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Ask HN: How to Get EBook Produced for Non Writers?

11 points by le-mark ↗ HN
I have a friend with a personal story that I believe is very compelling and would be of interest to a lot of people. This person lost a lot of money in a business venture as part of their story. So there's a strong "lessons learned" aspect to the story which is particularly valuable imo. I think an e-book about it would be one way for them get something positive from the experience. Problem is, I'm not a writer, and neither is my friend. What are some options in this situation?

From my research, it seems an adequate ghost writer would cost around $10,000 for a 100 page book. My friend has no funds to finance the endeavor. Is it possible to find a ghost writer who would work for a percentage of profits from the book? Does anyone have experience with this, either writing or commissioning such a work?

5 comments

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ecesena
Note: I don’t know the ebook market at all.

100 pages seems a lot to me, I bet most of “short books” are more like 20-40.

I think you could get articles/blog posts for, exaggerating, 200$/piece.

Maybe you can start with that, including building sn audience, and when you have 5 posts you can start drafting the book yourself.

I guess that with another 1k or so you’ll be able to find someone who polishes the book instead of writing it from scratch.

If money is a concern, and if you don’t have a clear readership/revenue model, mayans this is a way to build the ebook step-by-step. My 2 cents.

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craigmj
I think there is so little money in writing that it would be a crazy or very inexperienced writer who would agree to work for a percentage. I suggest you rather buy a book on writing, read a few good books that are similar to your friend's story, and try your own hand at it. Once you've written 20 pages, finding a good editor would be a lot easier, and cost much less, and a good editor would help you bring the project to fruition.