Fiction ghostwriting
The novel you can see but cannot finish
Collaborative novel writing for authors with the premise, the characters and the ending, but not the eighteen months of drafting it would take to get there alone.
Why fiction is different
Novels are not non-fiction with characters
Ghostwriting a memoir means organising material that already exists. Ghostwriting a novel means inventing material that does not, and inventing it consistently, in a voice that holds for ninety thousand words.
The interviews are different too. Instead of asking what happened, the writer is asking what your protagonist would do when cornered, why the antagonist believes they are right, and what the book is actually about underneath the plot. Those answers have to come from you, because they are the part that makes it your novel rather than a competent one by somebody else.
We work from an agreed outline. Discovering a novel as you draft it is a legitimate way to write your own book; it is an expensive way to commission someone else's time.
What gets built
The six things we settle before chapter one
Each of these is agreed with you in writing. Changing them later is possible but costly, so we spend real time here.
Story structure
Where the book begins, what forces the protagonist to act, what the midpoint reversal is, and how the ending pays off the opening. Genre expectations shape this heavily: a thriller and a literary novel need different shapes, and readers notice when the shape is wrong.
Character development
Motivation, contradiction and change. What each character wants, what they will not admit they want, and what they are prepared to lose. Secondary characters get enough definition to stay distinct across the whole book.
Narrative voice
First or third person, tense, distance from the protagonist, and how much the narration knows. Once set, this governs every sentence, so it is decided deliberately rather than drifted into.
World building
Rules, geography, history and internal consistency. Essential for fantasy and science fiction; equally necessary for a small-town crime novel where the same pub has to be on the same corner in chapter thirty.
Dialogue
Distinct speech patterns per character, subtext under the surface, and dialogue that carries information without characters explaining things to each other for the reader's benefit.
Chapter plan
A beat-by-beat outline covering what each chapter accomplishes and where the tension sits. This is the document drafting works from, and the one you approve before writing starts.
Genres
Where our fiction writers actually work
We match projects to writers who read and write in that genre. If your novel sits outside these, we will tell you rather than take it on regardless.
Romance
Contemporary and historical, with the emotional beats and satisfying resolution the genre requires.
Thriller and suspense
Pace, escalation and a plot that holds up when a reader goes back and checks it.
Mystery and crime
Fair-play clueing, a solvable puzzle, and an investigator readers want to spend a series with.
Fantasy
Consistent magic systems, coherent geography and stakes that scale without becoming abstract.
Science fiction
Ideas that hold together technically, with the human consequence kept in the foreground.
Historical fiction
Period detail researched properly and worn lightly, with dialogue that reads of its time without becoming a costume.
Contemporary fiction
Character-driven stories where the interest is in people rather than plot machinery.
Young adult
Age-appropriate voice and pacing, with the protagonist genuinely driving events.
Children's fiction
Reading level, chapter length and vocabulary matched to the intended age band.
We do not claim expertise in every genre. If we do not have a writer who genuinely reads and writes in yours, we will say so: a novel written by someone working from genre conventions they have only read about is obvious to the readers who matter most.
Working together
How much of it is still yours
More than people assume. The writer executes; the decisions stay with you.
- You approve the outline before drafting begins
- You read a sample chapter early to calibrate voice
- Chapters arrive in batches, not all at the end
- You can redirect the story at any batch handover
- Two full revision rounds are built into the schedule
- Final text is not delivered until you sign it off
Authors who stay closely involved get noticeably better books. The ones that disappoint are almost always the ones where the author went quiet for four months and then read ninety thousand words at once.
Questions
Fiction ghostwriting, answered
No. Plenty of authors arrive with a premise, two characters and an ending they are sure about. Building the outline is part of the work. What you do need is a clear sense of what the story is and why it matters to you: that cannot be outsourced.
Often, yes. Send what exists. Sometimes the existing chapters become the foundation; sometimes they turn out to be the author working out what the book is, and the actual novel starts later. We will read it and tell you honestly which situation you are in.
Yours. Copyright in the manuscript is assigned to you and the writer is contractually bound to confidentiality. They receive no credit and no royalty.
Typically six to twelve months for a full-length book, including outlining, drafting and two revision rounds. Series work planned together can move faster per book after the first, because the world and the voice are already established.
The aim is a voice you are comfortable putting your name to. That is calibrated through the early sample chapter, and refined batch by batch. It is worth being candid: this is closer to a collaboration than to a transcription, and the result is a genuine blend, which is why your input during drafting matters so much.
Yes, and continuity is straightforward as long as we have the earlier books. The writer reads the existing series and works to the established voice and world rules.
No. We can commit to a well-structured, well-written novel that meets the conventions of its genre. Whether readers find it depends on the cover, the listing, the market and the promotion, which is what our marketing and design services exist to support.
Continue
What a finished novel needs next
Most authors combine two or three services. Tell us where your manuscript is and we will recommend only what it needs.
Start the conversation
Tell us the story you cannot stop thinking about
Send the premise, any chapters you have written, and what you know about the ending. We will tell you whether it is ready to outline and which of our writers suits it.
- Confidential from first contact
- Matched to a writer who works in your genre
- Outline agreed before any drafting begins
- Copyright assigned to you on completion
Prefer to talk it through? +61 2 8531 1369 · info@harbourbridgepress.com