
Ask HN: Have you had any experience with ghostwriters? - ecesena
Fiction or non-fiction, positive or negative?
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WaltPurvis
I hired a few ghostwriters from Upwork to write short semi-technical
whitepapers and the results were _extremely_ disappointing. Even American
writers with impressive resumes and multiple 5-star recommendations, who
charged a hefty hourly rate (which I would have been delighted to pay them,
over and over, if they'd been any good), produced completely unacceptable
garbage, despite being provided with detailed outlines and extensive guidance.

I don't know whether my experience is relevant, but there it is.

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Random_Person
I ghostwrite a decent amount for side money and as a ghostwriter, I can tell
you that my clients LOVE me. I've heard many horror stories from them about
"writers" who turn in articles that are primarily written in "txt spch" with
emoji thrown in. I'm hyper-critical of my writing, and that seems to be an
uncommon quality, especially if you are searching on common freelancer boards.

If you are looking for a ghostwriter, ask your writers to submit MULTIPLE
examples of their work and give the most detailed guidelines you can.
Honestly, hiring a ghostwriter for your project will be difficult. You're
going to need to put in the work to make sure that the writer's voice matches
your needs, and your needs are in-line with what your writer can deliver.
Communication is super important. Ask for early draft reviews to make sure you
are on target and cancel the relationship early. Getting a terrible manuscript
that you will need to re-write is worse than paying someone for a few hours of
their time and cutting your losses.

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hate
My experience has been sub par to say the least. It's great if you can
communicate your idea properly though. I figure that if you want the job done
right, you'll have to do it yourself.

