Start with the kind of writing you need
You may have recorded stories, chapter notes, a partial draft or an idea that needs a structure. Those starting points need different work. Original ghostwriting develops prose from source material and author conversations. Manuscript typing transfers existing material into a document. Editing improves text already written. Identify those tasks separately before agreeing a proposal.
Greenfield can discuss a memoir or family story, a business or leadership book, or another book brief. Bring the audience and purpose as well as the subject: a private family edition and a public practical guide make different demands on the manuscript.
Agree the outline and voice before the full draft
A useful outline explains what each chapter contributes and which material supports it. Review the opening, chapter order, missing sources and intended ending before drafting grows. For nonfiction, decide what a reader should understand or do differently. For a memoir, decide which period and central experience the narrative follows.
A representative voice sample gives you something concrete to review. Mark phrases that sound natural, passages that miss your meaning and places where the reader needs context. Agree how that feedback guides the next chapter batch. The point is a recognizable voice and a clear book, rather than a universal style imposed on every author.
Make interviews, drafting and review visible
The proposed scope should identify source collection, interview preparation, recording permission, outline development, drafting and author review. Ask who writes the manuscript, how feedback is collected and which revision rounds are included. If research or transcription is required, confirm its extent and deliverables.
Keep a record of unresolved questions. A date, quotation or technical claim may need evidence from you or another source. Agree who verifies it and whether specialist review is needed. A confident sentence should not turn uncertain source material into an invented fact.
After each agreed review stage, approve a named manuscript version. Changes to the central concept, interview workload or chapter plan should be discussed as scope changes. This keeps a new direction from being mistaken for a small correction.
Keep rights and production responsibilities clear
Discuss ownership, attribution, confidentiality, permitted portfolio use and final editable files in the agreement. Identify any third-party photographs, quotations or contributions requiring permission. Use the Authors Guild's collaboration guidance as a starting point for questions, and seek qualified advice for the terms of your particular agreement.
A writing scope does not automatically include every publishing task. Editing, proofreading, cover design, formatting, publishing accounts and launch support need explicit inclusions. Our publishing packages list manuscript typing from a draft or notes; original manuscript development belongs in a separately stated writing scope.
Request a proposal around your material
Share the genre, current draft stage, source material, intended readers and preferred date. Your word-count goal can be provisional; explain the depth of the book and any fixed production needs. Interview load, research complexity, draft condition, review rounds and additional production all shape the proposal.
You do not need to send a complete archive in the first enquiry. Describe what exists, what is missing and which decisions you want help making. Contact for pricing after the writing and approval responsibilities are clear.