A ghostwriter is someone who writes another person's book, speech, or article. The ghostwriter does the writing, and the other person (known as the author) provides the ideas or story. Usually, a person who wants to write a book, but doesn’t have the time or writing skills to do so, will contract with a ghostwriter.

The author usually gets the primary credit for writing the book with the writer getting secondary credit—typically a byline will read something like: “By John Smith with Jane Doe.”

Publishing Options

Arrangements between authors and ghostwriters vary depending on the type of publishing option the author would like to pursue. There are two typical publishing options: traditional publishing and self-publishing.

Traditional Publishing

Traditional publishing, also known as royalty publishing, is the route most of us are familiar with. Royalty publishers include such well-known organizations as Random House and Simon and Schuster. Many first-time authors are surprised by the low odds associated with getting a book published through a traditional publisher and by the low royalties that they pay. However, traditional publishers have the access to get a book into the bookstores, so if an author succeeds in selling a book to a traditional publisher, the publisher can potentially sell a large numbers of books.

Self-Publishing

The new and growing route for aspiring authors is self-publishing. To self-publish a book, the author takes responsibility for fronting the money to physically produce the book and is largely responsible for selling the book (through public speaking, for example). But if an author can afford the upfront costs and has access to sales channels, the potential earnings from a self-published book can be greater than going the traditional route.