Ever wondered what sort of living a ghostwriter can make? Or, what sort of genres ghostwriters are most often commissioned to write? Or, how many books ghostwriters write over the course of their career? Well, wonder no more. The Ghostwriters Agency has done a poll of its membership of the world’s top, bestselling ghostwriters to find out the facts. The release of the survey results coincides with the launch of the agency’s new masterclass, designed to help a new generation of ghostwriters into the profession.

Perhaps the most disappointing evidence points to a significant gender pay gap for top-rated ghostwriters. Yet, contrary to the norm in other professions, this gap can work both ways according to the region where bestselling ghosts are based. Male ghostwriters in the UK earn, on average, twice as much as their female counterparts. In the US, however, the position is reversed. Successful female ghostwriters can expect to receive fees nearly twice that of male writers.

The disparities don’t end with gender. Another significant finding is that there is a large disparity between what ghosts in the UK and US can earn. According to the findings, traditional publishers pay US-based ghostwriters fees more than three times higher than those offered to their UK counterparts. This pay gap extends to private commissions as well, where ghostwriters negotiate directly with authors. In these cases, UK ghostwriters are paid just over half of what their US colleagues receive for similar work.

Key survey findings at a glance

Ghostwriting can be a lucrative profession, with 17% of bestselling ghosts bringing home more than £100,000 a year. However, the average income for ghosts who are not in the very top earning bracket is £33,500, and 2% of ghosts earn less than £10,000 per annum. One element that can contribute to this is whether a ghost takes mainly private commissions, or receives the bulk of their work from traditional publishers. While some traditional publishers will pay top tier ghosts substantial advances to work with celebrity authors, most pay ghostwriters far lower fees than they could expect from private authors.
Ghostwriters in the US negotiate fees on average of £69,200 from traditional publishers and but receive lower fees for private commissions, averaging £50,000. The situation is reversed in the UK, albeit fees across the board are lower. Traditional publishers pay UK-based ghosts an average of £19,000, although one third of ghosts receive fees between £5,000 to £10,000 from mainstream publishing houses. UK ghosts can earn more via private commissions, achieving an average of £32,000 per book.
The fees paid to ghosts can vary wildly according to gender. US-based traditional publishers pay female ghosts an average of £100,000 versus just £13,800 in the UK. Male ghosts in the US receive fees of £55,000 per book, versus £27,000 for their UK counterparts.
Bestselling ghosts are in demand, with most writing multiple books over their careers. A third of ghosts have written thirty books or more, while a fifth have written between twenty and thirty books.
Ghostwriters are most likely to be commissioned to write biographies and memoirs. Almost a third of a bestselling ghost’s time is taken up with biographies and memoirs. The next most popular genre is business books.

The survey – the first in what will be an annual event monitoring the progress of this industry – is part of The Ghostwriters Agency’s ongoing campaign to give more visibility to the sector.

The Ghostwriters Agency – Annual Survey 2024 - Results in full

Experience

Years worked as a ghostwriter

The majority (49%) of bestselling ghosts have been working in the profession between 11 and 20 years. Some have been in the profession for more than 30 years (5.9%), but around a tenth of ghosts (9.8%) have reached bestseller status on a collaboration in under five years of working.

Three quarters of bestselling ghosts count ghostwriting as their full-time profession (74.5%), while the rest have another form of income to supplement their work as a writer.

Genre

Ghostwriters are most likely to be commissioned to write biographies and memoirs. In the past year, bestselling ghostwriters who answered the survey collaborated on 129 biographies and memoirs. The next most popular genre is business books, with 75 books co-authored by ghostwriters. Perhaps surprisingly, experienced ghostwriters are also in demand for fiction titles, with 44 accepting commissions for fictional books in the past year. Authors in the young adult genre are the least likely to call upon the help of ghostwriters, with just two books recorded in this sector.

Number of books ghosted

Bestselling ghosts write multiple books over their careers. A third of ghosts have written thirty books or more, while a fifth have written between twenty and thirty books. Just 5.9% have collaborated on five books or less.

Number of bestsellers

When it comes to the number of bestsellers ghosts have written during their career, over three quarters have written between one and five of the top selling titles. A further 14.9% have collaborated on between six and ten bestsellers.

Compensation

Annual earnings

There is a large variation in the annual income of all bestselling ghosts. At the lowest end, 2% of ghostwriters earned less than £10,000 per year. At the top end, 17% of bestselling ghosts took home more than £100,000 a year. The average annual earnings for those who are not in the top tier – ie earning £100,000 plus - is £33,500.

Traditional publishing versus private commission

Bestselling ghostwriters are more likely to receive commissions directly from the author themselves, rather than through publishers. Nearly two out of three books are commissioned privately, rather than via traditional publishers, often defined as the so-called ‘Big Five’; Penguin Random House, Hachette, Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster and Macmillan.

In the UK, established publishers pay ghostwriters lower rates, on average, than private authors. Here, the average fee paid by traditional publishers is £19,000 per book. This compares to US ghostwriters who receive an average of £69,200 per book from the major publishers. In the UK, while there are a handful of highly lucrative commissions for titles with celebrity authors, the majority of fees fall into the £10,000 to £20,000 range, with a high proportion paying the writer under £10,000.

Fees paid by traditional publishers in the UK

The most common fee range for a private commission is in the range of £30,000 to £40,000. One fifth of ghostwriters who accept private commissions can expect fees above £40,000, with 4% receiving above £80,000 per book and 2% above £100,000. The difference in fees is usually accounted for by the experience of the ghost in the genre and the number of bestsellers they have previously collaborated upon. Again, there is a disparity between the UK and US. In the US, the average fee for a private commission is £50,000 versus £32,000 in the UK. The UK fees are also clustered at the lower end, with a small number of big paying clients at the top end, commissioning books for £70,000 +.

Average fees paid by private authors in the UK

Gender pay gap

There is a noticeable gender pay gap in both traditional and private commissions and this varies between the US and the UK. In the UK, female ghostwriters are at a disadvantage in both traditional and private commissions. The average fee for female writers via traditional publishers is £13,800 versus £27,000 for males in the same situation. As Figure seven shows, the fees paid to female ghosts cluster at the lower end of the scale. While male writers also appear with a higher frequency at the lower end than at the top end, there are still more male ghosts than female ghosts taking the most prestigious, highly paid, roles.

Fees paid to male and female ghostwriters in the UK via traditional publishers

When it comes to private commissions, where authors contract directly with the ghostwriter, there is a similar distribution of results, where female writers mainly command lower fees, with a handful of male ghostwriters getting the bulk of the plum jobs.

Fees paid to male and female ghostwriters in the UK via private commissions

Happiness with career choice

Overall, 61.2% of bestselling ghosts do not believe that they are adequately rewarded for their work. At the same time though, four out of five ghosts would recommend it as a career.

Minimum fees

A quarter of ghosts say they have no minimum fee when it comes to accepting a commission. The majority of those that do set a minimum rate (22.4%) set that rate at under £20,000. Among those that hold out for higher rates, 8.2% would not accept a commission at less than £50,000, with a further 8.2% saying their minimum rates range between £30,000 and £40,000.

Demographic

Gender

More women become bestselling ghosts than men, with gender profile split into 52.9% women, compared to 41.2% men, with 5.9% identifying as non-binary.

Breakdown of how bestselling ghosts identify

Race/ethnicity

The race/ethnicity group that ghosts would describe themselves belonging to is overwhelmingly white (96.1%). Just 2% describe themselves as black, black British, Caribbean or African, and the same percentage as mixed or multiple ethnic groups.

Age profile

Ghostwriters at the top of their profession generally have an older age profile. Two out of three bestselling ghostwriters are over 51 years old, with a quarter of that cohort over the age of 60. The next largest cohort is in the 41-50 year old age group with the proportion matching the 60+ cohort. Just 2% of successful ghosts are in the 20 to 30 years age bracket.

Recognition

Acknowledgement

Ghostwriting is a profession where it is never a given that the co-author is given any sort of public recognition, whether a front cover credit, or through a mention in the acknowledgment section. This is a choice made by the author, although there can be some negotiation at the contract stage. Nearly one in five (18.4%) bestselling ghostwriters never receive any acknowledgement for their work in a collaboration. However, more than double that number (38.8%) say they have been acknowledged in every collaboration over the past two years. A further 10.2% received a mention 90% of the time.

Appreciation

The majority of bestselling ghostwriters say they sometimes feel a respected part of the publishing profession. However, 8.3% say they never feel valued by the industry.

How much bestselling ghostwriters believe they are respected by the publishing industry

For would-be ghostwriters that still like what they hear about the profession, The Ghostwriters Agency has launched a Masterclass, showing everything you need to know about this profession and how to get started towards carving out a career as a bestselling ghost. Take a look at it now.

The small print: If you wish to quote any aspect of The Ghostwriters Agency’s survey, please credit the agency in full.

All you need to know about a career in ghostwriting: bestselling ghosts tell all