This is the working agreement we use for projects like this, and it sits alongside the proposal you accepted, which sets the timeline, price, and the specific outputs.
Our job is to capture your voice, build a clean draft from the material you already have (and what we pull out in interview), and get you to a finished piece you can stand behind. Your job is to stay close enough to the work that we never have to guess what you mean or put words in your mouth.
What you get
We will deliver book and speech ghostwriting on the timeline and with the outputs set out in the proposal. The work typically runs from discovery and voice capture, through a plan and sample, into drafting, editing, and a final permissions tidy-up.
You will review and sign off at the key points so the work stays true to your voice and your position: the plan, the sample, and each draft round. We do not add claims, figures, or personal statements unless you have given us a clear source and you have approved the wording.
* Voice and tone guide * Chapter plan or outline * Sample chapter or section * Full draft manuscript or speech * Edited final manuscript * Attribution and permissions list
Payment
To book the work, you pay 30% of the total price when you sign the proposal. We schedule the project and start discovery once that first payment is in.
The remaining 70% is due when we hand over the finished work. We invoice at those points, and every invoice is payable within 14 days of its date.
If a payment is late, we pause work and hold any drafts in progress until the invoice is brought up to date. If a deadline is affected by a pause, the dates move out by the same amount. We will tell you as soon as a late payment starts to put a delivery date at risk.
Revisions and changes
A revision round is one set of your notes gathered into a single response, followed by one updated draft from us. Notes can be in a document, an email, or given in a call, as long as they are clear enough for us to act on.
The project includes two revision rounds at each stage you review: the plan, the sample, and the draft manuscript or speech. We will use those rounds to tighten structure, accuracy, and voice match.
If you want a change that goes beyond those rounds, or you ask for something outside the agreed outputs or timeline, we will price the extra work and describe it in writing before we start. We only bill for extra work once you approve it.
Who owns what
Once the final invoice is paid, you own the final text we hand over for this project, and you can publish it under your name. Unless you ask us to be credited, we stay uncredited.
Until the final invoice is paid, drafts and working files stay ours. That includes interview notes, working outlines, intermediate drafts, and our internal checklists and templates. We do not reuse your source material in other client work.
Because publishing brings its own risks, we also deliver an attribution and permissions list. It is there to help you publish safely, but you are the final decision-maker on what you include, name, or claim.
What we are responsible for
We are responsible for doing the work with care, on the agreed scope, and in your voice, using the source material and approvals you give us. We fix our mistakes, including missed edits, obvious inconsistencies, and places where we have drifted away from your approved direction.
You are responsible for the truth and clearance of what goes out under your name: the claims you choose to make, the facts you approve, and any legal or regulatory sign-off you need for your industry. We will not knowingly make things up, and we will flag gaps, but we cannot verify every detail without your input.
We are not responsible for outcomes outside the writing itself, such as sales, PR results, speaking bookings, or publisher decisions.
Pauses and ending the project
You or we can end the project by giving notice. We will agree the notice period with you in writing, in a way that fits the stage of the work and any fixed dates you are working towards.
If the project ends, you pay for the work completed up to the end date. We will show what has been done, what is in progress, and what is still outstanding.
Once any invoices due for completed work are paid, we hand over what is finished and usable at that point, along with any supporting documents that are part of the agreed outputs. If the project pauses instead of ending, we can hold your slot for a period we agree in writing, and delivery dates move out by the length of the pause.
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