A lot of people wonder, “Is it illegal or unethical to hire a ghostwriter?” The answer is: No. Hiring someone else to write content and then publishing it under your own name is a common, standard, legally recognized practice in publishing, marketing, and business. Here’s why.
Why it’s Legal, and Ethical, to Hire a Ghostwriter
It’s both legal and ethical to hire a ghostwriter, whether you’re a therapist or not, as long as there’s a signed contract and a copyright transfer. The ghostwriter is being paid for their work, and the client is clear that they own the intellectual property.
Celebrity memoirs? Mostly (if not entirely) ghostwritten. Sometimes, even quite publicly, like in the case of Prince Harry’s Spare. That was an instance where the ghostwriter was allowed to disclose his work on the book. People use ghostwriters all the time because they’re busy or don’t have the skillset to write a blog post, speech, white paper, etc. And it’s not only celebrities who use a ghostwriter. Business executives and marketers frequently hire a ghostwriter for the same reasons.
Hiring a Ghostwriter is More Legal than Using AI
Also, let’s get real: Hiring a ghostwriter is more legal and ethical than using AI to write something for you. That’s because all of the content used to train LLMs was captured illegally, without consent, and with zero compensation for the original creator.
AI has to use work that’s already produced to generate its answers. It’s pulling content from other creatives — without credit or compensation — to write that blog for you. With a person? That’s not the case. They are taking your words and ideas generated from conversations, notes, and research to create something new. It’s all aboveboard and legal, whereas AI is really not.
Don’t Use a Ghostwriter for Academia
The one place where ghostwriting is problematic is in academia. Hiring someone to write an essay, a dissertation, that sort of thing, is considered academically dishonest because the folks evaluating that material are interested in the student’s work, how they think, the effort they put in. Hiring a ghostwriter shortchanges all that.
How This Works for Therapists
I’m a ghostwriter for therapists so I’ll tell you how this works for me in particular. I’m not an expert in psychology. I don’t have an MFT or LCSW. I don’t have any formal schooling on therapy topics. That means I still need your expertise to guide my work. I gather information and organize it, but I still need you, as the professional, to look it over and make sure it’s correct. That’s why it’s perfectly legal and ethical. I’m the human intelligence generating the first draft, and you are the “prompter,” if you want to use AI terminology, who has to double-check the work.
However, unlike AI, I’m not literal-minded; I understand nuance, can take direction well, and will happily push back on something I don’t think works. You can think of me as the typer, coach, and guide all wrapped up into one.
In Summary
To conclude: Is it illegal or unethical to hire a ghostwriter? No. As long as it’s not for a term paper or a dissertation, ghostwriting is a standard, recognized practice across industries. It involves a contract, transfer of copyright, and a non-disclosure agreement. As long as those elements are involved, you’re golden.
If you’d like to try ghostwriting for yourself, contact me about potentially working together.