People often ask me how much I with this little business of ghostwriting. Wrong question-I know! But, I think it needs to be answered in some way or the other, just to help the budding freelance writers to know what to expect and to create realistic goals while they are starting their careers as ghostwriters.This is also to help those who are thinking of hiring a ghostwriter for their next book.
Some people may actually be trying to judge how strong you are financially or rate your success in life by finding out how much you make on a monthly or annual basis by asking such questions. Who cares though? We really can't change the way people think. Can we? No! All we can do is stay calm and carry on.
To be completely honest with you, there is not an exact figure of how much I make in a year through my ghostwriting business at Ghostwriters' World. Why? Because it is just like any other business. There are ups and downs. Profits and even losses. Happy customers and dissatisfied customers. Like everyone else, my pay depends on what I do or write about, and this too varies depending on a wide variety of factors.
If I've not mentioned this before, I don't actually write for making money. I do it because I enjoy writing thoroughly. I love the way words take the shape of your imagination. There was of course more money to be made in the field of engineering (I've actually got a degree in engineering) than in writing! I could have chosen to do that, but didn't for several personal reasons.
That being said, I still try to motivate others to write by showing them there's some good money to be made out of this lucrative and always-in-demand business.
Now, talking of the factors upon which any ghostwriter's pay depends, let me talk about some here:
1) The ghostwriter's experience
2) Quality of work delivered
3) Quantity of work required by the client
4) The ghostwriter's rate. Some charge more than the others. Some charge on a hourly basis, others have a fixed price for the whole job.
Hiring a Ghostwriter and Their Rates
If you are not a ghostwriter but are thinking of hiring one who has his/her own website with the services advertised, is a published author and is spending hugely on advertising his services, you clearly are expected to pay them more, say about $15-50 per page or even more. If you're looking for having a book written by him or her, you may be looking for anywhere between $2.5k- 10k per book (or more, again depending on the type and amount of work the client needs and the ghostwriter's rate).
If, however, you get the same work done by a ghostwriter working on Guru, Odesk, PeopleperHour or similar freelancing platforms, you are likely to pay only a fraction (as low as 1/100) of the prices above. Freelancers, specially inexperienced or freshers will be willing to work for peanuts, just to build and establish a good reputation, but once they've got a few good feedbacks, they'll naturally charge more or won't be willing to work at the rates they offered before. They may charge you anywhere between $.5- $1 per page and as low as $250- $1k per book!!!
So before you decide to get your work done by a well-established ghostwriter, do a bit of research, go around and get a few quotes and feel free to ask for sample work if you're unsure. Make a wise decision, and you might get the same quality of work that you're looking for, and that too, without having to cost you a fortune!
Some people may actually be trying to judge how strong you are financially or rate your success in life by finding out how much you make on a monthly or annual basis by asking such questions. Who cares though? We really can't change the way people think. Can we? No! All we can do is stay calm and carry on.
To be completely honest with you, there is not an exact figure of how much I make in a year through my ghostwriting business at Ghostwriters' World. Why? Because it is just like any other business. There are ups and downs. Profits and even losses. Happy customers and dissatisfied customers. Like everyone else, my pay depends on what I do or write about, and this too varies depending on a wide variety of factors.
If I've not mentioned this before, I don't actually write for making money. I do it because I enjoy writing thoroughly. I love the way words take the shape of your imagination. There was of course more money to be made in the field of engineering (I've actually got a degree in engineering) than in writing! I could have chosen to do that, but didn't for several personal reasons.
That being said, I still try to motivate others to write by showing them there's some good money to be made out of this lucrative and always-in-demand business.
Now, talking of the factors upon which any ghostwriter's pay depends, let me talk about some here:
1) The ghostwriter's experience
2) Quality of work delivered
3) Quantity of work required by the client
4) The ghostwriter's rate. Some charge more than the others. Some charge on a hourly basis, others have a fixed price for the whole job.
Hiring a Ghostwriter and Their Rates
If you are not a ghostwriter but are thinking of hiring one who has his/her own website with the services advertised, is a published author and is spending hugely on advertising his services, you clearly are expected to pay them more, say about $15-50 per page or even more. If you're looking for having a book written by him or her, you may be looking for anywhere between $2.5k- 10k per book (or more, again depending on the type and amount of work the client needs and the ghostwriter's rate).
If, however, you get the same work done by a ghostwriter working on Guru, Odesk, PeopleperHour or similar freelancing platforms, you are likely to pay only a fraction (as low as 1/100) of the prices above. Freelancers, specially inexperienced or freshers will be willing to work for peanuts, just to build and establish a good reputation, but once they've got a few good feedbacks, they'll naturally charge more or won't be willing to work at the rates they offered before. They may charge you anywhere between $.5- $1 per page and as low as $250- $1k per book!!!
So before you decide to get your work done by a well-established ghostwriter, do a bit of research, go around and get a few quotes and feel free to ask for sample work if you're unsure. Make a wise decision, and you might get the same quality of work that you're looking for, and that too, without having to cost you a fortune!
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