What does a $135,000 book include? The specification, in plain terms.
The Elite price is $9,000 a month for fifteen months, $135,000 in total. This page lists exactly what that buys, who the team is, which authors chose it, and who should choose Professional at $56,000 instead.
Elite is a premier ghostwriter, twenty in-depth interviews, twenty hours of research, ten revision calls, up to three days in person, a $25,000 launch budget.
Four things separate Elite from Professional: the writer, the depth of the work, the time in the room with you, and the launch.
The writer and the team. Elite is written by a premier ghostwriter. Around the writer sits the same structure every Scribe book gets: a publishing manager assigned on day one who runs the project through launch, an executive editor, and quality review. Elite is built to the standard of a major-house book, and the writer is chosen for that standard.
The depth of the work. Professional draws the book out of you in ten two-hour interviews. Elite doubles that: twenty in-depth interviews, plus twenty hours of research your writer does without you, and ten revision calls where you go through the manuscript together. Gui Costin, founder and CEO of Dakota, has written two books with Scribe and says the return shows up as authority and brand, not book sales.
Time in the room and the launch. Your writer can spend up to three days with you in person, which is where a memoir's texture or a founder's way of thinking gets captured. Elite also carries a $25,000 launch budget. Robin Farmanfarmaian published The Patient as CEO with Scribe and has since given more than 225 keynotes in sixteen countries, a speaking career the book sparked, by her account.
When Elite is the wrong buy. If your book is a business book and you can give it about fifty hours, Professional at $4,667 a month for twelve months ($56,000 total) is the right lane, and most Scribe authors choose it. If you want to sell copies as the business, or there is no company, practice or platform for the book to feed, do not spend $135,000 on it.
What do top-tier ghostwriting quotes leave out?
A quote rarely says who writes the pages, who edits them and who runs the project. Ask. At Scribe, Elite means a premier ghostwriter, a publishing manager and an executive editor on one book.
Some arrangements keep rights or a royalty share. Scribe is fee for service: you own 100% of the intellectual property and 100% of the royalties, so you can quote it, build a course on it or write the sequel.
Elite runs nine to twelve months, by design; twenty interviews, twenty hours of research and ten revision calls take that long. Cameron Herold's first book took 27 months alone; his third and fourth he brought to Scribe.
Cameron Herold on Vivid Vision and Meetings Suck, the books he wrote with Scribe.
Who chooses a book like this, and what came of it
Every number below comes from a published success story on scribemedia.com, and each one links to the page it came from.
These are the best documented results among authors who told us. Every one of them had a business or a stage the book could feed. Most authors do not track a number, and a book without a business behind it should not be bought for a financial return.
Robin Farmanfarmaian built a company around her own name, and the book was its credential. The Patient as CEO launched with Scribe in December 2015. Since then she has given more than 225 keynotes in sixteen countries, the speaking career her story credits to the book, and taken VP roles at three medical companies after they saw her speak.
Fifteen years of sales and leadership principles, in print. He says the return is authority and brand, not book sales.
Read the story →New clients came from Virginia, Florida, New Jersey, Guatemala and Switzerland to a Southern California firm within six months of launch.
Read the story →You would be in good company
From first-time authors to number-one bestsellers, these are books our teams helped create.
What people at this level ask us next
You can, and for many books you should. A freelance ghostwriter or Scribe Professional at $56,000 will produce a good business book. Elite exists for the author whose name already carries weight: the founder of a $50 million company, the speaker with a circuit, the author with two books behind them. For that person the book is read against the books on a CEO's shelf, and Elite is built to the standard of a major-house book. If you do not need that standard, we will say so.
Professional is a Scribe writer, ten two-hour interviews, two voice checks and line-by-line revision, then full publishing, for $4,667 a month over twelve months ($56,000 total). Elite is a premier ghostwriter, twenty in-depth interviews, twenty hours of research, ten revision calls, up to three days in person and a $25,000 launch budget, for $9,000 a month over fifteen months ($135,000 total). Both include a publishing manager from day one and 100% ownership of rights and royalties.
Elite is written by a premier ghostwriter, and pairing comes before any writing. You answer questions about your voice and how you like to work, meet the matched writers, and choose the one you trust with your name. Many senior Scribe writers have been with Scribe five to ten years, and many carry traditional publishing credits. If the pairing is wrong, we re-pair you. You approve the voice before the writer proceeds, and you approve every line before it goes to print.
That is the craft, and it is why Elite spends twenty interviews and up to three days in person with you. The writer builds the book from your recorded words. You see preview pages after the first interviews, and nothing proceeds until you approve the voice. Then you revise line by line across ten revision calls until every sentence is one you would say. Gui Costin wrote two books this way, and the second went more smoothly because structure and interviews were set up after the first.
The price is one price, paid monthly: $9,000 for fifteen months, $135,000 in total, with a $1,000 deposit at signing that comes off the first payment. There is no royalty share and no percentage of anything you earn from the book. A few situations can add to the total, and the agreement spells them out, so ask us what could cost more and what happens if you stop, and we will show you the agreement before you sign. We would rather you read it than be surprised by it.
Authors with two or three books behind them tend to come to Elite for one of two reasons: the last publisher dropped the ball, or they no longer have the hours. Cameron Herold spent 27 months on his first book alone and brought his third and fourth to Scribe. John Ruhlin tried to write his and could not until he had a team. Elite is built so the author brings the thinking and the team carries the rest, from research to launch.
When Scribe is the wrong choice
We would rather say this here than on a call.
- You want to sell copies as the business. Royalties rarely repay a $135,000 book; the return is clients, speaking, authority and legacy. If copies are the goal, write it yourself with the free Scribe Method and publish on your own.
- You have no company, practice or platform for the book to feed, and this is personal money. Start with the free North Star tool or the Scribe Method, or bring a finished draft to Publishing at $4,833 a month for six months ($29,000 total).
- You need the book in under nine months. Elite runs nine to twelve months from first call to launch and does not cut that short. Every step has a purpose, and a book that is not ready costs more than a book that took another month.
The real numbers, before you talk to anyone
Every package is one price, paid monthly, with a $1,000 deposit at signing that comes off the first payment. You own every right and every dollar of royalties. The monthly figure and the total are both here, before any call.
A premier ghostwriter and a dedicated team, built to the standard of a major-house book: twenty in-depth interviews, research, ten revision calls, and a $25,000 launch budget.
If you want to start smaller, Compass is $5,000, five coaching calls, and the full amount is credited toward Elite. How Compass works.
A private conversation about the book
Elite is $9,000 a month for fifteen months, $135,000 in total, and this is a sales conversation: we tell you whether Elite fits your book and what it would take, and we will say so if Professional at $56,000 is the better answer. Someone senior calls you during business hours, usually the same day.
What $135,000 buys, and what it does not
People who search for elite ghostwriting are rarely asking about price. They are asking whether anyone can be trusted with their name. The honest answer is that the book you get depends on who writes it, how much time they spend with you, and how much of the work you are expected to manage yourself. Elite is our answer to that: a premier ghostwriter, twenty in-depth interviews, twenty hours of research, ten revision calls, up to three days in person, and a $25,000 launch budget. That is a specification, not a promise about sales, and we would rather you judge it as one.
These authors share something. Gui Costin spent fifteen years building Dakota on a set of principles before he put them in print, and he is clear that the return is authority, not royalties. Robin Farmanfarmaian built a company around her own name and used The Patient as CEO as its credential; more than 225 keynotes in sixteen countries followed. Cameron Herold's speaking fee went from $15,000 to $30,000 after his two Scribe books, his figure. None of them bought a book to sell copies. Each had a company, a stage or a body of work the book could feed, and that is the test we apply before we recommend Elite.
So compare quotes, but compare the specification, not the headline number. Ask who writes, how many hours they spend with you, who edits, who runs the project, who owns the finished book, and what the launch budget is. Then decide whether your book needs that standard. For most business books it does not, and Scribe Professional at $4,667 a month for twelve months ($56,000 total) is the right answer. If your name already carries weight and the book will be read by people who judge books for a living, request a private conversation. We will tell you plainly whether Elite is the right lane and what it would take.