A writer’s life is typically a solitary one. We work in little attics or coffee shops, and chip away at words like a sculptor until we find the right shape. Most writers have to take second jobs to sustain them—teaching, editing, or call centers—anything to pay the bills while we labor away at our chosen craft.
But it doesn’t have to be like that.
Imagine being part of a company of creatives paid to work collaboratively and support each other through the entire process—from concept development to finished novel.
This article explores how Relay Publishing champions and supports ghostwriters and how you could join us for a satisfying journey of creative development.
Ready? Let’s get started.
What is Relay Publishing?
Our founder, Harry Wallett, established Relay Publishing in 2013 to create unputdownable books and to provide writers with a means to earn a living from writing. He wanted to build a supportive, collaborative environment for publishing professionals to engage with writers, editors, and designers to develop a catalog of titles that readers want to read.
And since then, Relay has sold more than 3 million books and built creative relationships with hundreds of writers, publishing more than 1500 books in multiple languages, many of which sit proudly on the bestseller lists.
What type of books does Relay publish?
Relay focuses on the best-selling genres—romance, thrillers, sci-fi, YA fantasy, and post-apocalyptic fiction. But if you look at our list of books, you’ll find a much wider range of niches.
So, if you’re a writer, struggling to make ends meet and fed up with having to go into the office and push paper around a desk all day (and smile at a smarmy boss you hate), you could find your happily ever after with Relay.
Who writes for Relay Publishing?
Relay Publishing hires ghostwriters to contribute to (typically) existing pen names, writing in specific genres. For example:
- Peter Kirkwood writes our popular legal thrillers.
- Leslie North writes our successful billionaire-bosshole romances.
- Grace Hamilton writes thrilling post-apocalyptic books.
- Ava Richardson writes epic YA Fantasy.
These are some of our best-selling writers, but here’s the thing: we hire great writers to write under those names.
Isn’t ghostwriting illegal?
Now, before you get all sniffy about it, ghostwriting has a long and well-respected history, and it’s definitely not illegal.
Some of literature’s most beloved books and author series were written in collaboration with ghostwriters: The Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Three Musketeers, the James Bond series, Tom Clancy, James Patterson, and Robert Ludlum, to name a few. They all engaged with ghostwriters to create their ouvres.
Relay is proud to expand our portfolio of books readers love and return to time and again. We give readers what they want: brilliant, intricately crafted stories, and unputdownable books.
And we’re proud to support writers’ careers.
How much money does a writer make?
The publishing world is a challenging, super-competitive space. And unless you’re an established author (or a celebrity), chances are that agents and publishers aren’t exactly bashing down your door to distribute the book you put your blood, sweat, and tears into writing.
Now, if you’re writing for the glory and the fame, ghostwriting probably isn’t for you. And you’re most likely in the wrong game altogether because published authors’ median earnings (according to the Writers’ Guild) were just $5000 in 2022.
So, if fame and notoriety are your aim, better get yourself buffed up for Love Island. But if you’re in love with the craft of writing, then ghostwriting could be your ideal career choice and provide more financial stability.
How much does Relay Publishing pay a ghostwriter?
It’s a vulgar question, we know. But you’re dying to ask, so let’s not tease you any longer.
Our per-word range varies between genres and by experience, but typically, we pay:
- Between $0.03–$0.06 per word for ghostwriting, and
- Between $0.01–$0.015 per word for manuscript editing
Our books are generally around 80k words.
How Relay Publishing supports ghostwriters
First and foremost, ghostwriters are our bread and butter. So, it’s in our interests to engage with talented writers who want to work with us.
And if you check out our huge list of testimonials, you’ll see what our ghostwriters, editors, and designers think about working with us.
They love working with us because we offer:
- A supportive, collaborative environment
- A professional relationship with an editor
- A detailed storyline and chapter-by-chapter outline
- A competitive pay rate
Indeed, many writers use ghostwriting assignments to hone their craft because it teaches them how to write tautly crafted books with compelling storylines.
How Relay engages with ghostwriters
Our team of freelance creatives meets regularly to develop stories that excite them. And then they set about creating an outline document.
Our outline worksheets offer a highly detailed overview of the story world. We provide the characters, their backstories, and how they relate to each other, which, together, form the Total Narrative of the story we want the ghostwriter to craft.
Say what?
What is “The Total Narrative?”
The Total Narrative is the entire story—the origin story and the story we tell. It’s most often represented as:
A is the back story. It’s the relevant stuff that happens before B, which is where our story begins on page one. And C is the end of the novel as we tell it.
You’ll notice that the gap between A and B is wider than between B and C. This is because A to B represents the backstory—the stuff that informs character behavior—and it could span decades of their lives.
And while the A and A-to-B sections of the story don’t usually appear on the page, we have it in place so we understand character motivations and why they’re behaving as they do.
Why this helps
Typically, when you’re developing and researching a story, you piece the Total Narrative together as you go.
If you’re a planner, you’ll write your outline with the Total Narrative in place before you start crafting. But if you’re a “discovery writer” (or pantser), you’ll allow the Total Narrative to emerge as you go. This can be perilous because you’ll be juggling backstory timelines while you create action in the present. It’s easy to get lost along the way.
Having a detailed outline given to you means you get to do the fun part: the writing. And at Relay, we give you a detailed chapter-by-chapter outline, and the ghostwriter brings it to life with stunning prose and clever dialogue.
Influencing Justice
Spoiler alert!!!
In Relay’s Influencing Justice by Peter Kirkwood, Simone Baker is accused of the murder of her good friend, Veronica. And the case that protagonist Leland Munroe takes on is her defense in the courtroom.
However, there’s more to it than meets the eye, and Veronica’s murder is just the outer layer of a broader conspiracy involving a criminal organization that Leland thought had been thwarted.
The story as presented to the reader at the beginning of the book is simply the defense case and its lead-up—Leland builds up the case to defend Simone in court. But he uncovers something much darker through his investigations, which is what drives the thumping heart of the action.
The A-B section here is all the action that happened before the opening pages of the novel—the murdered woman, Veronica, discovers something big, and that’s why she was killed. Simone is implicated and needs a defense. The A-B action stays in the past, but it informs the present.
Giving ghostwriters exciting plots to work with
We pride ourselves on our ability to craft a compelling story—you don’t become a USA Today Bestselling publisher without a talent for the craft of storytelling, after all. We know our audiences. We’ve done our research to find out what really resonates with our readers. We know our genres.
If you’ve ever written a novel, you’ll know that plotting can be the most challenging part of the writing process. It’s easy to tie yourself up in knots. And you can find yourself stuck, forcing you to go back to the beginning to assess your storyline before you can move forward.
Well, with Relay, all the tricky technical stuff is done for you. Your chapter-by-chapter outline is accompanied by a deep dive into characters and their history, so all you have to do as the ghostwriter is the fun bit: the writing.
Working collaboratively with a team
Anyone who has put pen to paper (or fingers to keys) knows the loneliness of the long-form writer. And there’s no escaping the fact that there’s minimal opportunity to flirt at the water-cooler if you spend your full-time life working as a scribe.
And that’s what makes working with Relay so refreshing.
We assign all ghostwriters an editor—not to flirt with (take your mind out of the gutter). Our talented editors provide ongoing support as an external eye over your progress.
Relay’s core values are:
- Collaboration: We get the best out of a writer when they feel supported and heard.
- Honesty with sensitivity: Feedback is the key to excellence, but we understand that writing is an art.
- Problem-solving: There’s always a solution.
- Pride in work: We love what we do and are proud of our portfolio.
- Fun & friendly: We all get along at Relay and support each other. Just because we work remotely doesn’t mean we have to be remote.
Working with an editor as a ghostwriter
One of the most challenging things about being a writer is knowing whether what you’ve written is actually any good or not. We lock ourselves in whichever space we choose to write in, and we send our manuscripts to agents or publishers, hoping that what we’ve created will resonate with someone and lead to a contract.
Relay overcomes this solitude by assigning each ghostwriter to an editor who provides an external perspective on the quality of your writing and how well you’re meeting expectations throughout the entire process.
This gives you confidence because it helps you:
- Perfect the appropriate voice: Especially useful if you’re writing part of a series.
- Ace the pace: It’s easy to get bogged down with description and no action. An editor helps ensure the action bursts off the page.
- Breathe life into the characters: If you’re writing part of a series, you need to ensure that character arc and consistency are nailed. Our editors know our characters.
- Stay on track: There’s nothing like a deadline, after all.
Working with an editor can be a great experience, and it can help you create your best work because you’re both invested in achieving excellence.
Relay’s online resources for writers
We’re a close-knit, collaborative team at Relay, but we don’t believe in keeping cards close to the chest.
And this is why we’ve invested a lot of time and money in building a portfolio of helpful writing-focused articles and blogs, which share expert writing tips, industry trends, and publishing insights.
We hope that you’ll read our blog and be inspired to write. Because we’re always on the lookout for talented new writers—writers are our most valuable asset, after all.
We’ve got articles about:
- Getting paid to write
- Working as a ghostwriter
- Editing
- Writing tips
- Audiobooks
- Translations
How do I work for Relay Publishing?
Whether you’re a writer, editor, designer, or voice actor, we’d love to hear from you. We add new positions regularly, so bookmark the relevant jobs page and keep an eye out for roles.
We typically ask for a sample of your work—each job will clarify what to send. Just fill in the application form, and we’ll read your sample and get back to you if we think you’ll be a good fit for Relay.
And, if we like what we read, we’ll ask you to join us for a paid trial.
What happens on a ghostwriting trial?
We’ll send you a pack detailing the expectations of the trial, including a short house-style manifesto. We usually ask you to write two 2k-word chapters of the novel outlined within the materials supplied.
We might ask for the opening chapter, then a chapter later on in the novel, once the action has really kicked off. We’re looking for prose that feels alive. We want human work; definitely not AI! And we want the action to tell the story.
Then, you send your work to us, and we’ll review it. We might ask for a meeting or send some feedback for a rewrite. And if we think you’re the right fit, we’ll add you to our pool of ghostwriters.
How a project works with Relay
As mentioned, we provide clear concepts and outlines, and a collaborative editing experience, using project management software that eases communication so that you can focus on the craft rather than second-guessing expectations.
We pay everyone weekly, through secure online payment channels. And we vet everyone who works for Relay, so you’ll be working with high-quality creatives every step of the way.
Time for some FAQs
Can I share that I’m a ghostwriter for Relay Publishing?
We’re happy for you to announce publicly that you’re a ghostwriter working for Relay. We understand that you might be building a portfolio, so we’re happy for you to send short samples of your Relay project, as long as your potential client knows the pen name and that the content is strictly confidential. This only applies to work already published; nothing unreleased can be shared at any stage.
How much notice do I get for upcoming jobs?
Generally, we offer several months’ notice for upcoming projects, but occasionally we’ll reach out with shorter notice if there’s been a change in internal roles. However, we typically schedule projects at least a few weeks in advance.
Do I get a cover credit for my Relay project?
No. All work with Relay Publishing is as a non-credited ghostwriter.
We’d love to hear from you
We hope we’ve whetted your appetite to work with us, because we have several vacancies that could have your name on them.
Make sure you’re familiar with our portfolio, and get in touch.
We can’t wait to hear from you.