How do we split it?

December 10, 2007 9:36 PM

I'm planning to co-author a book with a semi-famous person who wants to tell her own story, but needs help with the writing part. My biggest question is about money - how should we split it? It's her story, but I'll be doing most of the writing. Yet we are attempting to treat this as a real collaboration where we edit together, pass drafts back and forth, and so forth. Any sense of what percentage is appropriate for each of us? Also, should I join the Writers Union to get help with this type of question? I'd like to join on principal but I'm your classic broke writer, so the dues feel prohibitive. Thanks!
posted by anonymous to work & money (3 comments total)

Ghost Writing: Remuneration and credit.
posted by disillusioned at 10:33 PM on December 10, 2007

As Disillusioned's link pretty much makes clear, this is one of those things that's highly situational and I doubt you're going to find anything like a fixed scale of duties and fees. And at the end of the day, the semi-famous person's pretty much in the driver's seat. They can get another writer, but you can't get another them...

It's pretty much going to come down to what kind of person they are and what the relationshp's like between you. The biggest question is whether this is a work for hire job for a flat fee or whether you're collaborating with them on a project and planning to split the proceeds.

Without revealing anything you shouldn't, how big a deal is this? Are there publishers lining up to bid on this person's memoirs, or is it just a case of someone with an interesting tale to tell and hoping to interest a publisher based on the strength of the manuscript? That will go a long way toward telling you what kind of job this is likely to be.
posted by Naberius at 11:28 PM on December 10, 2007

Those I know who have ghost-written have done so for a flat fee.
posted by londongeezer at 12:12 AM on December 11, 2007