Questions I Am Frequently Asked About Ghostwriting

Yes. According to the United States Copyright Office at the Library of Congress, every idea and written work is copyright protected from the moment of its inception. You do not need to register it while it is a work in progress. (You can verify this online in a matter of seconds at the Library of Congress website.) Ghostwriters, agents, and editors receive thousands of queries every year, and if you want your story to be considered, you must be willing to share the premise and/or sample chapters with those you are working with. You are automatically protected by law under working copyright status.

When the project is completed, you own complete rights to the work and assume all responsibility, legally and otherwise, for the manuscript. I also assure complete confidentiality. You legally own your work and ideas from start to finish. I do not work for royalties.

No, but I advise people at no charge on how to submit their work to the most appropriate agents or publishers, helping them compose a query letter or proposal package. I also show people how they can print their work via POD and publicize it at a fraction of the cost charged by ghostwriting companies. It's simply NOT necessary to hire a company to do what you yourself can do far less expensively. I'll be happy to share this knowledge with you at no charge. Please click Selecting a Ghostwriter to read more about ghostwriters and companies that claim to act as agents or promoters of your book.

An estimate, of course, varies from project to project. My goal with manuscripts in the range of 40-100K words is four to six months. (Middle readers usually are completed in two to three months.) It really depends on the scope and complexity of your individual project.

No one can give you that guarantee, unfortunately. You should regard companies that promise to get your books in print and on the bookshelves with a great deal of skepticism. I have had clients come to me to have their work properly edited or rewritten after larger companies have botched the job and failed in their promotional promises. I can guide you and point you in the right direction, but getting published takes a great deal of persistence.

There is a rise in the number of people using POD technology to circumvent the "establishment" and get their work into print. On the plus side, it is fairly inexpensive to have a book printed using Print-on-Demand technology. Although price depends on the number of copies printed, most companies produce a professional-looking product for just a few hundred dollars. Just remember that it is the author's responsibility to promote the book, so don't plan on buying that yacht quite yet. Selling a book takes commitment, but I can show you the same strategies that you'd pay thousands for with a large company. Still, it is now possible to "get the work out there," and anyone can now get his or her book on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites.

I need a brief summary of your project. Also, let me know whether it is fiction, nonfiction, or the fictionalization of a true story. It is also very important to let me know what materials you have, if any, that I would need to write your book. Remember that I need source materials to work from for nonfiction.

Yes. It is not a hobby or "moonlighting." This is how I make my living, and I do all the work myself. I do not farm work out to others. When you hire me, I'm the one you get!

I ask for your input and ideas and tell you up front if I think your ideas can be shaped into a novel or nonfiction work. Once I begin writing, I forward the work in four installments via e-mail attachment for your approval. The final work is provided via e-mail attachment, floppy disk, or CD. When we agree that the project is completed and your final check clears, my job is finished. You are responsible for any future revisions that an editor or agent might request. Tastes vary considerably among agents and editors, and it just isn't feasible for me to do rewrites based on what a dozen other people might think.