Ghostwriting
scientific and medical monographs, and documents
What is ghostwriting?
It is the process by which a hired writer writes a document for someone
(the author), who then utilizes the document under his/her own name.
The documents can be books, book chapters, monographs, or manuscripts.
Excellent ghostwriters do not come
cheap, the reason being is that you are paying for several years of writing/editing
experience, and a track record. Like most things, you get what you pay for.
Whichever ghostwriter you hire for your project, we strongly advise you
to ask several questions before you part with any money: (a) Can the project
be covered by a legal contract? (This ensures that all the terms and conditions
are spelled out in writing before you start.) (b) Does the writer (or company)
have relevant writing samples you can peruse? (Although many ghostwriting
projects are covered under an NDA--non-disclosure agreement--you ought to
be able to see the kind of writing they have achieved.) (c) Are they flexible
in the way they operate? (For example, interaction via interview, e-mail,
telephone, documents by mail, etc.) and (d) Are you developing a good relationship
with the potential writer? (Ghostwriting is an extremely interactive process;
are you and the writer comfortable with each other?) If you run into "red
flags" in trying to answer any of these questions, find another writer.
We are driven by ethics when ghostwriting. We know you, the client, are
busy but when we write book chapters and manuscripts we expect to have a
full dialogue about the outline, research, and data so we have an understanding
about what is to be accomplished. We also expect you to take ownership of
the final document and be fully aware of its contents. For example, we do
not endorse the practice of ghostwritten documents that "just have an author
name appended" for purposes of publication.
Our subjects and clients
We have written several medical textbook
chapters, reviews, and manuscripts in the medical and psychology areas.
Our clients primarily are university professors and physicians--practicing
and/or research.
What ghostwriting covers
These are the points that our ghostwriting
covers:
•Research of the literature, if needed
•Correct publication formatting
•Bulleted or numbered lists as appropriate
•Tables, simple or complicated, text referenced
•Notes and/or references
•Editing to AMA or APA styles as appropriate
•Creation,
modification and/or placement of figures as appropriate, with legends.
The specific ghostwriting process
We accomplish our writing through a variety
of information transfers:
•Supplied documentary material
•Phone interviews
•Audio tapes
•Research
(Internet, library, scientific, as appropriate).
How does Strategic Solutions, Inc. handle ghostwriting?
The process is as follows:
1. Author contacts us about ghostwriting and a discussion ensues to elicit:
•The
specific subject
•How
much content has been written down or collected
•How
transfer of the remaining information will be accomplished.
2. We estimate the size of the document to be written
and the cost based on past experience. Extensive research and
writing of textbook chapters/manuscripts
is usually charged by the hour. We will do our best to give you a rough
estimate and keep you
informed of costs as the project progresses.
3. We communicate our findings to the author. If
the author wants to proceed, we issue a contract, and a 50% deposit is
made. Other terms are
possible.
4. The information exchange proceeds and the document
is written. This phase can take anywhere from 1-4 months,
depending upon the pace
of the information transfer and the size of the document.
5. The rough draft is sent to the author for review
of content, style and organization. After corrections, and editing, the
revised manuscript is
sent back for further review.
6. At this point, we can assist the author with submission
if needed.
Ghostwriting costs
Costs vary tremendously. A simple review
might cost around $500-600 if we have all the references and a full outline.
Research, writing, and construction of tables and figures for a textbook
chapter might run to $2500-$3000.
The most important part of ghostwriting is a collaboration between us and the author-client. This takes some time and effort on your part to ensure a smooth flow of information.
