Learning how to avoid ghost writing scams is the most vital part of hiring a ghost writer. A ghost writer is a person who is hired by a writer to write literary works, journalistic articles, speeches, or any other type of text that is then officially credited to another person. There are many different reasons that an author or a writer might have for hiring a ghost writer such as: writer’s block, the need for a sequel with the author suffering from a lack of inspiration, the need to expand the list of current works, the need for someone with knowledge or experience about a different topic, and/or a wish to diversify the current types of book the author currently has under his or her name.

How to Find/Hire a Ghost Writer

When hiring a ghost writer, the first thing that an author has to do is locate a ghost writer. Ghost writers can be found through referrals, Craigslist, Fiverr, Google, social media, and online advertisements. While it is easy to find a ghost writer, it is not always easy to tell if the ghost writer is a real person willing to do the work, or a person trying to scam the author out of his or her money. To avoid this, it is important to have certain hiring procedures in place.

How to Avoid a Scam

First, never hire a ghost writer that you have not had a phone conversation with in order to verify that the person is at least real.

Second, give the writer a prompt and ask them to write a few paragraphs or pages to prove their skill level. This will also give the author a chance to see if the ghost writer’s writing style is compatible with the assignment. Make sure not to promise the job to the ghost writer until you see his or her writing so that you have the chance to hire someone else if the two of you are not compatible.

Third, NEVER pay the full fee upfront! Instead, work it out so the writer gets a portion before and after the assignment is complete. The ghost writer will want some money upfront in order to ensure that you are not scamming them out of their hard earned money. You can also set up a payment system for larger works. For instance, if you are hiring the ghost writer for a book, you could pay per chapter - this way the ghost writer gets paid for each chapter of work and if you are not happy with something, you have the ability to ask for alterations before the whole book is finished.

Fourth, make sure all of your requirements are clearly stated up front and the ghost writer understands everything you want. For example, if you want to ask for the ghost writer to make changes, then make sure you negotiate that up front.

Fifth, make sure to provide payment through a method that you can create a dispute for if the ghost writer does not do the work. The best payment service for this is PayPal as you can file a dispute against the ghost writer and get your money back if the writer does not do the work.