When to use it
- A memoir or business book written in the client's name from recorded interviews
- A ghostwriter setting terms with a new client before the first interview
- A client who wants ownership, confidentiality and AI use settled in writing before paying a deposit
- A collaboration where the writer gets a cover credit or a share of the royalties
- Shorter ghostwritten work, such as a book proposal or a series of articles, with the schedule trimmed
How to use this template
- Define the book before the fee
Section 1 is what the fee buys, so fill it in first. Give the length as a range, count the interviews, and write the "Not included" line with care: it lists the work a reasonable client might assume comes free, such as a book proposal or the rewrites a publisher asks for after it buys the manuscript.
- Tie each payment to a milestone
Take a deposit before the first interview, then attach every later installment to a delivery the ghostwriter controls. If the writer also gets a share of royalties, keep the optional sentence in section 3; otherwise delete it so nobody argues about it later.
- Choose credit and confidentiality together
The two clauses have to agree. A writer who gets a cover credit cannot also promise to keep the collaboration secret. The table below pairs each credit option with the confidentiality and portfolio wording that fits it.
- Have it reviewed, then sign
Ask a lawyer in the state or country named in section 10 to read it. Both parties sign, each keeps a signed copy, and any later change goes in writing, even if that is a two-line email.
Credit and confidentiality options
Credit can be anything from silence to a second name on the cover. Whatever you pick, the confidentiality clause and the portfolio line in section 5 should say the same thing.
| Credit | What readers see | Confidentiality to match | Portfolio line |
|---|---|---|---|
| CreditNone | What readers seeThe client's name only | Confidentiality to matchThe collaboration itself stays private | Portfolio lineGeneral terms only, or nothing |
| CreditAcknowledgments | What readers seeA thank-you inside the book | Confidentiality to matchThe collaboration can be mentioned; interviews and drafts stay private | Portfolio lineThe book by title, after publication |
| Credit"With" or "and" | What readers seeBoth names on the cover or title page | Confidentiality to matchOnly the client's material stays private | Portfolio lineThe book by title |
| Credit"As told to" | What readers seeBoth names, framed as the client's story in the writer's words | Confidentiality to matchOnly the client's material stays private | Portfolio lineThe book by title |
Why the rights clause says it twice
Under US law, a commissioned work is a "work made for hire" only if it falls into one of nine categories listed in the Copyright Act and both parties sign a written agreement saying so (17 U.S.C. § 101). A memoir or a business book usually fits none of the nine, so the label alone may not move the copyright to the client. Section 4 therefore adds a written assignment, which § 204 requires to be signed by the owner of the rights, and makes it take effect on final payment. The client ends up owning the book outright; the writer keeps the rights until the last invoice is paid.
One more difference: an assignment by an individual author can be terminated in a five-year window that opens 35 years after the grant (§ 203), while a true work made for hire cannot. Outside the US the rules are different again. Both are good reasons to have a lawyer read section 4, and the work-for-hire agreement template lists the nine categories in full.
A filled-in example
Sections 3, 5, 6 and 7 for a mid-length memoir, as one writer and client might fill them in.
Parties. Ruth Adeyemi, a retired air traffic controller (Client), and Daniel Sloane (Ghostwriter). A memoir of about 70,000 words from eight 90-minute interviews.
Fee. $45,000 in four installments of $11,250: on signing, on delivery of the outline and first chapter, on delivery of the full draft, and on delivery of the final manuscript. Two revision rounds included; a third costs $1,500. No royalty share.
Credit. A thank-you in the acknowledgments. Until the book is published, Daniel may describe it only as "a memoir for a retired air traffic controller"; after publication he may list it by title.
Confidentiality. Recordings deleted and transcripts returned to Ruth within 30 days of final delivery. Ruth's family members are never named outside the manuscript.
AI tools. Transcription only, through a service whose terms rule out training on uploads. Daniel writes every sentence of the manuscript.
Clauses that prevent the usual fights
- Payment on publication. Publication may come long after delivery, or never. Every installment in the template is tied to something the writer delivers, and section 3 says so outright.
- "Revisions until the client is happy." Count the rounds and define a round as one consolidated set of notes. Ten emails over a weekend are one round, not ten.
- No clock on the client. Interviews get cancelled and drafts sit unread. Feedback windows, plus the rule that late input moves every later date, keep the writer's calendar honest.
- The publisher's edits. If the book sells, its editor will send structural notes and line edits after delivery. Decide now whether that work is in the fee or billed per round.
- Recordings with no end date. Interviews hold the client's private life. Say when they are returned or deleted, and where they live until then.
- No exit price. Projects stop when a client loses interest or a business changes hands. A kill fee settles what is owed without a negotiation at the worst moment.
Before the contract, there is the conversation that leads to it: the guide to becoming a ghostwriter covers rates and how to quote a book, and a memoir outline is a good first deliverable once it is signed.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to publish a book someone else wrote under your name?
Yes. Hiring a writer for a book published under your name is common in memoir, business and celebrity publishing. It becomes a problem where rules require your own work, such as coursework or some prizes and competitions, so check those rules if they apply.
Do we need a separate NDA?
Usually not, because section 6 covers confidentiality. Some clients ask for a short nondisclosure agreement before the first conversation, when they share their story before any terms are agreed. If you sign one, make sure the contract's confidentiality clause matches it or replaces it.
Why does the template mention AI tools?
A client who pays for a book and owns it has a stake in how it was written and where the interviews end up. Copyright is part of it too: in its January 2025 report on copyrightability, the US Copyright Office concluded that AI output is protected only where a human determined enough of its expressive elements, and that prompts alone are not enough.
What does a ghostwriter charge for a book?
It varies widely with experience and the kind of book. The Editorial Freelancers Association's 2026 rate chart lists memoir ghostwriting at 50 cents to $1.00 per word. Many writers quote a flat fee for the whole book and split it into installments, as section 3 does.
