It is common knowledge that the majority of the top professionals, in most industries (if not all), have people or teams for content creation.

From the passionate public speeches given by politicians to the thought-provoking presentation delivered by business leaders, the majority of the content top professionals use in their work is written by other people for them. People who no one knows. And to all of us, it makes perfect sense.

However, the topic of eBook ghostwriting always creates a debate, with a significantly large number of people disapproving it as illegal or unethical while others consider it as dishonesty. Why? Aren’t the two practices essentially the same; someone else creating content for you? Why do we look down upon people who hire professional ghostwriters for their books and are perfectly okay with the world leaders and the owners of larger enterprises hiring ghostwriters for their speeches and presentations?

9 Reasons Why Hiring an eBook Writer Is Not Wrong

Let’s clear up some misconceptions associated with eBook ghostwriting and discuss why it is perfectly ethical to hire an eBook writer:

1. It’s Just like Working with Any Other Professional

Who do you go to when you have a health problem? A doctor!

Who do you take your car to when it needs some repairing or an upgrade? A professional auto mechanic!

Why?

Because they’re professionals and experts of their field and you lack those skills!

It’s practically impossible for anyone to do everything on their own. We all take help in a variety of tasks, sometimes from our friends and family while at other times from professionals.

Working with a professional ghostwriter is the same as working with any other professional.

Writing is also a skill and not everyone has it. Just because someone is a world leader or the CEO of a company doesn’t necessarily mean they have good writing skills. But, they can have plenty of good ideas and knowledge. Not having good writing skills shouldn’t be the reason for them to not share their knowledge, experience, and wisdom with the world.

The same goes for everyone who may have some incredible ideas, but lack writing skills. Professional ghostwriters are there to turn your ideas or stories into compelling books. Ghostwriters also help people who do not have time to pen down their ideas, knowledge or experiences share them with the world.

Had eBook writers not been there, the world wouldn’t have gained a deeper insight into the lives of some of the greatest leaders and inspirational people, like Malcolm X, Malala Yousafzai, and Michelle Obama (yes! she is also believed to have taken help from a ghostwriter).

2. Ghostwriting Is a Business Transaction

Ghostwriting is just like any other business transaction. There is a service provider selling their product, which in this case is the writing skills, and there is a person in need of that product. Both strike a deal as a result of which the product is given to the buyer in exchange for money.

Professional eBook writers offer writing services, which are bought by people who either lack writing skills or do not have the time it takes to write an eBook.

3. It Involves Mutual Agreement

You may have heard of cases where ghostwriters claim that they were not given the due credit for their work, such as in the case of Hillary Clinton’s book It Takes a Village. However, it doesn’t happen too often because the work is carried out with mutual consensus. Before the commencement of a ghostwriting project, an agreement is signed between the involved parties, highlighting the terms of the contract. The agreement is concluded with mutual consent. And most often than not, they comply with them. It seldom happens that a ghostwriter breaks the agreement and claims rights for their work if giving credits wasn’t a part of the agreement or vice versa.

4. Professional Ghostwriters are Paid for their Job

According to news, Barbara Feinman, the ghostwriter who helped Hillary Clinton in writing It Takes a Village, was paid $120,000 for her contributions.

All ghostwriters do get paid for their work; no one does it for free.

The amount an eBook writer is paid depends upon a range of factors, such as their expertise and experience, reliability, reputation, and how well the eBook is predicted to perform. For example, a ghostwriter will charge a lot more for a book that’s going to be published under the name of a renowned person, as in the case of Hillary Clinton’s book ($120,000 is a pretty handsome amount for seven months’ work). The reason being the high likelihood of the book to receive a good response and generate a good number of sales. 650,000 copies of Clinton’s book were sold within just four years of publication.

The ghostwriting industry works just like other professional industries. The better and more experienced a ghostwriter is at their work, the higher their charges would be. However, in any case, they are paid for their work. The amount, just like all other terms of a contract, is negotiated and settled before the project starts.

5. It’s a Collaborative Work

Contrary to how it is generally perceived, ghostwriting an eBook isn’t a one-sided project. In the majority of the cases, the person who’s getting the book written remains involved in the project, throughout. It also often happens that the core concepts and ideas for the eBook also come from the client and the ghostwriter only pens them down in a professional manner, ensuring the content meets the demands of the industry and is also appealing and engaging for the audience.

Even if the clients do not provide ideas on the contents of the eBook, they do regularly review and give feedback on the ghostwriter’s work. This makes it a collaborative project.

6. Ghostwriting Can Help Writers Recognize Their Worth

You don’t have to be a big name to have incredible writing skills, but most often, you have to be an established name in the industry to make your work a huge hit. Even though there are examples of writers who get popular with their very first book, it doesn’t always happen. Not everyone can be Rowling, Tolkien, or Meyer.

Whose work has a greater chance of appearing in the Forbes list of must-read books – a newbie’s or that of a well-known industry expert or leader? Similarly, whose book is more likely to be a best-seller – one who’s known for expertise and contributions or the person who no one knows?

Working as a ghostwriter for people who’re already recognized as industry experts can help those with writing skills feel their worth. Seeing their work being recognized on any platform helps ghostwriters realize the true worth of their skill. It also gives them the reassurance that they’re doing their job right. It may also give them the encouragement to (attempt to) write something for themselves too.

7. It Also Gives Them the Opportunity for More Work

Just like in every other industry, many clients prefer to hire experienced professional ghostwriters for eBooks, or any type of content for that matter. This means, when you hire an eBook writer, you’re helping a person build their professional portfolio, which can help them attract more clients in the future. So, you’re, in a way, helping to open up more work opportunities for someone by hiring them to write for you. This is more likely to happen if you’re an industry expert, a leader, or famous for any other reason.

8. Hiring an eBook Writer Isn’t Exploitation

Many people perceive the practice of hiring an eBook ghostwriter as the exploitation of someone’s craft. But, it is not exploitation. People who do offer writing services do so with their consent; they’re not forced by anyone for it. They sell their craft and get paid for it.

As far as giving credits is concerned, which is one of the biggest criticism of ghostwriting, it is important to understand that it isn’t always necessary. It depends on the terms of the contract.

Whether the eBook writer will be given credit for their work or not is always determined before the deal is finalized between the client and the ghostwriter. And, as discussed earlier, it seldom happens that any of them doesn’t abide by the contract. Even in cases where one party does violate the terms of the contract, the other party reserves the right to take legal action against them.

In contracts where the eBook writer agrees to transfer all the rights to the client after the completion of the project, the client has the liberty to use it however they want. Just like shopkeepers do not have the right to dictate, ask any question or hold consumers accountable for how they use their products once they’re sold, professional ghostwriters who have agreed to rights transfer lose all their rights on the content once the project is completed.

9. Ghostwriting Industry Has Created New Work Opportunities

Although ghostwriting isn’t a new concept, it has gained widespread popularity in the last couple of decades, with the rise and growth of the digital industry. And regardless of how some people may have attributed negative connotations to it, the rise of ghostwriting as an industry has created new work opportunities.

People with good writing skills now have far more opportunities to make money by selling their craft than they ever had.

Hiring an eBook Writer Is Perfectly Ethical!

One of the reasons why many people perceive hiring a professional ghostwriter as an unethical practice is because they presume that ghostwriters expect the glory of public recognition. But, that’s not true!

As discussed earlier, ghostwriters aren’t forced into this work; they do it out of their own free will. They, just like other professionals, offer their services in return for money.

It is common for businesses to hire web developers and logo designers to help them create brand recognition and provide a good user experience. But, have you ever seen the name of the designer mentioned on a brand’s website or logo? When that’s not considered unethical, why is eBook writing, or any kind of ghostwriting for that matter, is considered an unethical practice. Both are inherently the same; you outsource a task to someone who’s better skilled at it than you and pay for them for their job.

Don’t let yourself fooled by some baseless presumptions and miss out on the opportunity to have an eBook written under your name just because you don’t have (good) writing skills or time. Hire a professional ghostwriter to do the job for you. Just make sure to discuss all the terms and conditions beforehand to avoid any confusion or misunderstandings later on.