the real building to professionals. Yet, when the house is complete, they will say, “We built this house” and show off every part of it with pride.

The reason most would-be authors do not automatically hire ghostwriters is that would-be authors drastically underestimate the difficulty of writing a book. Everyone has written an essay for school, an email or text to a friend, or maybe even an article in the paper.  In fact, many people write every day. The thought of conveying an idea you have or of telling your story seems natural, easy, and automatic; so the thought of writing a book seems… natural… easy… automatic. It isn’t. It is work. Hard work. Conceiving an idea for a book is like conceiving your dream home. It is one thing to know you want a second story; it is another to understand how to build one.

It is fitting that, in the movie business, the screenwriter is called the architect of the film. The screenplay is the plan that the director, actors, producers, make-up artists, wardrobe people, cameramen, lighting, and a thousand others use to decide what needs to be in each scene.  If the screenplay lacks some element, it might be repaired by the director during the shoot or an actor during a take. In a book, there are no actors or brilliant directors to clean up mistakes. What an author puts in his or her book is there for the world to see and forever reflects on that author. You may not have to live inside your book, but you will have to live with it. It makes sense to ensure your book tells your story in the best way possible. For many would-be authors and publishers, that means hiring a professional ghostwriter to organize the information, build the structure, and lay out the narrative that will tell the story you want to tell in a way that entertains, educates, impresses and satisfies your reader.

If you are not a professional writer with years of training in the narrative craft, you may want to reconsider the idea of tackling a book by yourself. Ghostwriters exist, and are well-paid, for good reason.

Hiring a ghostwriter also helps when it comes to getting a book published. Getting a book published is a difficult task. Knowing someone who has experience publishing is a plus.  Professional ghostwriters have had their own books published and should have contacts in the publishing business that can help you.  Whether the ghostwriter is able to put you in contact with an agent, producer, book designer, PR firm, or publisher, any help gets you far beyond striking out on your own.

Hiring a ghostwriter to write your story is no more cheating than hiring a contractor to build your house.    The ghostwriter will work closely with you to make sure he is writing the story you want to tell. The ghostwriter will tap into years of experience and training to write your story with the professional quality, style, and format required by publishers and readers.

So, why should you hire a professional ghostwriter for your book?  For the same reasons, you would hire a professional builder for your house. For more information, to hire Your Ghostwriter Online, or to discuss your book in detail, contact me by clicking here.  If you want to get clearer on your book idea you can also request a book consultation with me. Book consultations are free and cover up to a half-hour-long phone evaluation in which you and I will discuss: your book idea, your story, your best options for completing your project, my opinion of the market for your story, and any other writing and publishing questions you may have. I hope to hear from you soon.

Comments are closed.