A few times a month, someone asks me some version of the same question:

"How much would it cost to have you write my book?"

The answer I give usually surprises people on both sides — the aspiring ghostwriters who think it's a side hustle, and the authors who think it's a weekend favor.

So let me put real numbers on the table.

A full-length nonfiction book or memoir — the kind someone hires a professional ghostwriter for — typically runs anywhere from $20,000 to $80,000+, depending on length, research, interview time, and how finished they want the manuscript. On the lower end, you're getting a competent draft. On the higher end, you're getting a book that's genuinely ready to sell.

Here's what people don't see behind that number:

• It's not "writing." It's ~40% interviewing and thinking. Before I write a word, there are hours of conversations, transcripts, and structure. The writing is almost the easy part.
• A book is 3–9 months of my calendar. When you price a book, you're not pricing pages — you're pricing months of your professional life that you can't sell to anyone else.
• Revisions are baked in. A "cheap" quote that excludes rewrites isn't cheap. It's a trap for both sides.

If you're thinking about becoming a ghostwriter, the takeaway is this: stop pricing by the hour or the page. Price by the project, and price it like the months-long commitment it actually is.

And if you're thinking about hiring one — now you know why the good ones don't quote you $2,000. You're not paying for words. You're paying for the difference between a file that sits on your hard drive and a book with your name on the cover.

Want to learn how I do it?

If reading that made you think "I could do this" — you probably can. I packed the whole playbook, the business side and the interviewing craft, into my Ghostwriting Course. It's the same system I used to turn ghostwriting into 80% of my income.

Because you're on this list, it's $50 (not the usual price).

👉 Get the Ghostwriting Course →​

Prefer to dip a toe in first?

My free ghostwriting email course is a good place to start.

P.S. If a book has been sitting in the back of your mind for years, that's usually a sign it's worth writing — whether you write it or someone helps you.