The Golden Pencil: The Freelance Writer’s Resource

Pricing Ghostwriting - Q&A

by Anne Wayman on June 13th, 2007

It’s interesting reading about your ghostwriting job. I was this close to getting ghostwriting jobs a couple of times, but I think I asked for too much. How would you price a ghostwriting job?

Jason
Hi Jason,

Ghostwriting prices are all over the map. Some people charge by the hour, some by the page and some, like me, use an hourly rate as a basis for a flat fee.

Your hourly rate should be high enough to cover your expenses, including benefits and profit, but low enough to reflect your experience.

Since you lost out on a couple of ghostwriting jobs, you might consider offering to write the next one for less… how much less? It’s always a juggling act, and you don’t want to go so low you resent doing the work.

The price also reflects how much research, how much time you’ll spend getting interviews with the client, etc. Although I started ghosting before ebooks – yes, I’m that old ;) – that’s probably where I would start today. Writing a 20-100 page ebook can be a good way to break into ghostwriting.

You might also want to come over to our forum and ask more specific questions there. You’ll find a couple of other ghosts who will be happy to answer some questions. (You’ll have to register, but it’s no big deal.)

Write well and often,

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POSTED IN: Business of Freelance Writing, Ghostwriting, Q and A about Freelance Writing