For fiction, agents want to see a query letter, sometimes accompanied by a sample chapter or the first fifty to one hundred pages of manuscript. Querying an agent for a nonfiction book requires that you write a proposal that ranges from thirty to fifty pages. Nonfiction proposals include your credentials, bio, target audience, marketing strategies, your platform (how and why you can promote your book), what makes your book different from others in the same field, a synopsis, and an outline.
Some ghostwriting firms will charge anywhere between $20,000 and $40,000 to write your proposal, which is not included in the basic ghostwriting fee. In my opinion, this sum is outrageous. If you select this option (and others) from firms or high-priced writers, you may end up spending anywhere from $50,000 to $300,000.
An independent ghostwriter should be able to deliver a well-written nonfiction proposal for $2,000 to $5,000 assuming you can provide the writer with all of the information needed. Keep in mind that the writer has to either A) read the entire book, or B) for books not yet written, take a considerable amount of time finding out what the intended book is about in order to supply the above information to an agent. There are cases, therefore, when a slightly higher price is warranted.
But $30,000? Well, only if you’re the kind of person who might want to buy the Brooklyn Bridge or swampland in Florida!
