Have you ever done any Ghostwriting? What have been your experiences?

If you haven't, would you and under what circumstances?

Some guy has contacted me wanting me to Ghostwrite his screenplay for him and I feel weird even contemplating it. I mean it's for money but I don't write for money, I write for me first and foremost. Is that strange of me?

I popped a similar question on another writers forum and at least one person had a terrible experience where the guy who hired him became a super stalker lol.

I don’t have experience in that field but do ghostwriters get any writing credit?

Gabe

I wouldn't do it. Like you, I write for me, what I like and if someone wants to film it great. Writing someone else's script for no credit has zero appeal to me. If I wrote for money, I'd be the skinniest writer on the planet.

I would say though to anyone thinking about ghostwriting to have a contract that specifies just how much you are supposed to write for that money. How many drafts? Until the person that hired you is happy? How long is that? And so on, so you don't get stuck working on this one script for years.

Been requested to twice (contacted by someone on my site and on Script Revolution - i.s., like your stuff, would you ghost write this, blah, blah).

Have not and will not do it because I am not a professional writer. If I made my living at writing - yeah, if the money was commensurate with what I normally get paid for writing - why not. It'd be just a gig.

But as an amateur - this is a hobby - a passion. A journey.  Somehow ghostwriting turns it into a job and I already had one of those.

There was a request here on SimplyScripts once. I remember someone wanted it. Don't know what happened in the end.

No one is asking me, lol, or going to ask, but if I were any of you guys I wouldn't do it. You're talented people and it wouldn't feel right to give away some of it just like that.

My Russian friend has been ghostwriting novels for years and there's nothing she regrets more than doing that.

Thanks, guys. You echo my own thoughts on this perfectly. I'm passing!

good idea :)

As a newbie, can someone please shed some light on this for me.

Why would one person ask another to ghost write for them? (I'm talking just in the context of screenplays here, no other media) - seems shady to me.

So, they would get the writing credit for something someone else has written? Doesn't seem like it should be allowed to me - Couldn't that credit get them recognition and future work based on the misrepresentation that they wrote the piece?

Please let me know if I am being an idiot and missing the point altogether lol

Matt

Quoted from Matthew Taylor As a newbie, can someone please shed some light on this for me. Why would one person ask another to ghost write for them? (I'm talking just in the context of screenplays here, no other media) - seems shady to me. So, they would get the writing credit for something someone else has written? Doesn't seem like it should be allowed to me - Couldn't that credit get them recognition and future work based on the misrepresentation that they wrote the piece? Please let me know if I am being an idiot and missing the point altogether lol Matt

That's a good point.  Could someone climb the ladder of success using a succession of ghostwriting screenwriters?  Sounds unethical.

Quoted from jayrex That's a good point.  Could someone climb the ladder of success using a succession of ghostwriting screenwriters?  Sounds unethical.

Sounds like the plot of a drama or psychological thriller depending on how you spin it. This guy's entire world would fall apart if he was found out...

Now, if only I could get someone to write this up for me but let me put my name on it ;)

I would do it. if the circumstances were right. I could use the money. But there would be a lot to consider.

Does the buyer have a vague idea for a story and he wants to hire a writer to implement that idea? That's really more than ghostwriting. You'd have to basically do your own story but with the concept that he wanted.

If the buyer is unhappy with the work, will he want rewrites? Will he still pay in full?

Or maybe someone has a prose version of the story and wants it converted to screen. That could be easy, but you'd have to read the prose version first.

If the money was right and I thought I could do the project, yeah, I would do it.

I have ghosted twice on shorts... both paid a very small amount. And I wrote a feature for a guy of his concept that was filmed. I have never asked anyone to ghost for me until this year. I have two projects that have me bogged to the hilt. I myself... write and love being paid. I do not want fame or fortune... at all. I just want to write for a living. That is my dream. :)

There's a difference between ghostwriting and collaborating. Ghostwriters remain anonymous. The named writer is usually not the listed author.

Quoted from Matthew Taylor As a newbie, can someone please shed some light on this for me. Why would one person ask another to ghost write for them? (I'm talking just in the context of screenplays here, no other media) - seems shady to me. So, they would get the writing credit for something someone else has written? Doesn't seem like it should be allowed to me - Couldn't that credit get them recognition and future work based on the misrepresentation that they wrote the piece? Please let me know if I am being an idiot and missing the point altogether lol Matt

Ghostwriting novels has become well-known over the past few years after a few celebrities let slip they don’t write their own biographies or fiction novels.  It didn’t seem to affect sales in the slightest, so more openly admit it now.

Ghostwriting screenplays is not so well known, but I imagine it goes on a lot in independent circles. Professionally this would be tricky. I do believe if you are in the WGA then writers have to be given credit, although script doctors don’t, so maybe there’s a loophole?

In this instance, the person in question had an idea but was not confident in their own ability to write it, checked out some of my scripts on my website and thought I could do it. I am flattered but I just can’t do it, so I had a chat with them and they are going to attempt it themselves; which I applaud.

I see a lot of folk out there who think they have an amazing concept (and maybe they do) but are so frustrated that they don’t have the skill to bring it to life with words. I can imagine the temptation to get someone to do it for you is quite high and maybe they think it is a shortcut to them making it, but they are deluding themselves. What if they get a script sale and then the producer & director want substantial re-writes and they can’t get the original Ghostwriter back in time? Eventually they are going to get caught out!

Collaboration is a better method. Writing yourself and learning from your mistakes is even better.

Hi Mark

Thank you for the clarification.

If a writer has a great idea, but not the ability to write it, then they should practice and improve, or not be a writer. Am I just being naive? if you cant' do a job, paying someone else to do it for you and sticking your name on still seems... unethical.

Co-writing, as you say - sounds a lot more legit, getting that extra help to push a project and both sharing credit. no problem with that.

I am with you though, I would not have done it. Well done to him for giving it a go.