Okay, I’ll come right out and say it: there are plenty of ghostwriters who charge less than I do. (There are some who charge more, too, but I’m talking about my market.) You can see them on Elance, when they bid low on a job. You wonder, how can they afford to work for such low rates? Aren’t they starving to death?
For ghostwriting, my rates start at ten cents per word plus Elance or PayPal fees. This works out to roughly $5,000 for a typical 45,000-word self-help book. I’ve seen bids on Elance for as low as $300 for a 45,000-word book. How is this possible? How can any human being survive on $300 for a month’s work? Generally there are four types of low bidders:
1. The bidder is from a developing nation and can barely write in English.
2. The bidder is a retired or part-time person who writes as a hobby.
3. The bidder is just starting out and is willing to work for peanuts to build up their resume.
4. The bidder will deliver cut-and-paste garbage downloaded from the Internet.
The problem for a client who chooses a cut-rate ghostwriter is that the delivered product will be not ready to publish. It will be like a house that hasn’t got wiring or plumbing. The cut-rate ghostwriter may even say, “My services do not include editing or proofreading.” The hapless client is then forced to hire an editor to upgrade the manuscript. The problem? Re-writing a bad book is more costly than if the book had been properly written in the first place! Installing wiring and plumbing in a house costs much more if you have to do it retroactively.
When all is said and done, to make the 45,000-word book ready to publish, the client will have spent $5,000 and endured countless headaches to make it publishable.
When you go with a professional ghostwriter or book editor, you save yourself the stress of dealing with a second-rate provider, and the process becomes pleasant and enjoyable. And you have confidence, which is what you need when you launch your book into today’s highly competitive marketplace.
– Ghostwriter and book editor Thomas Hauck can help you reach your literary goals. Questions? Contact Thomas for your free consultation.