Kevin Anderson & Associates is a premium ghostwriting firm whose published packages start at $57,500 and run past $250,000. It is one of the few ghostwriting companies that lists real prices publicly, staffs projects with former Big Five editors, and has a genuine track record with bestselling authors. It is also priced far beyond what most first-time authors can justify.
In this review, you will learn:
- What Kevin Anderson & Associates actually charges, tier by tier, from its own rate sheet
- Where the firm genuinely outperforms cheaper ghostwriting options
- The complaints that recur across BBB filings and former freelancer reviews
- Who should hire them, and who should walk away
Here is the honest assessment.
What Kevin Anderson & Associates Actually Is
Kevin Anderson & Associates — A high-end ghostwriting and editorial firm, operating since 2007, that pairs paying clients with professional writers and former traditional-publishing editors to produce full manuscripts, book proposals, and editorial reviews.
It is not a publisher. The firm does not acquire your book, does not pay an advance, and does not take a royalty. You pay a fee, you keep the rights, and you keep the manuscript.
It is also not a marketplace. Unlike Reedsy, where you browse freelancer profiles and negotiate directly, Kevin Anderson & Associates assigns you a team and manages the project internally. You are buying a managed service, not a contractor.
The firm operates a US arm at ka-writing.com and a UK arm at kawriting.co.uk with separate pricing. It also runs a public guide to avoiding ghostwriting scams, which argues that reputable ghostwriters charge at least $12,000 and that legitimate firms rarely discount. That is a defensible position and also, conveniently, an argument for its own price floor.
What Kevin Anderson & Associates Does Well
Most critical reviews jump straight to the price. That skips four things the firm is genuinely good at.
It publishes its rates. Very few premium ghostwriting firms do. The published rate sheet lists per-word editing prices, package bands, proposal pricing, and beta reader costs. In an industry where “contact us for a quote” is the norm and where opaque pricing is a hallmark of the actual scams, this is a real credibility signal.
The editorial talent is real. The firm recruits editors who worked inside traditional publishing houses and writers with published books to their names. It maintains a Publishers Marketplace listing, which is where agents and acquiring editors actually look. That access is not something a $5,000 freelancer can replicate.
It sells the traditional-publishing path, not just a manuscript. The Executive package includes a book proposal, a bestseller strategy, and beta testing with 20 or more readers. The Black Card tier adds agent solicitation and 300-plus-reader title and cover surveys. If your goal is a traditional deal rather than self-publishing, that pipeline has value that a word count alone does not measure.
Project management is included. You get an editor, a writer, and a coordinator. For an executive or a physician with a demanding day job, having someone else chase the schedule is a substantial part of what you are buying. It is the same logic that makes full-service ghostwriting worth more than hiring a writer off a job board.
The BBB rating is A+. Worth noting, though with an asterisk: the firm is listed as not BBB accredited, so that letter grade reflects BBB’s own complaint-handling algorithm rather than a vetted membership.
What Kevin Anderson & Associates Does Not Do Well
The entry price excludes almost everyone. The Premier ghostwriting package starts at $57,500. That is not a deposit — it is the floor of the cheapest full-book tier. The median self-published nonfiction book does not earn that back. For most authors this is a personal-brand expense, not an investment with a payback period.
The per-word editing rates escalate steeply by tier for arguably similar work. A line edit with content review runs $0.055 per word at Premier and $0.18 per word at Executive. On an 80,000-word manuscript that is $4,400 versus $14,400 for the same named service. The difference is seniority of the editor, but the rate sheet does not make the practical difference obvious enough to justify a 3x spread on its own.
Creative-control disputes show up in complaints. A BBB complaint from a client who paid $36,000 for a mental-health book describes being told the book concept was not worth writing, being pushed toward a different book, and receiving a manuscript that reflected the assigned writer’s own philosophy and family more than the client’s. Revisions were reportedly difficult to get made. This is the structural risk of ghostwriting at any price, but it stings more at $36,000.
At least one client reports a very large loss. A BBB reviewer named Carl B. reports paying $64,000 and receiving, in his words, “virtually nothing in return.” One review is not a pattern, but the size of the number makes it worth reading the complaint file before you sign.
The upsell path is steep and starts early. A Critical Review and Analysis at the Premier minimum costs $1,000. One BBB reviewer describes paying that, then learning the manuscript needed a complete format change and hundreds of corrections — which is exactly the finding that leads to a much larger engagement. The diagnostic is priced low and the treatment is not.
Writers report being paid a small fraction of what you pay. A former freelance writer’s Glassdoor review cites low pay relative to client fees, communication lags, unclear expectations, and layers of editors and managers. If the writer on your book is underpaid and micromanaged, that is your risk, not just theirs.
Nothing about the price guarantees a sale. The firm has said publicly it handles close to 500 projects a year. Very few of those become books you have heard of. Paying at the top of the market buys you a better manuscript. It does not buy you readers, and no ghostwriting contract can.
How the Pricing Actually Compares
All figures below are from the firm’s own published rate sheet as of September 2026. Confirm current numbers directly before committing — rate sheets move.
Ghostwriting packages
| Tier | Published price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Premier | $57,500 – $95,000 | Senior editor plus professional writer, strategy sessions, full writing and editing |
| Executive | $115,000 – $250,000 | Executive editor, widely published writer, 20+ beta readers, line edit, book proposal |
| Black Card | Call to inquire | Possible #1 NYT-bestselling writer, 300+ reader surveys, agent solicitation, marketing management |
The UK arm quotes £40,000 – £75,000 for Premier and £85,000 – £165,000 for Executive.
Editorial services, priced per word
| Service | Premier | Senior | Executive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copy edit | $0.035 | $0.035 | $0.035 |
| Critical review and analysis | $0.035 | $0.09 | $0.12 |
| Line edit with content review | $0.055 | $0.14 | $0.18 |
| Line editing plus | $0.11 | $0.22 | $0.30 |
Minimums apply: $1,000 at Premier, $3,000 at Senior, $5,000 at Executive.
Everything else you may still need
| Add-on | Price |
|---|---|
| Original query letter | $1,250 (Premier) / $1,750 (Executive) |
| Book proposal, standard | $12,000+ (Premier) / $30,000+ (Executive) |
| Book coaching | $10,000+ (Premier) / $20,000–$35,000+ (Executive) |
| Beta reader review, 20+ readers | $7,500 |
| Title or cover survey, 350+ readers | $3,500 each |
| Blueprint Day | $4,500 (Premier) / $7,500 (Executive) |
| Agents list, 10 contacts | $400 |
The important number is not the package price. It is the total workflow cost. A Premier ghostwriting engagement plus a standard proposal plus beta testing clears $77,000 before you have paid for a cover, a publicist, or distribution. Our ghostwriter cost guide puts that in context against the rest of the market, and the book writing service cost breakdown covers what else you still have to fund afterwards.
What Real Users Say
Sentiment splits along a clean line: people who got the right writer are glad they paid, and people who did not are out five figures.
On the positive side, BBB reviewers describe editors who behaved as genuine collaborators rather than adversaries, and clients who felt they became better writers through the process. That is a real outcome and it appears more than once.
On the negative side, the recurring themes are voice mismatch, difficulty getting revisions made, and the gap between what was paid and what was delivered. The complaint from the author who paid $36,000 and the review from the author who paid $64,000 are the two most detailed, and both describe a breakdown in creative alignment rather than an outright failure to deliver pages.
The firm has also been the subject of trade-press coverage of the ghostwriting industry, in which its founder has discussed high six-figure project fees and a volume of close to 500 projects annually. Read that as context for the pricing, not as an endorsement.
Before you commit anywhere in this price range, run the firm through our ghostwriter interview questions and read the ghostwriter contract template so you know what revision rights and kill fees you should be asking for.
Who Should Hire Kevin Anderson & Associates
Hire them if you fit most of this profile:
- You have a budget of $60,000 or more that you can spend without needing the book to earn it back
- You want a traditional publishing deal and need a proposal, an agent list, and credible representation
- You are an executive, founder, physician, or public figure whose time is worth more than the fee
- Your book’s commercial value comes from your platform, not from the manuscript’s sales
- You want one accountable vendor rather than a stack of freelancers you manage yourself
For a business leader with an existing audience and a real shot at a Big Five deal, this is a rational purchase. It is the same reasoning that makes a business book ghostwriter worth a premium.
Who Should Not Hire Kevin Anderson & Associates
Walk away if any of this is true:
- The fee represents a meaningful portion of your savings
- You are writing your first book and are not certain of the concept yet
- You are self-publishing and expect the book to pay for itself
- You want to write the book yourself and just need structure and momentum
- You are writing fiction as a debut novelist with no platform
- You are writing a family memoir for a small audience — see our memoir ghostwriter cost guide for realistic figures instead
If you are in this group, the honest advice is that the price is not the problem. The mismatch is. You would be buying a traditional-publishing pipeline you have no plans to use.
The Alternative We Built
Our Product — Chapter
Chapter is AI book writing software that takes your ideas, expertise, and voice and produces a structured, full-length manuscript you control at every step. It is $97 one-time for nonfiction rather than $57,500 and up.
Best for: authors who have the expertise and want the book, but cannot justify a five-figure ghostwriting fee.
Pricing: $97 one-time (nonfiction) | fiction priced separately
Why we built it: because the gap between a $97 tool and a $57,500 service had nothing in it, and most authors live in that gap.
More than 2,147 authors have written books with Chapter and over 5,000 books have been created on the platform. Chapter has been covered in USA Today and The New York Times. Individual authors have reported results including $13,200 from a single book and $60,000 in 48 hours from a launch. You can read the full Chapter review for the unvarnished version, including what it does not do.
Where Kevin Anderson & Associates genuinely beats Chapter
This section matters more than the pitch, so here it is straight.
Human judgment about your book’s concept. Chapter will help you write the book you tell it to write. A senior editor at Kevin Anderson & Associates will tell you your concept is wrong before you spend a year on it. That is uncomfortable and frequently correct, and no AI tool reliably does it.
Access to agents and traditional publishing. Chapter produces a manuscript. It does not have a Publishers Marketplace listing, it does not solicit agents on your behalf, and it cannot get your proposal read by an acquiring editor at a Big Five imprint. If a traditional deal is the goal, that access is the entire product and Chapter does not sell it.
Genuine ghostwriting for people who will not write. Chapter still requires you to show up, direct the work, and edit. If you will realistically never do that, a service that writes the book without you is not an indulgence — it is the only version that produces a book. Be honest with yourself about which one you are.
Prose at the top of the market. A skilled human ghostwriter working across months will produce sentences that a first-pass AI draft will not match. Chapter narrows the gap dramatically and gives you total control of revisions. It does not close it.
Structured beta testing and market validation. Title surveys with 350 readers and 20-reader manuscript tests are real market research. Chapter has no equivalent, and for a book with serious commercial stakes that research is worth paying for.
Where Chapter wins
You keep creative control, because you are the one writing. There is no voice mismatch to dispute, because the voice is yours. You can start today rather than after a discovery call and a contract. And the total downside is $97 rather than $36,000 and a BBB complaint.
For most authors — the ones with expertise, a real reason to write, and no six-figure book budget — that trade is not close. If you want to see the middle of the market before deciding, our roundup of the best ghostwriting services covers everything between $97 and $250,000, and our guide to hiring a ghostwriter walks through vetting anyone you do decide to pay.
FAQ
How much does Kevin Anderson & Associates cost?
Kevin Anderson & Associates publishes ghostwriting packages starting at $57,500 for Premier and running from $115,000 to $250,000 for Executive, with a Black Card tier quoted on request. Editorial services are priced per word, from $0.035 for a copy edit up to $0.30 for line editing plus.
Is Kevin Anderson & Associates legitimate?
Kevin Anderson & Associates is a legitimate ghostwriting firm operating since 2007 with an A+ BBB rating, though it is not BBB accredited. It publishes its rates openly and maintains a Publishers Marketplace listing. Complaints exist and center on creative control rather than non-delivery.
Is Kevin Anderson & Associates worth the price?
Kevin Anderson & Associates is worth the price for authors with platforms, traditional publishing ambitions, and budgets above $60,000. It is not worth it for first-time self-publishing authors, debut novelists, or anyone who needs the book to earn back its cost.
What is the cheapest way to work with Kevin Anderson & Associates?
The cheapest entry point is an editorial service at the Premier tier, which carries a $1,000 minimum. A critical review and analysis at $0.035 per word or a copy edit at the same rate lets you test the firm without committing to a full ghostwriting package.
What are the best alternatives to Kevin Anderson & Associates?
The best alternatives are Chapter at $97 for authors writing the book themselves, Reedsy for vetted freelance ghostwriters in the $5,000 to $40,000 range, and Scribe Media for a managed mid-market service. An AI ghostwriter covers the low end.
