Your Author Rights When Working With a Ghostwriter

Working with a ghostwriter is a fantastic way to get your book written. Particularly if you’re a thought leader, an expert or have a unique story to tell but you aren’t really a writer. (Or maybe you are a writer, but you simply don’t have the time to spend on the project!)

At the end of the day, most people aren’t writers. They don’t have the time or the inclination, but they have an incredible story to tell or message to share. In those situations a ghostwriter can help step in and bridge the gap to bring your message or story to life.

But working with a ghostwriter is also an unusual situation because you can be sharing important and likely profitable information. So it’s very important that you find a ghostwriter you can trust. And it’s vital that you have a contract in place that protects your author rights.

Your Rights as an Author When Working with a Ghostwriter

As a former lawyer and a current ghostwriter and book editor, I have a unique insight into the legalities of working with a ghostwriter. Of course, this article does not represent legal advice. And I encourage you to speak to your own lawyer about your author rights before signing any ghostwriting contract. But I also hope that I can give you some things to think about when working with a ghostwriter.

I believe most ghostwriters are pretty ethical and will have your best interests at heart (I sure do!). But as the author, you need to understand your author rights so you can protect yourself and your work.

So what are your rights, and how can you protect them? And what things should you look out for?

Your Rights as an Author

As the author of a written work, you have author rights, even if your book is being ‘written’ by someone else. These are copywrite rights, future use rights, moral rights and rights to confidentiality.

Copyright rights (economic rights)

The first and most important right that you need to protect is your copyright. A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives you the legal right to the exclusive use and sale of your creative work. These are, in effect, economic rights. Without a copyright, you could be at risk of someone else taking your work, using it, or selling it themselves, in whole or in part.

It’s generally pretty easy to prove that you have the copyright on a particular piece of work. The moment that you document an idea or creative concept on paper or even electronically it’s automatically protected under the Copyright Act 1968 here in Australia. You don’t have to do anything to maintain that right. It’s yours. (But always get legal advice to be sure, sure, sure!)

The issue when working with a ghostwriter is that the line between your ideas and theirs can become blurred. So the critical question becomes who holds the copyright to the work produced? In most scenarios (and in the scenario you want to make sure exists), the copyright will belong to you, the person who commissioned the work, and is the named author.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make as an author is assuming you own the copyright to the final product just because you paid for the writing service. Without a strong contract laying this out, the law may not see it that way. Particularly if the ghostwriter was a big part of forming the storyline, book structure or otherwise generating ideas (a common role for ghostwriters).

Your contract needs to explicitly state that you hold full copyright on the work produced by the ghostwriter for you.

Future use rights

Sometimes rights for future use, such as film adaptations or translations, can be forgotten. They’re easily overlooked, especially by first time writers. Your contract should cover these possibilities.

Moral rights

As the author you have moral rights which need to be protected. These moral rights – including the right to be identified as the author of the work – are separate from economic rights and they need to be set out clearly. In almost all cases when working with a ghostwriter, this should be you and only you.

Confidentiality rights

Maintaining confidentiality may be one of the most important parts of your ghostwriting relationship. In the first instance, you want to ensure that your ghostwriter will keep any information you share with them confidential prior to publication. In some cases, you may also want to keep the ghostwriting arrangement confidential. Not every author wants to share this aspect of their work with their audience, and that’s more than OK.

For myself I am always very careful never to mention when I ghostwrite for a client. That’s simply not for me to say. If my client wants to mention it, great. But that’s their decision.

What are the rights of the ghostwriter?

In general the rights of the ghostwriter fall into one main category – and that’s the right to be paid for their time and work.

Copyright transfer

You need to make sure that your contract clearly sets out when the copyright transfers from the writer to you. Writers absolutely have a right to protect themselves. So most ghostwriting agreements will state that the named author will not be allowed to use the work until final payment is paid as agreed. Payment is your obligation as the client and the full rights to the work will transfer when that payment is received.

Other agreed-upon rights

You may negotiate other agreements with your ghostwriter. For example, you might agree to give them some form of recognition. Or they may negotiate a percentage of royalties based on future sales. These negotiations could (and should) impact the price that you pay for the work.

The importance of a ghostwriting agreement

At the end of the day having a robust ghostwriting agreement is hugely important. It will clarify the rights and obligations of the ghostwriter and the client. It lays out all the elements of the agreement, from practical things like deadlines, to overarching things like ensuring the final rights to the work are yours and yours alone. And it builds transparency into your relationship ensuring that things flow well and your book is published sooner rather than later!

But navigating the complexities of copyright and ghostwriting agreements can be challenging. I certainly suggest getting a legal expert on board who specialises in intellectual property and copyright law. They can assist in reviewing or drafting a contract that protects you and your work.

If you have any other questions (of a practical, non-legal nature!), get in touch. I’d be happy to help.