How to hire a ghostwriter · 5 min read
Mutual NDAs for ghostwriting — what should actually be in one
An NDA that is silent on attribution is not a confidentiality contract. Here are the eight clauses a working ghostwriting NDA needs.
Most NDAs traded between authors and ghostwriters are template documents downloaded from law-firm sites and lightly edited. They are usually serviceable for what they cover and silent on what matters most — attribution. Here is the working ghostwriting NDA, clause by clause.
This is general practical guidance, not legal advice. Have a lawyer in your jurisdiction review any contract you sign.
Clause 1: mutuality
Both parties owe the same duty of confidentiality. Many vendor-supplied NDAs only obligate the client; that is not a ghostwriting NDA, it is a one-way disclosure agreement. Insist on mutual.
Clause 2: scope of confidential information
Define what is covered. The manuscript itself, your brief and outline, recordings and transcripts from interviews, identities of third parties named in the work, business or personal details disclosed during interviews, the existence of the engagement (if you want this — many executive memoirs do).
The scope clause is where most templates are weakest. Write it specifically.
Clause 3: non-attribution
A separate clause from confidentiality. The writer (and their studio, if applicable) agrees never to claim authorship, never to list the project in any portfolio, never to discuss the project publicly. If a journalist asks, they decline.
Without this clause, an NDA can be silent on attribution and the writer could technically tell people they wrote your book years later. Confidentiality protects the content; non-attribution protects your authorship claim.
Clause 4: survival
The obligations survive termination of the engagement and termination of the studio. They are not contingent on the project finishing or the parties remaining on good terms.
Many templates expire the NDA after 2 to 5 years. For ghostwriting, this should be perpetual or at minimum 10 years from delivery.
Clause 5: exceptions
Confidentiality cannot extend to information already public, information legally compelled (court order, subpoena), or information independently developed. Standard. Include it.
Add one ghostwriting-specific exception: the writer can disclose the engagement under NDA to their own legal counsel or accountant. Refusing this makes the NDA unenforceable in practice.
Clause 6: remedies
What happens if the NDA is breached. Standard options: injunctive relief (court order to stop the breach), damages, fees-and-costs to the prevailing party. Liquidated damages (a fixed dollar amount) are appealing but often unenforceable; many jurisdictions require damages to be proven, not stipulated in advance.
The teeth of the clause matter more than the headline number. A clause that says “$1M in liquidated damages” but is unenforceable is weaker than a clause that says “actual damages plus reasonable attorney’s fees” and is enforceable.
Clause 7: governing law and jurisdiction
Where will disputes be heard? California, New York, and Delaware are common choices in the US because their courts have substantial commercial-contract experience. Pick one and specify the venue.
For international NDAs, jurisdiction is harder. JAMS or AAA arbitration with a US seat is a common middle ground that gives both sides predictability.
Clause 8: termination
What ends the agreement, if anything. For ghostwriting, the confidentiality clauses should not terminate. The broader engagement agreement (timeline, deliverables, payment) ends when the work is delivered or the contract is dissolved. The NDA continues.
A specific warning about templates
Free NDA templates online frequently miss clauses 3 (non-attribution) and 4 (survival). They are designed for trade secrets in commercial transactions, not for ghostwriting. If you start from a template, treat clauses 3 and 4 as required additions, not optional.
How we handle this
Every project signs a mutual NDA before the discovery call if the client requests one. We use our standard form, which has all eight clauses, or we work from yours. Either way, mutual. Either way, perpetual non-attribution on the writer. Either way, a copy is filed in your project record so the contract is retrievable on day 1,000 if you ever need it.