Who this is for: For anyone pricing a book before talking to a writer.
In short: a ghostwritten memoir or business book generally costs between $15,000 and $80,000, and writers with famous books behind them charge six figures. Michael puts an established professional at $50,000 to $165,000. Here, you pay in stages, never for the whole book up front.
A professional ghostwriter typically charges between $50,000 and $165,000 for a comprehensive book project, depending on its scope and complexity.
The ghostwriter usually manages all aspects of the project, including initial consultation and project planning, research and interviews, writing and revision processes, editing and publishing coordination.
From Notable Authors: That’s Michael’s range for an established professional, from 2025. It isn’t his own price, and it isn’t the whole market. Here, the price covers the book itself. Publishing, printing and marketing are yours, and separate.How does ghostwriting work? →
What do ghostwriters on Notable Authors charge?
From Notable Authors: This section is ours, worked out from the ranges the listed writers show on their profiles. It updates itself as writers join.
Half the ghostwriters here start at $28,000 or less, and half top out at $75,000 or less. Nine ranges reach $100,000 or more.
Where a writer’s range starts
- Under $20,000
- 5 writers
- $20,000 to $39,999
- 13 writers
- $40,000 to $99,999
- 7 writers
- $100,000 or more
- 2 writers
On Notable Authors: A range is the writer’s own estimate. The price that binds is the one in the contract you both sign, and we never set one.
See each writer’s range →Why does a good ghostwriter cost more?
My friend Gary Kadi, a dental consultant and a brilliant businessman, once told me about the price–quality–service triangle. He said, “Businesses compete on price, quality, or service. Pick two.” In other words, you cannot compete on all three; you cannot offer great prices, high quality, and amazing service.
On Notable Authors: A whole book for two or three thousand dollars, paid up front, is the signature of the content mills. You never pay for the whole book up front here.
Questions to ask a ghostwriter →Does a shorter book cost less to ghostwrite?
Back in the day, the biggest book won. Just a few short decades ago, books had to be huge to be taken seriously. So you had 400 page volumes on politics. 600 page tomes on personal finance. And 800 page gorillas in the form of biographies and memoirs.
These days, that’s history.
If your goal is to sell copies of your book to strangers, in bookstores or on Amazon, it’s very hard to get away with fewer than 240 pages or 65,000 words. That’s because the publishing industry has conditioned you over the decades to believe that a book has to be that long in order to merit the price, which these days, is somewhere between $25 and $35.
Selling books to strangers, however, is one of the hardest feats known to humankind, unless you are one of those people who go by just one name (I’m looking at you, Oprah, Meghan, Harry, and Taylor).
For the rest of us, it’s an extraordinarily heavy lift to sell books to people who don’t already know us. In fact, it’s just not worth the effort.
And that’s even better news for professionals who would like to put out books to burnish their thought leader credentials or shorten their marketing and sales cycles.
For you, the sweet spot is…wait for it…a mere 100 to 150 pages. Think about it. If you cannot close someone on your ideas in that amount of pages, you are not going to get them in 200 to 300. Or 400 or 500.
Say what you need to say, and get off the stage.
On Notable Authors: Length is a large part of a book’s scope, so settle it before you ask for a price. A contract here says what each stage delivers.
The standard agreement →Can ChatGPT be my ghostwriter?
Tens of millions of dollars are cascading into startups to enable first-time authors to create books with artificial intelligence. The question is whether you should think about having AI write your book. I say no unless how you appear in public doesn’t matter much to you. If you wouldn’t wear torn jeans to a board meeting, you probably don’t want AI writing your book.
I am not a Luddite, opposed to technology, and wishing fearfully for the “good old days” to return. Instead, I’m a hard-eyed realist who has seen what AI produces. The basic problem with AI is that it, well, sounds like AI. It doesn’t sound like the author.
AI may one day be able to recognize when you are saying something that no one else has said or that you aren’t sure is incredibly important but in fact, is game-changing for the reader.
Until that time, if you want a mediocre book, use AI. If you want something outstanding that will represent you brilliantly in the workplace, get an experienced human being.
On Notable Authors: Our terms don’t allow AI to write the book, and we never train a model on your book.
Our AI policy →Is a ghostwriter worth the money?
Few ghostwritten books generate profit; most are used as marketing tools or simply given to family and friends. Consequently, there’s seldom a “back end.” Nevertheless, it’s often worthwhile for the client to invest in getting the book done.
From Notable Authors: Michael answers “Is writing a book worth it?” at length in his guide on a book’s purpose.What do you want your book to do? →
How do ghostwriters get paid?
On Notable Authors: Every contract here has a fixed total, split into stages, each with what it delivers and its price. Many writers start with a paid book plan, or a plan with sample chapters, as a smaller first contract.
How hiring here works →On Notable Authors: You pay one stage at a time, through the site. Each payment is held until you approve that stage’s work, or released 7 days after delivery if you don’t respond. You pay the price in the contract and nothing on top: our fee comes out of each stage.
How it works →Questions and answers
How much does a ghostwriter cost?
A ghostwritten memoir or business book generally costs between $15,000 and $80,000, and writers with famous books behind them charge six figures.
How much does a memoir ghostwriter cost?
About the same as other books. The memoir writers here, with their ranges, are on the list. The memoir writers →
How much does a business book ghostwriter cost?
About the same. The business book writers here, with their ranges, are on the list. The business book writers →
Do ghostwriters charge per word, per page or by the hour?
The writers here quote a fixed price for the whole book, not by the word, the page or the hour, and every contract has a fixed total.
Do ghostwriters get royalties?
Not unless you agree to it. On a contract here, the writer takes no share of advances, royalties or anything else the book earns, unless their own terms say so and you accept them.
Is there a fee on top?
No. You pay the price in the contract and nothing on top. Our fee comes out of each stage as it’s paid.
On Notable Authors, you pay one stage at a time, and each payment is held until you approve the pages.
Browse the writers