Ghostwriting Client Onboarding Form

Streamline Your Ghostwriting Business with Professional Client Onboarding

Whether you're an established ghostwriter or building your writing services business, first impressions matter—and so does getting the right information upfront. This Ghostwriting Client Onboarding Form helps you capture everything you need to scope, quote and deliver a successful book project, from initial concept to final manuscript.

Built for Professional Ghostwriters and Writing Services

This template is designed specifically for ghostwriters, book coaches, memoir specialists and content agencies who need to:

• Understand the book vision: Capture genre, topic, target audience, tone and competitive titles so you can assess fit and positioning
• Scope the project accurately: Collect target word count, timeline expectations, research requirements and manuscript format preferences
• Assess the author platform: Understand your client's existing audience, social presence, media experience and marketing plans
• Align on publishing goals: Whether they're pursuing traditional publishing, self-publishing or hybrid models, you'll know how to shape the manuscript accordingly
• Structure milestone payments: Use Paperform's built-in payment fields to collect deposits and set up milestone-based payments that keep cash flow predictable and projects on track

Instead of juggling email threads, PDFs and separate payment links, this form consolidates everything into one professional, on-brand experience that sets clear expectations from day one.

Why Paperform Works for Ghostwriting Businesses

Ghostwriting is a relationship business built on trust, communication and delivering on promises. Paperform gives you the tools to manage that professionally:

• Conditional logic shows or hides questions based on answers—so you can tailor intake questions for memoir vs. business book clients, or adjust timelines based on manuscript length
• Integrated payments via Stripe, PayPal or Square let you collect deposits, retainers or full project fees directly in the form
• Custom branding ensures your intake form looks like a natural extension of your website, not a generic survey tool
• Papersign eSignatures (papersign.com) can turn submissions into formal manuscript development agreements, so clients sign off on scope, milestones and terms before work begins
• Stepper workflows (stepper.io) can automate what happens next—send a welcome email sequence, add the client to your project management tool, create a shared folder, schedule a kickoff call and update your CRM, all triggered by one form submission

Perfect for Writers, Agencies and Creative Services Teams

This template is ideal for:

• Freelance ghostwriters managing memoir, business book, self-help or fiction projects
• Book coaching and developmental editing businesses that also offer ghostwriting services
• Content agencies with ghostwriting divisions serving executives, entrepreneurs and thought leaders
• Publishing consultants who help authors develop manuscripts and navigate the publishing landscape

By replacing messy intake processes with a single, professional form, you'll spend less time chasing details and more time doing what you do best: writing great books.

Get Started in Minutes

Customize questions to match your services, set your deposit amount, apply your brand colors and fonts, and publish. Whether you embed it on your services page or send it as a standalone link to prospects, you'll have a polished onboarding experience that reflects the quality of your work—and gives you everything you need to deliver a successful project.