A major part of hiring a ghostwriter is the contract or letter of
intent. The goal of this document is to put in writing your mutual
understanding of the project. The contract should create as much clarity
around how your book will get written as possible.
On the other hand, ghostwriting projects often change as the writing
develop. For example, it's not unusual for the writing to take longer
than initially expected. Writing a book takes enough time that life may
intervene to cause changes. So your ghostwriting contract also needs a
way to amend it.
Here are the items I consider key for any ghostwriting contract:
The nature of the book - fiction, academic, non-fiction, etc.
The ownership of the copyrights - usually the author of the book
unless the ghostwriter agrees to take a percentage.
How authorship will be shown on the manuscript and published
book.
A statement about the confidentiality of the information the
author provides to the writer.
Indemnification for the writer for information provided by the
author.
The total price of the project.
The way the price will be paid... weekly, monthly, etc.
A tentative delivery schedule for the writer.
The author's obligation to turn things around in a reasonable
fashion.
How changes in the agreement can be made.
How either party can get out of the contract if a wheel comes
off the whole project.
My own experience indicates that if all this is covered clearly,
things usually run well. I've not had the need for a lawyer and neither
have my clients; our thinking tends to be we're creating a relationship
of trust.
Here's a
sample contract that's based on the letter of agreements I
use.
