How it works
A fixed price, paid one stage at a time
A book takes months and real money.
From first look to finished manuscript
- 01
Pick two or three writers
Read their profiles and the reviews from people who actually paid them.
- 02
Send an inquiry
What the book is, who it's for, roughly what you can spend. Only the writer sees it, and it costs you nothing to ask.
- 03
Get a contract, not a quote
A fixed total, split into stages, with the rights and terms spelled out. You see everything before any money moves.
- 04
Accept it
Accepting locks the total, the stages, and the exact wording. Both of you can download it forever, and changing scope later takes a change order you both sign.
- 05
Pay one stage at a time
You only ever pay for the next stage. The money is held until you approve that stage's work.
- 06
Approve, or say what's wrong
Approve and the money releases to the writer. Raise an issue and it doesn't. Go quiet and it releases automatically after the window below.
- 07
Review, anonymously
When the last stage releases, you're invited to review. Your name never appears, and the review only counts because you paid the whole contract here.
The process ends with the finished manuscript in your hands — publishing, printing, and launch are yours. And it doesn't have to start with the whole book: many writers offer a paid book plan or a proposal with sample chapters as a smaller first contract, so you can work together before committing to the manuscript.
What a book actually costs
A ghostwritten memoir or business book generally costs between $15,000 and $80,000, and writers with famous books behind them charge six figures. Few sites print a range, so first-time authors walk into sales calls with no anchor.
A whole book for two or three thousand dollars, paid up front, is the signature of the content mills. You would be pre-paying a stranger with no checkable record.
Here, a writer can publish their own range on their profile, and the number that binds is the one in the staged contract you both sign. We never set a price.
You approve each stage before money moves
Every contract here is a fixed total split into stages. A stage is always in one of three states: released to the writer because you approved the work, held while the work is underway, or not due yet. You only ever fund the next stage, never the whole book.
SPECIMEN · STAGE 3 OF 4 · A $78,000 MEMOIR, MID-CONTRACT
The draft is delivered and its $23,400 sits held. It releases when the client approves, and not before. The final stage isn't due until then.