Ghost writer Contracts

There are many business and legal issues that need to be considered when talking about ghost writer contracts.  This will be beneficial for both the client and the ghost writer in many aspects once a job is agreed upon. Some of the things that need to be considered in ghost writer contracts include:

Parties Included in Ghost Writer Contracts

There will be at least two parties in the ghost writer contracts and it is clear that the ghost writer is one of the parties as is the person whose name will appear as author. But sometimes there may be a third party publisher involved in the contract as well. In that case, the publisher ghost writer contract must be properly negotiated and drafted with the name of the publisher in the contract clearly so there can be a correspondence of the provisions, which includes warranties and royalties.

Ghost Writer Contracts and Credit

There is a negotiation about the credit in ghost writer contracts, which may or may not be given to the ghost writer. It may range from no credit at all to “as told to” credit. According to the deal, the terms will be determined based on the bargaining abilities of the parties. The ghost writer, who is very successful in writing, can easily bargain. The marketability of “name” is also another concern for credit.

Out Clauses in Ghost Writer Contracts

It is very important that the ghost writer contracts must contain out clauses for the writer and the clients. The out clauses will stipulate that the fee the writer will be paid for all work completed currently and when the client decides to stop ghost writing. The out clause must also include holding and ceasing the works completed if the writer is not paid as per the contract.

Rights Mentioned in Ghost Writer Contracts

The ghost writer will have the right only on what is being stipulated in the ghost writer contracts. And at the same time it also does not mean that the ghost writer will have to give up every right in the form of hired work. The discussions about rights are mostly related to the issues of what rights are given and retained by a ghost writer. The third party publisher engaged in ghost writer services will have the rights of print publication. But there are also many other valuable rights like television rights, movie rights, internet rights, game rights and electronic rights like CD-ROM, DVD apart from the print rights. These rights must be discussed in the ghost writer contracts.

Payment Details in Ghost Writer Contracts

The most important aspect to be mentioned in the ghost writer contracts is about the payments. When the payment is considered, the ghost writer must think about the type of the writing job and the length of the work. When compared to an individual ghost writer, the services providing ghost writers will obviously charge a higher fee. The freelancers who are in the form of ghost writers must be very careful in not selling for too low of a price. 

Back to Top

Ghost Writer Resources