Planning, Scripting & Ideas

Ghostwriting

Also called: ghostwriter, hired scriptwriter

A ghostwriter researches and writes; the creator performs and takes the credit. On documentary, list and explainer channels this is routine, and a channel publishing 3 long scripts a week is almost certainly not writing all of them alone. Rates run from a few pence a word up to four figures a script, depending on research load and channel size.

Two things decide whether it works. The writer has to hear your voice and write in it, which takes a style guide and several rounds of notes rather than one brief. And you keep editorial control, because the audience is trusting a person, and an unchecked fact goes out with your face attached to it.

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