An inexperienced writer asked online the other day how he can find a writer to hire to write a book he'd enjoy reading. It sounded like an interesting question, so I thought I'd give answering him a shot.
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The first thing you need to do is find a writer with lots of book-writing experience, as well as one with both ghostwriting (ghosting) and editing savvy. Stay clear of beginning, wanna-be authors and people who can't string a sentence together without leaving a few typos behind to save their souls. Also, a writer experienced in all genres of books will be more flexible in approaching your project without messing it up. Teaching and reporting experience come in handy here, as well.
In short, if you want to hire someone to write a book even you would enjoy reading, hire the best. You'll pay for that privilege, but the experience and results will be worth it in the long run. Believe me!
Where can you find qualified candidates to consider for the job? You can look no further than right here on this Website. Find authors with all the qualifications you need, and contact them about what you're looking for them to do. You should have at least a rough storyline in mind (and on paper!) so you can share that right up front.
And, don't worry about a professional stealing your idea and running with it himself. Full-time, professional writers have more integrity than to pull a stunt like that. Besides, every good pro has more than enough work of his own to fall back on without resorting to such chicanery. As an example, despite publishing nearly a hundred books of my own with conventional, advance-paying publishers, I have another sixty or seventy book outlines sitting in a file just waiting for attention.
Even at that, I'm still a sucker for a good story when one comes along, and if the story's originator is a real, honest, straight-shooting person looking for help, you can count me in. I often put my own work on hold (when possible) when a newbie writer with a good book idea comes along, looking for help.
If you can't find someone online to turn to, try some professional writing groups, such as the Author's Guild. They have among their membership numerous authors with much of the experience you're looking for. Corresponding with them will give you a good idea of whether or not you're on the right track.
If that doesn't work, you can always stop by your local library to find some books with genres similar to yours (memoirs, mysteries, romances, etc.) that you enjoy. Pick out the authors you admire most. Do an Internet search for their contact information, or e-mail their publishers and ask about how to get in touch with them. Most publishers are happy to forward "fan mail" to their authors. Hopefully, you'll get a positive response or two and be in business!
If you still have trouble locating a qualified author after all that, get in touch with me through the Contact Page at my Website. I work only with the best authors and editors in the industry and have done so for the past fifty years. If I can't recommend someone suitable to you, no one can. Fair enough?
So, all the best in your search! I hope you really enjoy that book you end up with as a result. In the meantime, never forget to ...
Smoke if you've got 'em.
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D. J. Herda is author of the new series of writing advice, About Writing Right, available in eBook, paperback, and hardcover formats at Amazon and at fine booksellers everywhere. You can check out his weekly column, "The Author-Ethicist," at Substack. It's free; it's entertaining; it's informative, and it runs weekly. Well, almost weekly. Occasionally weekly. Sometimes weekly. (Hey, he does his best!)