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Legal documents for hiring a ghostwriter
The paperwork I use on my own books, with my name taken out. Six documents, free, in Word and PDF.
A family book needs up to six documents: a ghostwriting contract, a mutual NDA, an interview release for each person interviewed, a copyright assignment deed, a photo and archive permission form, and a confidentiality letter. All six are free here in Word and PDF, with notes for India, the UK, the US, the UAE and three more countries.
Every clause has a plain-English note on its page. Use them with me, with another writer, or to check the contract someone else has sent you.
Not legal adviceThis is a template, not legal advice. Laws differ by country and by state. Have a lawyer where you live read it before anyone signs. I am a writer, not a lawyer.
The six documents
- 01
Ghostwriting contract
The contract with your writer: fee in four parts, revisions, copyright, credit, AI, stopping.
- 02
Mutual NDA
For the first conversations, before anyone is hired. Binds both sides.
- 03
Interview release form
The signed yes from each relative or friend the writer interviews.
- 04
Copyright assignment deed
One clean page that proves you own the book, for publishers and agents.
- 05
Photo permission form
For the albums, letters and documents a cousin or a studio lends you.
- 06
Confidentiality letter
A friendly letter for the old partner or colleague who agrees to talk.
Which one do you need?
- Talking to writers, nobody hired yet
- Mutual NDA
- Ready to hire
- Ghostwriting contract
- Your writer is about to interview your aunt
- Interview release form
- Your writer is about to call your father’s old partner
- Confidentiality letter
- A cousin is lending the albums
- Photo and archive permission form
- A publisher wants proof you own the book
- Copyright assignment deed
How to use them
-
Read the page, not only the file
Each template has a page that explains every clause in plain English. Read it before you fill anything in.
-
Fill the blanks
Words in [square brackets] are yours: names, dates, the fee, the city whose law applies. The Word file highlights them in yellow.
-
Strike the options you do not want
A line that starts with a box is a choice. Keep one, strike the others, and initial each strike.
-
Have a lawyer read it
A lawyer in the country whose law you chose. An hour of their time costs less than one argument about who owns the book.
-
Sign, stamp and keep a copy
Both parties sign. In India, pay stamp duty under your state’s Stamp Act before signing. Each side keeps a copy.
What the contract settles
The fee is paid in four parts against four deliverables: signature, approved chapter plan, full first draft, final manuscript. Three rounds of revision. The writer promises original work. Copyright passes to you as each part is paid. You choose the credit, from no name at all to co-author. Everything said in an interview stays confidential, with no end date. Either side can stop after any stage, and you pay for what is done. If the storyteller dies or falls ill, a family member named in the contract decides whether the book is finished from the tapes. All travel is paid by you, at cost, with receipts. AI may transcribe, sort and typeset, and you can strike each of those; it never writes, which is the line in my AI policy.
India and other countries
India
The writer of a commissioned book owns it first (Copyright Act 1957, section 17). Under section 19 the assignment to you must be in writing, signed, and name the rights, the territory and the term. Leave out the term and it is five years; leave out the territory and it is India only. Pay stamp duty under your state’s Stamp Act.
UK and US
An assignment must be in writing and signed. In the US a ghostwritten book is not a work made for hire in most cases, so assign it. In the UK the writer can waive moral rights in writing.
UAE
Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021 governs copyright. Moral rights cannot be waived, so the credit clause is a promise, and a written assignment removes doubt over who owns the economic rights.
Singapore, Canada and Australia
All three need a signed written assignment, and all three give authors moral rights. Each template page has the detail for every country.
What these do not cover
A contract with a publisher, a literary agent or a film producer. Employment of a writer on salary. Defamation advice on a finished manuscript. Each of those needs a lawyer from the start.
Questions people ask
What legal documents do I need to hire a ghostwriter?
A writing agreement that covers scope, fee and payment stages, revisions, copyright, credit, confidentiality and what happens if either side stops. Add an NDA for the first conversations, and release forms for the people interviewed.
Are these ghostwriting templates free?
Yes. Download them in Word or PDF, change anything, and use them with any writer. No sign-up.
Can I use these templates in India?
Yes. They are written with the Indian Copyright Act 1957 in mind, including the section 19 rules on assigning copyright, and carry notes for the UK, the US, the UAE, Singapore, Canada and Australia. Have a local lawyer review them and pay stamp duty before signing.
Who owns a ghostwritten memoir?
The writer, until the copyright is assigned to the client in writing. The ghostwriting agreement and the copyright assignment deed here both do that.
Is ghostwriting legal?
Yes, in India, the UK, the US and the UAE. It is a paid writing service. The contract decides who owns the words and whose name goes on the cover.
How much does it cost to have a book ghostwritten?
On my books the full book starts at US$12,500 and typically goes up to US$25,000, paid in four parts. The full price page has every currency. The templates here are free and work with any writer.
Are these templates legal advice?
No. They are templates written by a ghostwriter, not a lawyer. Have a lawyer where you live review them before anyone signs.
Want the book, not just the paperwork?
Ask for a sample page in your voice, or send me the contract you have been offered. I respond within 48 hours, in confidence.