Ghost writers floating through the books...
A ghost writer is someone who writes behind the scenes and isn't credited for the work. For example, if a business owner wanted to publish a book about the art of making furniture, that owner may not have the time or skill to write a book. Instead, he or she could pay a ghost writer to write the book. The hand-crafted furniture store owner may feel like he/she isn't a good writer, or be too busy to write, or a million other reasons. For around $5000, that furniture store owner could probably end up with a book for sale under his/her name. It's popular with people who want to speak about certain topics, with small business owners looking to grow their influence in a community, and with anyone selling products on the web.
Ghost writers can make anywhere from $10 an hour for cheap, one off stuff to $150+/ hour when you write for C-Suite executives, Speaking Circuit consultants, or anyone who sees a book as an investment in their future. The line tends to be drawn between those who just want content, whatever it is (the cheap stuff) and those who want that book to be amazing (the expensive stuff). People who want something in between tend to just go ahead and write it on their own!
What digital publishing has done is made it possible for anyone to be an author and publish a book. I just saw a great story about a couple who wrote 20 books in a few months and saved their home with the sales. That's an extreme case. But if you are someone who wants to put out a book a month, you can do that no problem if you hire a ghostwriter to help. That means more books out there.
I think as more and more people start using the web for business and those same people get busier and busier, we'll see (or won't see) more people paying a ghost writer to write up or give form to ideas that would otherwise languish in the recesses of our busy, busy minds.
What do you think about ghost writing? Do you see it playing a role in the future of publishing?
Image source: Lollomelo via flickr