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Ghostwriting survey suggests huge gender pay gap in UK while 'secrecy' drags pay behind US overall
A survey of ghostwriters has suggested female writers earn about half as much as their male counterparts as well as major pay differences between the UK and US.
Pooling 51 of the bestselling ghostwriters, the research from the Ghostwriters Agency has reflected stark pay differences across gender and geography, considering both private commissions and those from publishers. According to those surveyed, publishing companies who employ ghostwriters in the UK reportedly pay male ghostwriters around £27,000 per book, while their female counterparts receive only £13,800.
Across the pond, however, the American female respondents said they were paid £100,000 by publishers compared to the male writers on £55,000.
Meanwhile, traditional publishers are reported to pay US-based ghostwriters fees more than three times higher than those offered to their UK counterparts, echoing a report from The Bookseller into the issue last year. Ghostwriters in the US reportedly negotiated fees on average of £69,200 from traditional publishers but receive lower fees for private commissions, averaging £50,000. The situation is reversed in the UK, albeit fees across the board are lower. The report claimed traditional publishers paid UK-based ghostwriters an average of £19,000, however UK ghostwriters can earn more via private commissions, achieving an average of £32,000 per book.
The research suggested that 17% of bestselling ghosts bring home more than £100,000 a year. However, the average income for ghostwriters who are not in the very top earning bracket is £33,500, and 2% of ghostwriters earn less than £10,000 per annum.
The agency said: “One element that can contribute to this is whether a ghostwriters takes mainly private commissions, or receives the bulk of their work from traditional publishers. While some traditional publishers will pay top-tier ghostwriters substantial advances to work with celebrity authors, most pay ghostwriters far lower fees than they could expect from private authors.”
The survey also captured anecdotal evidence of respondents’ best and worst experiences. One writer said of her favourite experience: “I’ve been working with the same science writer for three books now. We’ve had bestsellers and won praise and glowing reviews. I’ve taught her how to structure her ideas and at least get a messy first draft down on paper. She’s taught me a heck of a lot about biology, genetics and evolution. She pays me very generously when I do writing on the side for her, producing short pieces for the media, and is so appreciative of our working relationship. It’s been a joy.”
One of the most negative reports came from a ghostwriter of a celebrity memoir. They said: “Celebrities did not turn up to any of the scheduled interviews. I had to write a book via Google and press cuts.”
Another described negotiating a reduced fee with budding entrepreneurs, one of whom had a drug addiction. “My worst experience was with two young entrepreneurs in different states who founded a company together, and who, because they were a start-up, were given an immense discount at their pleading. Unfortunately, one had an explosive substance-abuse problem, which became more and more apparent as the weeks went on and he was either incoherent or a no-show for the weekly scheduled (and then rescheduled) interviews, almost on a regular basis. After a few months, I had to make a decision to let them go for forfeiting part of my already reduced fee.”
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The Ghostwriters Agency’s founders Teena Lyons and Shannon Kyle believe there needs to be more information and awareness about the industry, as well as a greater diversity. The pair of former journalists launched the agency to help fill this gap and have just opened an online masterclass, costing £150, aimed at those interested in entering the trade.
Lyons said that although she was aware of variations in pay, she was “surprised” by the results of the research. “We knew there was a difference with our members between American and British ghostwriters in expectations between what they get and we thought that was really odd,” she told The Bookseller. “They’re a lot more open about ghostwriting in America than here. Here they’re more secretive. We have a lot of ghostly gatherings and there’s still a lot of secrecy about fees.”
Lyons described how discussions at London Book Fair last month suggested the UK ghostwriting scene is still under the radar even where publishers are concerned. “We met with loads of publishers at the fair this year and they were all saying, ’It’s great to know you’re out here and there’s this service out there’.”
On the financial gender-divide she said: “Are men more bolshie? Do they only say they’ll do it for a set fee? The pay gap is something we need to talk about. But we also need to talk more about ghostwriting more full-stop… we’re a bit of a forgotten part of the industry.”
On the sample pool, she said: “I should caveat that there are some real outliers of high-value ghostwriters and then there’s some who are jobbing ghostwriters. You have to be a bestselling ghostwriters to join the agency, so this is the top-end. It’s a good representation of the top-end, it’s a strong sample.”
The ex-Mail on Sunday journalist believes the industry is growing, with the main focus on business and memoir, though she noted a growing proportion of fiction too. “It is one of the few ways of making a living out of writing. It can be very lucrative but only if you run it as a business and push for hard fees. The bestselling ghostwriters will write a mixture of private commissions and with publishers.”
Lyons wants the trade to become more inclusive and diverse. “There’s not much diversity in ghostwriting at all. I would say around half to three-quarters are ex-journalists… we are mostly over 50, we need some fresh blood. If you look at the race and ethnicity statistics, there’s not much diversity at all, so we need to get better at that. Because there’s no route into it, [and] that’s partly why we created the masterclass.”
For more information email info@theghostwritersagency.com or book the masterclass here.
