Setting Rates for Your Ghostwriting Services

A few days ago, someone who is new to ghostwriting reached out to me seeking my advice on how to establish rates for their ghostwriting service. You know, the classic question: "How should I price my ghostwriting service? What rate should I go for?" I have been through the question quite a few times, and I remember asking the same thing when I first ventured into the world of ghostwriting.

When potential clients inquire about your ghostwriting rates, they are essentially seeking a number to figure out if they can afford your services. However, before you propose a rate, it is essential to consider several key factors inherent in ghostwriting.

First off, tackling a mammoth project like writing a 50,000 to 100,000-word book or an autobiography is no small feat. It takes several months of work to complete. Beyond the initial draft, there is going to be extensive collaboration with the author, involving rounds of feedback and numerous rewrites across various sections of the manuscript. Committing to such a ghostwriting project often means sacrificing other clients and dedicating exclusive time to deliver a quality book on schedule.

If it is an autobiography or a memoir, the preliminary step involves conducting hours of interviews with the client and recording those conversations. Then comes the transcription part – you might even bring in a couple of transcribers to help out. It will be extremely time-consuming for you to attempt to transcribe 15 – 20 hours of audio all by yourself. Of course, a chunk of your fee will go towards compensating these transcribers.

And, if it is a nonfiction book, don't expect the client to sit down for interviews where they will share their expert knowledge, with you only needing to transcribe and polish what they said. More likely, you will need to embark on extensive research to gather the right materials for the book. And believe me, this kind of research can be arduous and time-intensive. It’s a real grind. I have done this a few times and I can tell you all these for a fact. ?

Calculating Your Ghostwriting Rates

Most ghostwriters in Nigeria set their rates based on either word count or project scope. My personal preference is to provide project-based quotes.

For those who charge per word, the math is straightforward. For instance, a 50,000-word book at, let's say, N80 per word amounts to N4,000,000. But you are likely going to churn out slightly more or fewer words than initially specified by the client. This happens all the time. So, it is advisable to agree on a fixed word count while incorporating flexibility to slightly exceed or fall short of that figure in the ghostwriting contract/agreement. This same approach applies if you are tackling any other ghostwriting work, like a 1,000-word thought-leadership article or an 850-word piece.

Experienced ghostwriters often opt for a per-project rate. This involves quoting your client a flat fee for the entire project – be it a book or any other ghostwriting engagement. Factor in your word rate and include costs for everything else, like the hours you will spend interviewing the client and the cost of transcribing the audio recordings. Crunch those behind-the-scenes numbers and present your client with a single sum

Another approach to determining a flat fee is to estimate how long the whole project will take. Particularly, this applies to bigger projects like books and autobiographies. Once you establish the time required to complete the project, approximate what your monthly earnings should be, based on your level of expertise and experience. Multiply this figure by the number of months it will take to write the draft, get feedback, make revisions, proofread, edit, and finalize the manuscript. Then add all other costs and present a flat figure to your client.

When presenting the client with a total project fee, you don't have to break down every little detail or explain how you arrived at the amount. They do not need the full thought process behind it. Also, it is unnecessary to disclose your salary considerations. And if they start negotiating, briefly outline the extensive work involved in the ghostwriting process – particularly, ghostwriting a book or an autobiography, but then quickly redirect the conversation to the value the final product will bring to them.

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