How to Choose Your Ghostwriter

How to choose your ghostwriter can be challenging because ghostwriters can’t always disclose the books they have written. In the previous videos, we have covered what a ghostwriter does, where to find them, and what they cost.

In this video, Amazon best selling author Julie Broad, founder of the California based self publishing company Book Launchers, explains how she screens and chooses ghostwriters for her company.

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Video transcript:
- Hey, I'm Julie Broad of BookLaunchers.com.
We help people write, publish, and sell a great non-fiction book that will build your business, and while we have spectacular writing coaches to help you write, not everyone wants to write their book, which means ghostwriters can be a fantastic solution.

But, where do you find a great ghostwriter?
We talked about that right here.
Now, how do you know when you've found the right one?
This isn't as easy as you might think because most people who hire ghostwriters don't want you to know they didn't write their book, so this presents a pretty big challenge.

How do you evaluate a ghostwriter's work if they're not allowed to tell you the books they've written?

In many cases, the ghostwriter has signed an NDA, so they can't tell you they wrote that book or this book.

The more experienced ghostwriters will be able to point to a few projects they've worked on and they may be able to give you samples of their writing, but how do you know if they've captured
the author's voice if you don't actually get to know who the real author is?

There's a lot of ways to approach this, and I'd love to hear how you've done it or would do it, but here's how I hire ghostwriters.

Number one, I put something in the job ad that acts as a screener.

For example, I ask a weird question, like their favorite fruit, or I request that they do not send a resume, but rather send a short writing sample.

If they don't follow that instruction, I immediately eliminate them.
If they lack care and attention to detail at the start when they should be showing their best self, it's not a good sign for me and it's an immediate rejection.

Number two, initially, I wanna make sure that they've worked on similar projects.
Have they actually written several business books before?
Not just articles, but full books.

Have they done any of their own?
Ideally, I wanna check out their writing somewhere.
Assuming that the writing was decent and they had relevant experience, we'll move onto number three.

I send them a content editing test.
Actually, what I've been using is the first five pages of a client's manuscript.
I ask them to read it, provide five suggestions to make it more engaging and easier to read without impacting the author's voice.


Number four, assuming they've identified some things that were really important for improving that manuscript, or maybe even offering something that surprised me with their ideas that were valuable, I then set up a time to chat.

When we're talking, I'm really looking for personality fit, engagement, and dedication.
I'm not really looking for a writer that says they really would prefer to be doing fiction, but it doesn't pay, so I'm going to ask about their process, ask about their preferences.

If you like everything they're saying, ask to talk to their past clients.


Number five, if you like what they've had to say so far, ask to speak to their past clients.
References are important, but when you talk to the references, ask, "What was it like
"to work with them?
"What was challenging about working with them?
"What did you have to do to help them with the project?"
And then, even ask them, "What did you think
"the process was like?"



Now, before you hire them for the full project, you may wanna do a tester.
Maybe you have them write an article for you, see how it is to work with them, see if they can capture your voice before you hire them to write your full book.

Once you've hired them,
here's a few things you need to know.
The cheaper the price, the faster they're going to need to go to get to a first draft.
This isn't a bad thing, but know that they're making money on quantity, not quality.
You have to manage them, set deadlines, layout expectations and provide feedback.

They're working for you, so you have to be the boss and manage them.
You're getting a manuscript, not a book.
You still have to hire editors, layout designers, cover creators, and more.

Writers can't give you a guarantee because it sets themselves up for a world of pain
if they get a really picky client.