Fair’s Fair: Contract details designed for book deal equality

At Wambtac, we know that a thrilling milestone in any author’s life is creating a manuscript that’s ready for submission to literary agents or publishing house acquisition editors. Generating that readiness is, of course, any reliable ghostwriter’s goal too.

In this next of Wambtac’s advisory series, we offer perspectives on enhancing each side’s contractual savvy to obtain honorable responsibilities and benefits that lead to a win-win working relationship. As one of our Certified Ghostwriters, you’ve learned savvy contractual behaviors, but everyone needs solid business reminders.

“The author using a quality ghostwriter gains a professional guidance [that generates] a quality product [with] better marketability,” says Wambtac leader Claudia Suzanne. In return usually for a flat fee and total anonymity, she adds, that author “retains all rights, bylines and profits.”

Let’s start at the beginning

To begin the collaboration, the parties need to lay out the most immediate details: 

• The book’s subject, along with a working title
• Who has what responsibilities? — Ghostwriters are responsible for interviewing the author to obtain the info they need, creating an outline, writing the chapters, and any added options the author chooses. Depending on the contract, either the ghostwriter or author assumes responsibility for having the finished manuscript professionally edited and proofread. Authors are responsible for giving interviews, relaying honest information, and timely consideration of and response to any written content from their ghostwriter. 

After the manuscript is written, edited, and proofread, the author is responsible for marketing their book by assuming the marketing tasks or hiring another resource, such as an agent or PR firm.

• Timeline — On average, both parties should figure an average of six to eight months for a traditional book of about 85-150,000 words. Shorter eBooks (no more than 5,000 words) can take six to eight weeks, including design. 
• Cost of project — This is not simply defined but should be transparently stated in the contract. Wambtac’s Certified Ghostwriters are book-industry insiders with the knowledge and experience to make a book a marketable literary property. Book projects are negotiated individually but generally start at $35,000-45,000.

Authors with smaller budgets can get an Analysis & Recommendations report, coaching, mentoring, or editing to help them through the writing process. Some Certified Ghostwriters may lower their fee if they are listed as the ghostwriter, co-author or collaborator. Depending on contract specifics, these ghosts can receive royalties that anonymous ghosts never do.

• Payments — Each contract is unique, but Wambtac Ghostwriters have a transparent payment where the agreed-upon monthly fee is automatically charged to the client’s (author’s) credit card or other payment methods both sides accept, be it PayPal or newer options. 
• Rights — Authors own all rights and responsibilities to the work. Even if the book goes to film or enjoys international distribution, a Certified Ghostwriter has no claim to future profits.
• Confidentiality —This is key to ghostwriter contracts. To create a book that’s truly inspiring, helpful, or taps other emotions, a ghost’s aim is to acquire deeply personal or knowledgeable insights. Some authors won’t mind telling family and trusted colleagues about their high-quality experience with their ghostwriter; some will even brag about getting professional help. But many ghostwriters are sent contracts that demand an utter seal of silence. Wambtac Certified Ghostwriters’ first step upon meeting with any potential client is to give them a signed non-disclosure agreement.

Even greater legalese

The following clauses are the ones that some kind of legal expert needs to include or (even when they’re lifted off the ‘net) should review to ensure they meet personal needs:

• Indemnification— A contractual obligation by one party (indemnitor) to pay or compensate for the losses, damages, or liabilities incurred by another party to the contract (indemnitee) or by a third party.
• Governance—Both parties ensure they will fulfill their obligations with transparency and by obeying all the contract’s rules. This clause declares which rules and laws will govern the agreement if legal issues arise.
• Arbitration—Actual courtrooms (even before COVID) had very booked calendars. The arbitration process is designed to be faster and cleaner for both parties. Qualified arbitrators hear both sides, moderate conversations and negotiations, and determine the outcome of this private resolution. 1
• Termination—Ending the contract has to follow a clause that stipulates why, when, and how the contract can be ended without any legal backlash.
• Force Majeure—Literally, a “major force,” this clause defines circumstances beyond one or both parties’ control that forces the unforeseen, but understandable, end of the contract. This pandemic has obviously halted or at least rearranged timetables, payments, and other aspects of a contract. Wars, storms, deaths, illness—anything that either side could not avoid, means the project ends with no legal responsibilities to either party.

Fair and equitable contracts offer protection to both parties, create transparency, and allow the greatest ease with which to accomplish the book-writing project.

Since you are already a certified ghostwriter, don’t forget to contact Wambtac’s leaders and your colleagues on our certifiedghostwriters.com site anytime you’d like insights on contracts—and other—questions. 

 1 “What is Arbitration?” World Intellectual Property Organization website: https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/arbitration/what-is-arb.html 

Taking the leap to querying literary agents or publishing house acquisition editors is a milestone in any author’s life. But before hitting the send button, eliminate these common mistakes that could make an agent or editor—who get tons of stuff landing on their desks every day—toss the book instead of scooping it up over other submissions. 

1. Misfocused/lack of focus

Every book has a theme; each chapter must adhere to and support that theme, even if the chapter addresses a counter argument. Manuscripts that digress into associated but irrelevant content easily lose their focus.  

Deciding which BISAC category is a book’s primary one helps an author keep their message/theme strong and on target.  

But how does a writer decide which BISAC category their book fits into? The Book Industry Study Group lists every BISAC category along with its subcategories. Those groupings determine where sellers will position the book for greatest success. Most books fit into multiple categories: a self-help title that fits into a psychological category could also appeal to readers of health-and-fitness, body-mind-spirit, or even social science.

Though your book may have broad appeal, it has to have a clear and consistent focus. If it talks about improving your diet (a hugely sellable evergreen topic), digressing into the history of diets will, in many cases, dilute both the focus and impact. 

2. Missing attributions/plagiarism

It’s one thing to use quotes to enhance your points; it’s quite another to use someone else’s words but claim them as your own. 

Citing an expert can enrich your own message. But those experts must always be credited! Not only does plagiarism rob the original author’s authority and hard work, it’s a dreadful way for writers to present themselves as experts. A lot of money is made with plagiarism lawsuits.

3. Fictionalization of nonfiction content 

In nonfiction—including and especially in memoirs—when the author didn’t actually witness an event or go through an experience, it’s a major no-no to pretend they did. Making assumptions about another person’s thoughts and feelings, or to relaying actions the author couldn’t have done or seen because they weren’t there, can make an agent or editor distrust the manuscript’s other info. Nonfiction material must be represented either by the author’s lived experiences or their research. 

4. Excessive block quotes

Nonfiction writers are claiming to have expertise in their subject. But if an author uses long quotes from other writers to make a point, that tells literary agents or acquisition editors the author isn’t a credible expert.

A short quote to emphasize a point can be a powerful tool. But no matter how perfectly someone else said something, every author should be able to restate it in their own words, thereby demonstrating not only their own expertise but their voice.

Even an author who creates a book from their blog posts can fall into this mistake. Especially with highly successful blog posts, state the point in a fresh way—rather than simply regurgitating it—so it matches their book’s tone and has the smooth “Slinky-flow” dynamic Claudia Suzanne teaches.

5. Missing ultimate takeaway  

Having a takeaway is essential in today’s book industry. That takeaway is what the reader learns or understands; it comes from the book’s central thesis, each chapter’s thesis as it relates to the central one, and the final message. 

Despite lyrical prose or fascinating content, if the reader doesn’t have a clear understanding about the contents, there’s no takeaway. Takeaway issues frequently happen alongside poorly focused or misfocused material.

6. No meat – content too thin 

A short manuscript is usually either an incomplete one or doesn’t have enough info for a full-scale book. An agent or editor can spot this a mile away and may not even bother to read past page number one. 

Some authors are so fulfilled by just having their main thoughts on a page that they forget to expound and expand. Some just don’t want to. Either way, a book with thin content is better turned into an eBook, a long article, or a series of articles/blog posts that could promote the author as a thought leader. 

Having a completed manuscript is fulfilling and thrilling. But part of that thrill is in thinking it’s ready to match the book industry’s vast competition. Give your manuscript its best shot at acceptance and a hefty advance by eliminating these six common mistakes.

Ready to succeed with truly successful storytelling? Remember to check the blogs on our site. And yell when you need any consults to get a client on the right track.

Any time one’s out of work, stress, and sadness—even depression—can set in. And since COVID? This time has undoubtedly created extraordinary stressors, thanks to the unusual ” -some say once-in-a-century – “challenges. The Pew Research Center’s mid-March survey found nearly one-third of those suffering from psychological issues including depression and anxiety were those who’d already lost jobs or income. 1

Retail, for example, is mostly shut down; some stores have folded forever. What does that do to executives in the mid-to-upper ranks of retail who were thinking of starting their book, or were already in the first developmental stages? When they don’t have income, you don’t have book clients. 

Here comes Demon Depression

Losing income can initiate a downward spiral of lost confidence and depression. But experts agree there are different ways to define depression.

“Depression… is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think, and how you act.” 2

“I see depression as when you’re not functioning as well as you could be. You’re not hitting on all cylinders,” says Rick Hirsch, LSW, a long-established mental health professional in Pennsylvania. 

 California mental health pro Vicenza Baldino, LMFT, says these kinds of challenges have exploded since #BlackLivesMatter arose. “Some of my clients that are already depressed [have] gone into such a deep sense of despair. It’s as if they are in bereavement, as if they knew these people, because it’s affecting their community so greatly.” 

Facing tricky challenges

Outstanding challenges now face any small business. One May news feature noted, “…economists project that more than 100,000 small businesses have shut permanently since the pandemic escalated in March….” 3

That probably doesn’t include those of us who are truly small, i.e., “me, myself, and I” operations.  So, how do you proceed when you’re a ghostwriter and solopreneur?

Baldino says that even when you know, “I’m a really good ghostwriter,” it’s important to remember that disheartening news isn’t so unusual in this field. A client hates the first draft. Or you provided a potential client with a manuscript assessment, but then they say the heck with it. 

Normally, this would be a straight-forward process you could manage. But when times are tough and everything matters so much, it’s easy to lose self-confidence, to withdraw in fear of rejection.

“… Can your personality tolerate the [many] disappointments before the successes?” asks Baldino. She advises ghostwriters to ask themselves the same questions any other entrepreneur needs to ask. “What tools do [you] have to keep bouncing back? What keeps [you] believing in [yourself]?” 

“Why would they chat with me?”

It’s never too late to analyze your business challenges. Especially now, COVID’s impact is pushing us to re-examine, re-invent, and re-connect. An objective, experienced, opinion can significantly enhance your self-evaluation. 

“I would try to connect with someone that I’ve found inspiring,” says Hirsch. “Not just with possible work that they’ve done in the past, but… somebody that you can relate to and is generally a positive kind of person.”

So many fear their desired mentor will be dismissive, labeling their questions as “irrelevant,” “silly,” or some other demeaning adjective. “I haven’t met anyone yet who doesn’t enjoy having someone pick their brain and get that sense that someone looks up to them,” says Hirsch. (He laughs because his reputation of “knowing so much” is what brings new patients to his door.) “If someone feels that you’re sincerely interested in their work and what they do, they’ll talk your ear off,” he adds.

And he encourages an honest approach. “[The] key… is, you have to be sincere about it. And as long as someone…[conveys] the sense that they admire you (and people can pick up on that) they generally will spend time with you.”

Looking beyond the opinions of others

Baldino reminds folks that “success” isn’t always about how much everyone else approves (likes, applauds, enjoys) of what we do. 

“Somebody [can] invest in [a new skill, a new art form, a new exercise program], not for the outcome, but for the process,” says Baldino. “[Success can be] the journey of learning something then saying, “Hey, you know, I do have this skill. Maybe it’s ____.”  Then you fill in the blank: “My skill is marketable/ fulfilling/ desirable/ worth sharing/ unique… etc. 

Leaders’ insights can provide you with clearer understandings of your targeted accomplishments.  “It may mean taking a step backwards before you can build [forward] momentum,” Hirsch acknowledges. But it ultimately provides you with more easily achievable short-term objectives and foresight on long-term goals.

 Make sure you find relatively painless modifications you can make to build your ghostwriting business. That way, whatever challenges you face, you can pretty much maintain your forward momentum.

While you’re exploring new options or outlets, you can also be a leader by encouraging others to explore the ghostwriting skills you already learned! Send them to our Ghostwriter Training site (and our discount!).

And for more encouragement for your own biz, don’t forget to check our other blogs.

1 Pew Research, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/30/people-financially-affected-by-covid-19-outbreak-are-experiencing-more-psychological-distress-than-others/

2 https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression

3 “Small business used to define America’s economy. The pandemic could change that forever,” Heather Long, The Washington Post, May 12, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/12/small-business-used-define-americas-economy-pandemic-could-end-that-forever/ 

In non-fiction interviews, you should get solid input and real-life examples from the author you’re ghosting. But are you really, or are you just getting observations they’ve been trained to utter?

Upper echelon folks—CEOs, non-profit officers, hospital executives, and government leaders—are schooled for media interviews by their communication directors. Lesser-known folks may think they’re supplying tons of wisdom when, in fact, they’re simply regurgitating common utterances.

Here are five quick tips, whether you’re just getting started or are an experienced ghost who needs a reminder:

1. Research— Go through your author’s material to determine what statistics, timelines, and other details are readily available. Most of your information will come from the interview and follow-ups, but doing research beforehand will give you some direction when developing your questions.
2. The best interview option—Before the pandemic, sitting face-to-face helped a ghost expand on author insights. But now, you have to decide which telecommunication option(s) works best. Maybe your client isn’t comfortable with Zoom or other video options. Try FreeConferenceCall.com—it’s free, easy to use, and records clearly. After you’ve chatted this way a few times, maybe the client will feel comfy enough for video.
3. Ask about future meeting options—One of these days we’ll get out of the house, but may still have to maintain social distancing. Find out if your author would eventually like a face-to-face. And where? At a nice restaurant? Who else will be there? Because the recording device may be a little further away than in pre-Covid days, meeting in quiet a place (not cafes, for instance) would be better and more effective to get a clearer recording
4. Start slowly—Don’t pounce right in with probing questions to get ground-breaking insights. Start with ice-breaking niceties (How was your drive? Geez it’s hot! How’s your family doing these days?), then move to the basics: Where and when were you born? What drew you to XXX industry? Why have you worked in it for XXX years? (Or how did you segue from XXX to YYY biz and what insights did you bring when you moved?) 
5. Now, be brave—The series of questions above help you start digging. WHY did they change industries? Maybe you find out that Daddy forced them into the first and it practically crippled them, so they found another way. Start pushing, but don’t bash people over the head with premature demands for intimacy or vulnerability.

Here’s a hot tip: if you’re writing a memoir but your author doesn’t go through deep emotions sometimes, you haven’t yet reached the core of their story. 

Good non-fiction interviewing is the ability to glean unusual blurts, tears, smiles, and other great emotional insights.

For a solid overview on a career in ghostwriting and to see if it’s right for you, sign on to the next Intro to Ghostwriting class that begins June 15^th via ghostwritertraining.com. 

Want folks you know to learn more about becoming a ghostwriter? Tell them the next Intro to Ghostwriting class that begins June 15^th via ghostwritertraining.com is an easy way to discover if ghostwriting is what they want to do.