EBOOK CREATION FOR ILLITERATE BLOG POST 3

 Some tips on posting your

ghostwriter wanted ad

Back to the database sites, posting an ad is simple once you have your topic or title selected. You want to include some particulars, but not all of them at this stage. (Once you negotiate terms with a writer, then you will of course put every item that you require into a contract.) 

Your ad should include the following items: 

Short description of the project. A few lines at most.  

Maximum amount you are willing to pay. Writers can bid lower than this, but they cannot bid above your maximum offering for your project. 

Date you will close bidding on your project. Close bidding in a few days or a few weeks. Don't leave your ad lingering on the site too much longer than that, because it loses momentum. Besides, if you are not getting responses you like, you can always place another.  

Deadline the ghostwriter will have to meet. Give the writer a month or six weeks if you can. But, if you really need an ebook in seven days or less, then specify that. 

If, for example, you'd like to have an ebook written on the subject of how to homeschool your gifted child, here is some text you might include in your ad.

An 80-page or longer ebook covering successful homeschooling techniques to use specifically with gifted children. Research to be done by the writer. Two revisions if necessary.

Maximum acceptable bid: $1200. 

Close bidding date: 12/05/05. 

Will need completed book within 21 days of job start.

Tip: A good length for a for-sale ebook is 80 pages. Other common lengths are 40, 60, or 100 pages. To specify that you'd like an 80-page ebook, require at least 80 pages, or 80 pages + in your post. A free-give-away ebook used to market other products or services may be any length. 

You can specify any other parts of the book you like, but keep your list of requirements relatively short. For example, you may specify that you need a glossary chapter or that you will need drawings and/or photographs included. For an ebook on how to tie your own flies, you may ask that the ghostwriter provide drawings, or you may provide the drawings yourself. The former is easier for you, but will probably drive the cost and delivery time up somewhat. 

When you come to an agreement with a writer, you will naturally provide all the other details he or she will need to complete the book. He may need to know what font you would like or what personal details you want included. 

It is a good bargain to pay around $1,000 to get an 80-page ebook ghostwritten without drawings, photographs, or cover art included. It is possible to get good ghostwriters sometimes for a tad less. If you offer to pay a maximum of $150 for an 80-page book, you will not likely get a ghostwriter who knows what he is doing. You can advertise a maximum of $1,000 for a 60-page ebook, and you will get some legitimate offers in the range of $500 to $1,000. Although you don't want to pay a huge amount more than necessary, I do recommend that you offer and pay an adequate amount to get a good ghostwriter. It's worth it. 

My rule is for a simple ebook, I will pay up to $1500. I add more if drawings or photographs are required or if length is greater than 80 pages. My math indicates that I will need to sell roughly 100 ebooks to recoup that money. No problem, since I'm working the marketing and sales end instead of writing the book. And my sales are much higher, generally.

Tell viewers what kind of qualifications you are looking for. Either make the selection on the screen by clicking on the categories provided by the service, or indicate clearly in the text of the ad what type of person you're looking for. 

You will also want to indicate that you may require that the ghostwriter make revisions after you review the ebook. Note this in your ad as well. It is okay to indicate that you would like two sets of possible revisions to be included in the bid. When you negotiate the final terms with the writer, you can specify what types of revisions are included and the timeframes for them to be done. 

One thing you do not want to do is to change your mind on what you want after you have already posted your ad. Although posting is free on the ad sites, if you make changes or otherwise renegotiate on terms already established, word will get out. Besides it's just not a good idea. It wastes your time. 

A great way to make sure you've included all necessary details, but have not gone overboard with too much detail in the initial stages, is by browsing other ghostwriter-wanted ads Elance or Guru. In ten minutes, you'll be able to jot down your ad by using one of them as a template.

Posting projects (or, running your ad to find a ghostwriter) requires a little bit of reading time on your end. But once you learn how to post ads the first time, you can repeat the process over and over again with little effort whatsoever. 

Do it your way with ghostwriters

Don't be fooled into thinking that you can have it your way with any other route. To get exactly what you want without writing it yourself, hire a competent ghostwriter. There is another way to sell or give away an ebook without having to write it. I'll tell you about it and then tell you why I don't much care for it. 

Ebooks that have already been written are available for purchase. The process is often called "ebook reselling." You can actually buy, and pretty cheaply I might add - sometimes for less than a hundred bucks, a pre-written ebook. With the price, you obtain the license to resell. Then you can sell that ebook as many times as you like for any price you like. 

A couple of Internet sites that do this are listed in the last chapter of this book in case you want to see how this is done for your own edification - but I actually do not recommend going this route. 

I don't recommend ebook resales for several reasons. First, you don't get to create your own personal and unique book. Others will also have resale rights. The very customers you are trying to sell to may be also receiving marketing materials from someone else for the exact same book!

Second, many of these resale ebooks contain marketing information or links to other services which serve the purposes of the original writer and not you or your targeted readership. This is one of the ways that an originator gets by with selling the ebooks so cheaply for resale. He heads straight to the bank whenever a reader that you sold the book to buys one of his offered services or other ebooks. 

Third, ebook resale services are heavy-handed with advertising. You can't even pay a visit to one of their web sites without getting bombarded with popups. Nobody likes over-the-top selling or advertising. In fact, no one likes sneaky, subtle advertising either. If your readers go back to the originating web site, which will most definitely be listed in the ebook, then they'll be bombarded too. With your own ghostwritten ebook, if you utilize advertising of your own services boldly or subtly, at least the advertising you're exposing to the readers is for products or services that you will receive compensation for. And then maybe you could resell your book...just something to think about. 

Ghostwriting gives you a one-of-a-kind product. In the end, although someone else wrote it, you dreamed it up, and you own it outright. Ghostwritten ebooks, compared to resales, offer maximum flexibility for you to market, revise, advertise, and more. You can actually legally pursue anyone that tries to copy the written work or resell your ebook without your permission. You're protected by the copyright law. Pay the money to get a unique book created that you have control over. Pay extra to get an excellent ghostwriter if you need to (what I mean is don't always take the lowest bid necessarily). Then you will be proud to sell your well-written, distinctively-your-own, ebook. 

Chapter 3

--How to choose the best writer for your project--

Good news! After you place your first ad, within days if not minutes, you will likely have multiple freelancers who have responded wanting to ghostwrite your ebook. If you contacted any ghostwriting services outside the freelance banks, then you'll probably also get immediate responses and interest in your project. At that point, you will have the wonderful problem of having to choose which writer you'll use. 

Why not just take the lowest bid? 

You might be tempted to take the lowest bid, but if you are willing to invest only a few extra minutes, you could save yourself from heartache that might follow if all you are looking at is price. You need to find someone who will do a good job, deliver a timely result, and who is at least somewhat pleasant to work with. 

First, read all details that each bidder has posted in response to your ad. Look for writers who have verified credentials and who have had positive client reviews at Elance or Guru. Verified credentials are those for which the site received confirmation in official form, such as a transcript or diploma. 

Review customer ratings that have been posted on Elance or Guru. This type of feedback will not be available from individual ghostwriting sites, but is readily available on the database sites. Not all clients post feedback after a project because they get in a hurry or forget. But many do. And you can usually put some stake in the ratings because the clients were once in your shoes placing an ad for a similar service in the databank. Therefore the databank clients' feedback ratings and comments are not irrelevant. Clients' comments help you see if they were satisfied with the working relationship and also with the quality of the finished product. 

For ghostwriting services obtained through Elance, Guru, or an individual ghostwriter site, check out the writer's references. Don't just look at a list of names and assume that the longer the list, the better the references. Get contact information, and follow up. Contact the references; that's what they're there for. Reference lists and testimonials are only as good as the phone numbers that come with them so that you can confirm that someone was satisfied with the work. 

It is the nature of ghostwriting that the ghostwriter is not at liberty to divulge or show you his work for others. But if you could speak to only one of his or her clients or collaborators, then at least that is something. Be hesitant to award your first project to a writer who will not provide at least one reference of some kind!

Where ratings and references will tell you how easy or difficult a writer may be to work with, writing samples will give you a more explicit idea of how well a writer actually writes. Although ghostwriters are not at liberty to post or publish work they did for others for a flat fee, they may be able to show you something they wrote for their own benefit or something that they published under their own name. In occasional cases, ghostwriters are given credit in the books (or ebooks) that they wrote. Those books would be good writing samples to look at. Require at least one or two writing samples at a minimum. An experienced ghostwriter should have a lengthy portfolio, but even a lesser experienced ghostwriter should be able to show you something they've written. Even a letter to the editor of a newspaper or an essay on their personal web site is better than nothing. You can tell a lot about writers from their samples. You can usually tell if they speak conversationally, if they have a comfortable command of the language you're looking for, and if they pay attention to detail (with no errors spelling or punctuation). 

In addition to ratings, references and writing samples, you may want to also ask that your ghostwriter be fluent or proficient in a particular language. You may even request a native speaker if you like. Do ask, because when you are evaluating bulleted online information like job bids, you cannot always tell who speaks what language fluently. Short bids with line items that are purely factual are easily done by native or non-native speakers. The nature of the online bidding is that short and sweet is better than long and beautifully written. So don't base much on the bid. Read the ratings, contact a reference, review a writing sample, and request a native speaker. He who speaks a language well and fluently is more likely to write it well and fluently. That's what you want for your ebook. 

Although terse ad responses are common, if you do see any glaring errors in the response to your ad, like a misspelled word or confusing explanations, proceed with caution in the direction of that writer. Give a responder some leeway in abbreviating or being direct. Beyond that, glaring errors in can be an indicator that the responder may not be the best one for your project. Remember, if you wanted to slap a book together throwing grammatical caution to the wind, you could write that yourself. You are looking for a skilled writer who pays attention to details. 

Again, beware of responders offering to write you a 100-page ebook in a matter of days. If you want any kind of in-depth coverage or research, this isn't possible, even for a talented and experienced ghostwriter. These people are trying to steal your business away from bona fide writing professionals. Skim past outrageous ads; don't waste your time there.

It's not to say that an amateur wouldn't do a good job, it's just that with experience comes better writing that is faster and more accurate. Even the best ghostwriter cannot perform miracles. He or she will need time to read, study, interview, organize, draft, and revise before getting it to you. 

Regarding amateurs, if you think that someone with little or no ebook writing experience would be a good fit for your ebook anyway, then you may be right. Everyone, even a ghostwriter, has to start somewhere. Although he may not have many client ratings on the site, he should be able to get you a resume, some writing samples, and some general business references. If a new ghostwriter is serious, he will have prepared these items. You don't go to a job interview without a resume in hand, do you? Well ghostwriters that are ambitious and have talent, likewise will be able to show it. Review the resume and writing samples, and contact the references, Then, who knows, you may find that you and he are a great fit. You may strike gold where other potential clients have walked on by. 

As I mentioned, be extremely wary of outrageous claims. If a writer can't provide you with any verification that he has indeed written over 200 ebooks and made his clients over ten million dollars, then there is no reason to believe it. Nor is it generally possible to get any kind of quality book written in a matter of days. If you get tempted to use one of these mavericks, check their feedback from other clients. You may get the real picture there. If it seems too good to be possibly true, it is. Use common sense. 

More on client rankings

On Elance and Guru, when you open your ad, you will see a list of the bidders who responded, how much they propose to charge, and some links to check out their qualifications. One of the links will take you to a responder's profile page. Go there and read all the entries carefully. You can glean what others in the system think about the writer's work - both the work product and how easy he or she was to work with. 

As you're reviewing, keep in mind that just as some responders can be outrageous, so can some advertisers. It is possible that Client A advertised that he wanted a particular ebook written. Writer B responded; they worked out mutually acceptable terms. Writer B, an experienced ghostwriter, went straight to work, and produced a product that was exactly as required by the ad, the agreement, and his general good judgment and experience. Yet, Client A was not satisfied. Client A decided mid- project that he wished he would have remembered his niece was a writer, and he thinks he should have hired someone in the family. Writer B knows nothing of this and continues to write per the agreement. Client A becomes grudging and difficult during the writing process. He is never quite satisfied with the ebook, although Writer B doesn't ever understand completely why. Eventually the ebook project is completed and payment is delivered, but Client A, still unhappy in his world, gives Writer B a low ranking and zero kudos even though Writer B did a fine job. 

This kind of stuff happens; so what you want to do is look at multiple rankings. One or two outliers can pretty well be ignored. In any case, a single low mark or a single high mark probably doesn't mean as much as overall in terms of how clients are appraising this person's work. Look for how most clients ranked this person. Also compare that against how many jobs the responder has actually done. Fifty fairly positive ratings would be a safer bet than a single stellar rating. 

Before you seal the deal

Once you go through the items above, you will have a good feel about who to select from the list for your project. You may have six really good contenders. In that case, take the one with the best writing samples. 

The benefits of searching the databanks are many. However, one drawback is that you cannot always make direct contact with prospective ghostwriters. Sometimes you can. But on individual ghostwriter sites, you will usually be able to get in touch with and talk to the actual ghostwriter. This is one more way to make sure that you feel 100 percent comfortable with your decision. 

So, where possible, contact the ghostwriter directly. Get to know him a little. Lots of things cannot be translated over the Internet, but you can figure out a lot in a quick phone call. You may ask questions such as, "Will you be writing yourself, or will you be giving this job to one of your employees?" You have the right to find out such things. 

One key that a ghostwriter is good is repeat business. Repeat business indicates that a client liked the ghostwriter's work because the client came back for more. On the database sites, you can see from the profile page if a client has posted more than one rating for more than one project on that particular ghostwriter. If there are multiple project entries from the same client, smile, and move that ghostwriter to the top of your list. 

I don't think this is as big of a deal, but it is something to look for: areas of expertise. If your book is on running a house on a tighter budget, and a ghostwriter with good credentials, references, samples, ratings, and some repeat business also has experience writing books about money - bingo. It just doesn't get any better than that. 

I've warned against believing outrageous claims to write your book for next to nothing in less time than it takes to get a suit dry cleaned. Now I'd like to mention the writers on the other end of the spectrum. There are some writers who just plain charge beyond the top end for their services. Some are out to take your money, hoping you'll stumble on their web site, and be dumb enough not to check out the going rate to get an ebook published on a databank site, and you'll pay their fee schedule, no matter that it's above industry standard. 

Now, some men and women who charge an arm and a leg are actually extremely gifted and highly-sought-after artists. You may be tempted to get one of them because they've done writing for a famous client list or they've been published in the New York Times. 

But don't. Don't hire the over-charger, and don't hire the Rolls Royce of ghostwriters. Neither one will get you what you need. With the over-charger, you'll be paying too much for a product. With the Rolls Royce writer, you will get better writing than you need for an ebook. Your target readers, in most cases, are hungry for information. They want a book that cuts through the bull, lays the dots out, and then connects them. They don't want a lot of three or four syllable words. They don't require or appreciate poetry or line after line of clever humor. There's just no need to have J. K. Rowlings write your book (and anonymously, imagine!).  

If for some reason after reading this book, you decide not to use a ghostwriter bank system to get competing bids, then I urge you to comparison shop. Get at least three bids if you're looking only at individual ghostwriting sites. 

Generally, if a ghostwriter wants $10,000 for a 60-page ebook, he's charging more than normal. I can't think of anything that would make this worth the money. If she claims to be able to complete your project in 48 hours or less, in my experience, the product will be sloppy at best.  

If a ghostwriter wants $5,000 for an 80-page ebook, she's charging on the high side, but you may want to see if the services are worth it. She may score an A-plus on every criterion mentioned in this chapter, and she may indeed be your niece! In that case, I wouldn't think of stopping you. Some writers offer a range of additional services, guarantees, rewrites, or even prepare cover art or sales web pages for you. Ghostwriters are an eclectic bunch. Some may even provide you with marketing leads. Still, I think $5,000 is on the high side, and I'd try to look for someone a couple thousand dollars cheaper, just because I can in the buyers market. (But don't tell my brother's daughter.) 

When you select a writer, you will need to strike up a written agreement. The large freelancing sites have contracts that you can use. The contracts will include payment for particular milestones, whether or not revisions will be included, deadlines, and confidentiality issues. Use the standard contracts as starting points. You may want to have an attorney check out the legalese, but from my experience the templates are good. Use them. From individual ghostwriting sites, you certainly want to carefully read, negotiate, and possibly have an attorney review your contracts and work agreements. 

Prepare for future projects

What makes a great ghostwriter? Here's what: a reasonable price, timely delivery, a good product, and something else. Yes, something else! The icing on the cake is a good, trust-based, long-term working relationship. If you develop a relationship with a good ghostwriter, you can bring him or her project after project, and accomplish all kinds of goals with his or her help. A good ghostwriter at your disposal is as good as gold. 

So lay the groundwork for finding and keeping a good ghostwriter associate. Pay reasonable rates. Don't belittle your writer, and don't expect them to stay awake at night without food or sleep to complete your projects. The ghostwriter is a freelancer, not your employee. As such, he is at liberty to work in the best way possible at his own discretion. If your ghostwriter is particularly good, tell others who might hire him. Bringing in business will always earn you high marks. Pay promptly when jobs are finished. Never withhold payment if the terms of the agreement have been met. Give your favorite ghostwriter interesting new subjects to write about. Tell him he did a good job! Give him partial credit if it will not adversely affect your ebook. Go back to the previous chapter of this ebook to review ways you can slip his or her name in without giving up the secret that your ebook was ghostwritten. 

Obviously I have a lot of respect for ghostwriters. Even though I'm not willing to pay what Britney Spears would for an autobiography, I am willing to pay on high end of the ebook pay scale. I like to write, don't get me wrong, it's just that ghostwriters can really write. They know things that I don't even want to know and see details that I don't want to be bothered with. In my experience, it's easy to find a ghostwriter and not quite as easy to find a really good one. 

Once I've found a good one or two, I do my best to keep them happy and keep them around. This saves me time, money, and frustration. Once you develop a small group of good ghostwriters for yourself, there's almost no end to the number of ebooks you can write in a year. 

Think long-term when you work with a ghostwriter. You can interview new ghostwriters for every project, which isn't difficult, just time-consuming. Or, you can develop a relationship with one or more excellent ghostwriters and save yourself from all that trouble. Treat your good ghostwriter with respect and courtesy, and your investment will come back to you many-fold!