Ghost writing transforms your ideas or initial efforts to produce a manuscript, into a full length piece, which is well written and ready for marketing.
Here are some tips that will make your experience with a ghost writing service productive and pleasant.
If there is one consistent problem with ghost writing it is that the manuscript typically takes on the tone and philosophy of the person doing the writing.
It is important, therefore, to lay out those things up front.
Is it to be upbeat, serious, dark, humorous, fanciful? Is it to project a positive or negative philosophy? Is it to promote some general or specific philosophic or religious point of view or is it to be a piece that contrasts several? Is it to answer questions or raise questions? Once the ghost writing service understands these things they can work to make it 'feel' like your piece.
In order to make the characters yours, you will need to let the ghost writing service know how they are to appear.
Provide at least one central personality trait or motivation for each one.
Give a physical description.
Go beyond pretty, plain, beautiful, and the like.
Add age, hair and eye color, complexion, and build at the minimum.
If a character is to dress in a certain fashion tell the ghost writing person at the outset - never later on.
There may be a setting in which you want the story to unfold - urban, rural, north, south, east, west, near a creek or lake or ocean, on the plains, in the desert, perhaps in France or Brazil, and so on.
Where do you want it to be set in the flow of history - the present, the roaring 20s, the future.
Give your ghost writing person that kind of detailed information.
Once the ghost writing folks understand exactly what you envision for all these basic aspects of the story, they can either agree to do the ghost writing and get started, or tell you is is not the kind of piece they are interested in developing.
It may go without saying but make certain you have a solid agreement as to the fee or at least the fee structure (so much a page, per hour, etc.
).
You can always set a maximum limit.
Emails are about as good as a contract if they are clear and to the point.
Typically half the projected fee will be due before the project is begun and the remainder before the manuscript is delivered to you.
Never expect to see the work prior to paying for it.
The major step that will make this proceed smoothly and build a pleasant relationship is to always make certain your writer has all the information before he begins ghost writing your manuscript.
Changing course in mid-stream (if the writer will even consider doing it) will be costly and difficult.
Most ghostwriters consider their services complete once they deliver the manuscript to you.
Any changes after that are usually on your shoulders.
Take care of these essentials up front and you should have a good experience.