Ghostwriting NDA

Confidentiality is fundamental to ghostwriting. This page sets out the mutual non-disclosure agreement we sign with every client before any creative material is exchanged. The agreement protects you, the author — and binds us, the studio — symmetrically.

1. The parties

This NDA is between American Publisher (the “Studio”) and the engaged author (the “Client”). Both parties are equally bound by its terms.

2. What counts as confidential information

For the purposes of this NDA, “Confidential Information” includes anything that a reasonable person would consider confidential, including but not limited to:

• The fact that the Client is working with the Studio at all.
• The Client's identity, pseudonym, and biographical details.
• Drafts, outlines, manuscripts, notes, sketches and any other creative material exchanged between the parties.
• Interview recordings, transcripts and source material provided by the Client.
• The Client's commercial strategy, brand positioning, marketing plans and target audience.
• The Studio's working methods, internal documents, contractor identities, and pricing structures.

3. What is not confidential

The following is not considered Confidential Information:

• Information that was already publicly known before disclosure.
• Information that becomes publicly known through no fault of the receiving party.
• Information lawfully obtained from a third party with no confidentiality obligation.
• Information independently developed by the receiving party without reference to the other party's confidential material.

4. Obligations of confidentiality

Each party agrees that it will:

• Use Confidential Information only for the purpose of the engagement.
• Not disclose Confidential Information to any third party without the other party's prior written consent.
• Take reasonable measures to protect the Confidential Information, including encryption of stored files and restricted access among personnel.
• Limit access to Confidential Information to personnel and contractors who have a need to know and who are themselves bound by equivalent confidentiality obligations.

5. Authorship credit and pseudonyms

This is the heart of ghostwriting confidentiality:

• The Client is the sole credited author of the work, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
• The Studio will not list, refer to or otherwise publicise the engagement as our own work without the Client's express written permission.
• No part of the manuscript will be used by the Studio as a portfolio sample, marketing example or training material without the Client's express written permission.
• If the Client uses a pen name, the Studio will respect and protect that pseudonym as if it were the Client's legal name.

6. Term and duration

This NDA takes effect when both parties sign the engagement proposal and remains in force indefinitely. Confidentiality obligations survive the end of the engagement and continue after the manuscript is published, after the contract is terminated, and after the relationship between the parties ends.

7. Permitted disclosures

Either party may disclose Confidential Information if:

• Required by a valid court order, subpoena, or applicable law — in which case the disclosing party will give the other party reasonable advance notice where legally permitted.
• Required by a regulatory authority — same notice obligation applies.
• Disclosure is to the disclosing party's own legal or financial advisors, who are themselves bound by professional confidentiality obligations.

8. Return and destruction of materials

On completion of the engagement, or at any time on the other party's written request:

• Each party will return or destroy all Confidential Information in its possession, in whatever form (paper, digital, cloud-based).
• Recordings of interviews are destroyed within 60 days of final manuscript delivery unless the Client requests they be retained.
• Transcripts and working drafts may be retained by the Studio for up to 24 months for revision-history purposes and then destroyed, unless an earlier deadline is agreed.

9. Copyright and intellectual property

On final payment, full copyright in the manuscript and any related deliverables transfers to the Client. The Studio retains no continuing rights, licence or claim. This transfer is independent of, and in addition to, the confidentiality obligations above.

10. Remedies for breach

Both parties acknowledge that a breach of this NDA could cause significant and possibly irreparable harm — to the Client's reputation, commercial position, or both — for which monetary damages alone may be insufficient. In addition to any other available remedy:

• The non-breaching party may seek injunctive relief to prevent further disclosure.
• The breaching party will be liable for all reasonable legal costs incurred by the non-breaching party in enforcing the NDA.

11. Subcontractors and personnel

The Studio occasionally engages specialist subcontractors (illustrators, formatters, editors) on specific projects. Every such contractor signs a back-to-back confidentiality agreement before being introduced to any Confidential Information. The Studio remains responsible to the Client for any breach by its subcontractors.

12. Governing law

This NDA is governed by the laws of the State of New York, United States. Any dispute arising from the NDA will be resolved by binding arbitration in New York under the rules of the American Arbitration Association.

13. Entire agreement

This NDA, together with the signed engagement proposal and our Terms of Service, constitutes the entire agreement between the parties relating to confidentiality and supersedes any prior arrangement on the subject. Changes to this NDA must be agreed in writing by both parties.

14. How to engage us under this NDA

This NDA is automatically applied to every paid engagement at the start of work. You can also request a stand-alone signed copy of this NDA before formal engagement — useful if you'd like the protection in place while you decide whether to proceed. Email nda@americanpublisher.com or use the form on our contact page.