I was asked the following question from Fred:

I’m looking for a ghostwriter. I’ve been working on this book for five years, and I need somebody to help me to put it together and put it out there to the public. I’ve already approached the following person: [FRED WAS ABLE TO SHOW ME A BUSINESS CARD.] and he charges $20,000.00 to ghostwrite my story. I can’t afford that. Would you be interested in the job?

My response:

DON’T DO IT!! The business card you showed to me looked highly unprofessional and I could barely read it! If this guy is serious about drumming up business, he would at least have a professional-looking business card!

Also, you need to research this man! What clients has he booked in the past? Talk to his clients and get feedback about their experiences with this “ghostwriter”. Look at some of the projects he’s ghostwritten – are they quality products that prove this man’s talent? If you can’t find past clients, and he won’t provide them to you, then you need to be very leery about him. Also, if you’re his first client, then he doesn’t have the right to charge $20,000.00 for his services.

To answer the second part of your question, no, I’m not a ghostwriter, and it’s not a subject I know a great deal about. I’m busy with my own projects, plus I work full-time, which limits the time that I have to spend on writing.

Another thing I’d like to mention is, you said you wanted to get your book out to the public? I’m assuming you’re planning to self-publish? I’ve never self-published, so I’m not one to give advice about what you need to do. The little bit that I do know about it I’ve seen and heard on other blogs and at writers’ conferences. If you do pay somebody to ghostwrite (or edit) your novel for you, and you then decide to self-publish, you’ll need a plan on how to sell copies of your novels since distribution is usually limited with self-pubbed books.

If you decide to commercially publish, well, that’s a whole different subject. Just look up the submission guidelines for publishers that you feel may be interested in your work. Do your research to see which publishers have released books that remind you of your own work.

Hope my suggestions helped!

~Cecelia Dowdy~