4 Ghostwriting Industry Predictions for 2025
As we kick off a new year, now is a good time to reflect on changes within the ghostwriting industry that we witnessed or got a glimpse of in 2024 as a clue to what may come.
Which trends are taking hold and which are just starting to emerge?
Which ones will impact demand for ghostwriting services and/or the way those services are delivered in the coming months?
Although no one can have all of the answers, here are four predictions I’ll make for 2025
- Pure Human-Created Writing Will Yield Premium Pricing
We are increasingly seeing publishers and ghostwriting clients demand that ghostwriters avoid the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in content generation. The biggest fear here, it seems, is the likelihood of plagiarism, even unintentional.
I expect that there will be a market shake-out in 2025 that splits the industry into at least two segments: 1) A premium marketplace that relies entirely on human writing and 2) a lower-end marketplace that relies heavily on AI as part of the writing process, driving prices to ghostwriters even lower at this level.
Portfolio platforms such as Authory already issue “Human Writer” certificates based on whether submitted writer work is deemed original or AI-supported. This distinction is helping to elevate the writing created by humans.
AI can only regurgitate what it has already been fed on a topic, which is frequently devoid of emotion or nuance. That is where human writing truly shines since humans have had lived experiences that AI has not.
Similarly, I suspect that 2025 will be the year that AI’s writing weaknesses become more evident. A generative AI backlash may even emerge.
We’re already starting to see rising claims of plagiarism emerge, in part due to authors relying on AI-generated content and erroneously assuming that the work is unique. It generally is not. Since AI draws from existing works it has been trained on, repeating what has been published elsewhere is almost unavoidable.
Besides the poor quality output (remember Sports Illustrated’s catastrophe in 2023?), professional ghostwriters already know one of the biggest downsides of AI usage is that it cannot be protected by copyright. Although not everyone understands why this is important, once books start being copied and repackaged without the original “author” being able to stop any derivative works, I believe the brakes will be pumped and heavy reliance on AI for content generation may decline.
2. Fiction Ghostwriting Will Skyrocket
Although the brouhaha regarding Millie Bobby Brown’s use of a ghostwriter for her novel Nineteen Steps put her in a negative spotlight temporarily, it did help educate aspiring authors about the role that fiction ghostwriters can play in getting manuscripts written.
Now, people with a story they’ve imagined or are perhaps trying to tell are more aware that there is writing help available. New authors don’t have to try to decipher the writing and publishing processes on their own – ghostwriters can be hired to provide expertise and support.
Although many consumers are aware that many celebrities retain ghostwriters to help craft their memoirs, cookbooks, and children’s stories, the realization that ghostwriters can also work on fiction will spark greater demand in 2025, I predict. Aspiring authors with imaginative tales they want to share with the world will increasingly seek out ghostwriters to help plot their murder mystery, fantasy, romance, suspense, or other type of novel.
3. More Ghostwriters Will Bundle Services
In response to authors requesting help both with writing and publishing, more ghostwriters will bundle publishing guidance with their writing services.
Although many ghostwriters currently view themselves as writing specialists who do not get involved in selling book proposals or publishing manuscripts, authors are increasingly preferring a turnkey solution. Many don’t want to invest in writing a book without a plan for how it will then be published on the backend.
This demand for a clear publishing path is pushing ghostwriters to add “publishing consultant” to their list of services or as a value-add to their writing process. Some are becoming book sherpas or writing coaches in an attempt to meet authors wherever they are in their writing journey, and to bridge the gap to help get their books produced.
4. Storytelling Continues to Rule
Storytelling became a major sales driver in the publishing industry in 2024, according to literary agents and publishers.
Readers demanded well-written stories across the board. The bestselling books in nearly every category, I’ve heard, have been titles with gripping stories that capture and hold the attention of readers. This was true in memoir, history, business, technology, psychology, and just about every other genre or subject you can name.
I expect this trend to continue to build steam in 2025 and to cross over into categories that may have been previously perceived as dry, such as how-to.
What ghostwriting-related predictions do you have for 2025?
