How much does a ghostwriter cost? Real prices.
A traditional ghostwriter can cost as much as a car. Here's what drives the price, what the market charges, and what an affordable ghostwriter like us costs, with every price on the page.
- Fixed price, quoted up front
- Outline approved before writing
- 2 rounds of edits
- You own 100%
- AI-assisted, human-edited
Reedsy's 2026 figures put a professional ghostwriter at about $18,000–$50,000 for a nonfiction book and $3,500–$18,000 for a novel. Well-known ghostwriters for big publishers charge far more. Those prices pay for months of one senior writer's time.
We are an affordable ghostwriter because we work differently: AI helps with structure and first drafts, and a human writer rewrites, fact-checks and voices every page. You get a finished, edited book for a fraction of the cost, and we tell you up front how it's made.
What changes the price of any ghostwriter: length (word count), research needed, how much material you already have, how fast you need it, and whether you want publishing too. Our quotes are fixed before we start, so the price never creeps.
Prices
Fixed prices, no surprises
| Project | Length | Price | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short ebook or guide | 8,000–15,000 words | $450–$900 | 1–3 weeks |
| Children's picture book | 500–1,000 words, text only | $299 | 1 week |
| Book (memoir, business, self-help) | 25,000–40,000 words | $1,500–$2,500 | 5–8 weeks |
| Full-length book | 50,000–70,000 words | $2,500–$3,500 | 8–12 weeks |
| Novel or novella | 30,000–60,000 words | $1,200–$3,000 | 5–10 weeks |
| Speech (wedding, eulogy, business) | up to 5 minutes | $99 ($199 rush) | 3–4 days |
Every project gets a fixed written quote before we start. Books are paid in milestones, so you never pay for pages you haven't seen.
Ghostleaf vs. a traditional ghostwriter
| Traditional ghostwriter | Ghostleaf | |
|---|---|---|
| Nonfiction book | $18,000–$50,000* | $1,500–$3,500 |
| Novel | $3,500–$18,000* | $1,200–$3,000 |
| Timeline | 6–12 months | 5–12 weeks |
| How it's written | One senior writer | AI-assisted drafts, every page rewritten and checked by a human |
*Reedsy's published 2026 ranges for professional ghostwriters.
How it works
- 1
Tell us the idea
Fill in the short form below. Tell us what the book is about and who it's for. No call needed; email works fine.
- 2
Get a fixed quote
Within one business day you get a fixed price, a timeline and the payment milestones. No surprises later.
- 3
Approve the outline
We gather your story through written Q&A or voice memos, then send a chapter outline. Nothing is written until you approve it.
- 4
Chapters, then edits
We send chapters as we go so you can steer. Two rounds of edits per draft are included.
- 5
It's yours
You get the final manuscript (Word and PDF). You own 100% of it and the copyright. Optional: we publish it for you.
Writing sample
Read how we write
Every company I have ever fixed was broken in the same place: the gap between what the founder said in meetings and what the team heard in the hallway afterward.
This book is about closing that gap. Not with a new software tool or an offsite, but with five habits that cost nothing and take about ten minutes a day.
More samples on the home page.
Questions people ask
How much does a ghostwriter cost for a 200-page book?
Traditional ghostwriters commonly quote $18,000–$50,000 for a nonfiction book of that size (Reedsy's 2026 range). Our fixed price for a 50,000–60,000-word book is $2,500–$3,500 because we use AI-assisted drafting with full human editing.
Why are you cheaper than other ghostwriters?
AI does the slow first-draft work; our writer spends their time on what matters: your voice, accuracy, structure and polish. We disclose this on every page and every quote.
Do you charge per word or per project?
Per project, fixed. You get one price before we start, split into milestones so you never pay for pages you haven't seen.
Are there hidden fees?
No. Two rounds of edits per draft are included. Publishing is an optional add-on with its own fixed price.
Do I get royalties?
Yes, all of them. You own the book and its copyright. We take no royalties and no credit.
Can I start small?
Yes. Many clients start with a sample chapter or a short ebook before committing to a full book.