Somehow I feel like I'm scamming people if I have someone ghost write it for me or that I would be putting out a piece of junk product. If I have my own method of doing something or if I want to talk about my personal experience on something, shouldn't I write it?
Basically, the question is this: Are people reading the book for your writing, or for your ideas?
If it's for your writing (say, if you're a fiction author) then you should probably write it yourself. It'd be disingenuous not to.
If they're interested in your ideas (which is the case with most Kindle non-fiction books), then what's important is that your ideas aren't lost. That doesn't mean ghostwriting is fine, only that you need to find an efficient way to get your ideas out without wasting your time writing.
Basically, the process I use is to outline the book myself, sit down with a microphone, and talk through the entire book (basically recording a really rough draft of the audiobook straight from the outline). Then I transcribe it, and then hire a "writer" to work from the transcription to the finished text. That way it's high quality and maintains my ideas, but I don't have to do all the work of typing.
I wrote a book that breaks down the process in a bit more detail (especially the process of outlining, how to record effectively, how to find that editor, etc.), but basically what I said above is all you really need to know.
Here's the link if you want to check it out: www.amazon.com/Book-Box-Method-Quickly-Easily-ebook/dp/B014EUTYGM/
Writing it yourself is the best choice if it is your personal story. And as a first time writer, it would be a learning experience too. But once you have tested the "publishing" waters, getting hired help is an option worth considering. If you are clear about what sort of writing you want and select your contractor well, there is much less risk of getting a "junk product" as you mention
I've helped launch over 100 books...most of them written by the actual author. A few have been ghost written.
I think it is always best to write it yourself because then the whole experience is way more fulfilling.
If you don't have enough time to do that, then you can definitely hirer a writer. The price range varies alot depending on amount of words and research time put in to compile all the content.
I have a team of writers if you are interested in getting a quote. Let me know :)
Good luck with your project!
Tyler
Hire people to research and compile information for you. Turn your personal method into a framework. Bullet point it out and elaborate on the points (speak > transcribe if you're not a great writer). Then give it to a ghost writer (with a good track record).
That will cost more than $10k to do...but may be worth it if you have a marketing plan to promote and sell the book when you launch.
Have you thought about the cover, the distribution channels you want to leverage, the alternative marketing channels available for your particular book, etc.?
Those are more important than the writing piece in many respects because they dictate what and how you write (not to mention will dictate whether you sell any books or not).
If this is about you writing your own personal story, then it really should come from you. That doesn't mean you can't hire a ghostwriter to help you organize it. If you've never written a book before then the task of writing your personal story is daunting.
Where do you start? How do you keep readers interested? What is the theme or message you're trying to share? How would you structure the book?
A ghostwriter worth their salt will help you with that, but just know it will be a little pricey if you want it high quality. I would start out with at least $500 and negotiate from there.
Now if you're interested in creating your own kindle publishing company and outsourcing fiction and non-fiction then that's a completely different ball of wax.
I write and publish lots of fiction books and use my own name for those books. When I outsource fiction to ghostwriters, I create a completely different pen name for those books because, though I may have the rights to those books once all is said and done, I didn't actually write them, and it would confuse my readership if they read something with a different writing style and voice.
It just feels all kinds of wrong to slap my name on something I didn't write. So I create a pen name for that particular series I've outsourced and go from there, publishing the fiction or non-fiction books under my publishing company.
When outsourcing fiction and non-fiction, you're only going to make money by studying the market and figuring out the correct genre and niche.
For fiction, you're looking at the right genre and sub-genre with popular themes, tropes, and character archetypes. Us fiction authors call this a "write to market" approach. So some of us will write according to what inspires us. I've done that before. Other times we study what's selling and then write a book incorporating those themes with our own spin on them.
For example: if I'm studying the market and find paranormal romance(popular sub-genre) that focuses on dragon shifters finding mates so their species doesn't die out(trope) is selling big, then I outsource a ten book series of dragon shifters finding their happily ever after. You might laugh at this premise, but guess what?
That's right. It's a very popular sub-genre and trope. If you don't study the market for fiction and non-fiction then you're essentially throwing stuff against the wall, hoping it will stick. That is what I like to call...stupid. Makes more sense to publish what's selling.
In this free video tutorial below I teach people who are interested in outsourcing fiction how to study the market to find their niche or story idea that sells. If you're interested in more than just publishing your own story then you might consider watching this video to see if you would like to outsource fiction books for your own kindle publishing business. I hope the resource helps. Good luck to you.
https://youtu.be/bS3kHPEaiv4
Full disclosure: I am a "ghostwriter" / editor / consultant. But I'm answering this as an avid reader who's always thrilled to find a new book/author in my favorite genres of apocalyptic fiction and international thrillers.
Here's what I've discovered via Kindle Publishing: There are a ton of people out there with incredible stories that get buried under horrible writing. I've set aside books that promised to be really interesting because the writing was so bad I couldn't make it through the first chapter. From continually switching tenses to failing to keep track of which character is which, there are some best-sellers out there dying a slow death because the writing stinks.
Why do I not just write books myself if it's so easy? Because I don't have the ideas. And I very much respect those who do. So if you have a great idea, don't let bad writing hold you back. Hire somebody to jump in and make sure what you have to say is clear, easy, and enjoyable to read.
