We’ve worked with some of the top companies in corporate wellness, travel, and publishing.
Ghostwriting, Author Coaching, and Book Editing
Inkhorn Creative is a two-person ghostwriting agency run by published authors and award-winning editors Abigail Keyes and Tim Rayborn.
We are ghostwriters, book coaches, editors, and publishing consultants for leaders and experts with a story to tell. Drawing on decades of experience, we help you turn a rough idea into a polished, publish-ready manuscript. And we don't stop at the manuscript. We take you from your first idea through a finished book, a strong book proposal, and a strategy for getting it in front of the right agents and publishers.
Nearly three decades of experience
2019 Susan Koppelman Award winners
Clients worldwide
How We Help
Problems we can help solve:
Whether you want a book that grows your business, lands speaking gigs, or leaves a legacy, we’ll meet you wherever you are in the process.
"I want to write and publish a book, but I'm not a writer."
"I just don't have time to write it."
"I have a draft, but I'm not sure it works."
"English isn't my first language."
"I want to write it myself, but I need a guide."
"I keep starting, but I can't finish."
"I tried AI, and it doesn't sound like me."
"I paid for writing and editing help, and I'm still not happy with my book."
Who We Work With
The fields and genres we work with often include:
We work with accomplished leaders and experts in a wide range of fields, often writing a business book or memoir. We also work with fiction clients, specializing in fantasy, historical fiction, and sci-fi. The books we get most excited about come from people doing interesting things and bringing a different voice to their field.
business books
leadership
consulting
entrepreneurship
sports
memoir / autobiography
education
wellness
self-help
travel
historical fiction
speculative fiction
fantasy
sci-fi
Our Book Writing Services
Choose the level of support you need.
We can write it for you, help you write it, or improve the manuscript you’ve already written. When the time comes, we can also help you navigate traditional, hybrid, or self-publishing.
Ghostwriting
We write it for you.
Ghostwriting services are for business owners, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who want a quality book that supports their business and entrepreneurial goals without having to write it themselves.
Through interviews, notes, research, and collaboration, we turn your ideas into a complete manuscript in your voice. And our work doesn’t stop when the first draft is finished. Developmental and line editing, query letters, book proposals, and agent research are included. A typical ghostwriting project takes up to a year to complete.
Investment: $50K – $75K
Book Coaching
You write it yourself, but not alone.
Coaching services are for entrepreneurs, business owners, and thought leaders who want to walk through the fire of writing their own book.
We help you define your audience, outline your book, and set attainable writing goals, then give you the feedback and accountability to keep moving until you have a finished draft. We can also advise you on the publication process. Coaching for fiction authors is also available.
6-month packages start at $2,500
Book Editing
We get your manuscript publish-ready.
Book editing services are for authors who already have a draft and want to make it publish-ready. Choose how much of the revising you want to do yourself.
With developmental editing, we give you big-picture feedback, and you revise. With line editing, we refine your writing while preserving your unique author voice. With manuscript mending, sometimes called "book doctoring," we make the edits for you.
Developmental Editing: $0.045/word nonfiction · $0.03/word fiction
Line Editing: $0.03–$0.045/word
Manuscript Mending: $15K–$25K
Publishing Consulting
We help you get it in front of the right people.
Publishing consulting with Inkhorn Creative is for authors seeking traditional publishing. We research the literary agents and publishers that are the best fit for your book, conduct market and competitive research, and write the query letters and book proposals they expect.
Where we have an appropriate connection, we may also be able to make a direct introduction. We can’t promise representation or publication, but we can make sure you’re approaching the right people with a strong pitch.
Query Letter Writing: $600–$800
Book Proposal Writing: $5K–$8K
You are ready to write your book.
Whether you think you are or not.
We're here to help you make it excellent.
Start with a free 30-minute discovery call.
Books We've Helped With
Manuscript Mending
A business leader with five decades of international experience had written about his unusual approach to management. His ideas were there, but they were scattered, and English is his second language. We organized the book and refined the English so his expertise reads as clearly on the page as it does in the boardroom.
Manuscript Mending
An internationally celebrated sports coach had written his whole life story, but it read like a timeline instead of a journey. We restructured the manuscript from the ground up so his story now has the momentum and emotion it deserves.
Book Coaching
A physical therapist had a rough, unfinished draft about something she felt the sports recovery literature overlooked: the emotional and mental side of recovering from an injury. Together, we built a plan for edits and revisions and worked through it until her manuscript was polished enough to publish.
Ghostwriting
A busy CEO knew exactly what he wanted his book to say, but not when he'd ever find time to write it. Through interviews and his own notes, Tim wrote it for him, in his voice. The finished book has been highly praised by his peers and by leaders across his industry.
About Inkhorn Creative
Inkhorn Creative was started by accomplished authors Abigail Keyes and Tim Rayborn in 2014, combining their writing, editing, and publishing expertise. Together, they have written and edited dozens of books on topics ranging from starting a business to the strangest stories of dance history.
In 2019, Tim and Abigail won the Popular Culture Association's Susan Koppelman Award for the best edited book in feminist studies for Jessica Jones, Scarred Superhero (McFarland), beating out 40 other books!
Abigail Keyes
Abigail Keyes is an award-winning editor, author, and book coach who has lived many lives. She co-wrote Weird Dance (Skyhorse) with Tim and has written several books on 20th-century Middle Eastern performing arts. She is also a college professor and spent nearly a decade as an intelligence analyst.
At Inkhorn, she leads book coaching and editing, and as a contract editor for Greenleaf Book Group, one of the leading hybrid publishers in the US, she knows what publishers look for. Her specialties include business leadership, evidence-based wellness, memoir, and speculative fiction (historical, fantasy, and sci-fi). She holds a BA in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University and an MA in Dance Studies from Mills College, and has taught dance on five continents as a professional belly dancer.
Visit her website at akeyeswriting.com
Tim Rayborn
Tim Rayborn is an acclaimed and prolific author who has written more than 55 books about music, the arts, history, and business. His work has been published by HarperCollins, Arcturus, Insight Editions, and Skyhorse, and he has ghostwritten for business leaders, actors, entrepreneurs, and athletes.
At Inkhorn, he leads ghostwriting and book proposals, and as an author represented by the Rudy Literary Agency, he knows what agents look for. He holds a PhD in Medieval Studies from the University of Leeds and has toured North America, Europe, and Australia as a professional early and world music performer.
He lives in the Portland, Oregon, Metro Area, amid many books, instruments, and antique music reproduction devices (that is, CDs).
Visit his website at timrayborn.com
What It’s Like To Work With Inkhorn Creative
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Come as you are, mess and all
You don't need to have it all together before you reach out. Bring us your scribbled notes on a napkin or the draft you got overwhelmed by. Don't apologize for the mistakes. We care about your ideas, and we'd rather start with something human and real and messy.
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It’s still your book
Working with us doesn't mean handing over your ideas and getting someone else's book back. With ghostwriting, we write it through interviews, your notes, and co-creation. With coaching and editing, it's your draft, made stronger. Either way, we want your voice, not ours.
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You're never doing it alone
Writing a book is a huge endeavor, and it's easy to get overwhelmed. We've been creatives our whole lives, so whether it's ghostwriting, coaching, or editing, we bring the clear goals and accountability that get your book done.
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Honest, both ways
You'll get honest, kind feedback on your draft and straight answers about publishing, including what no one can promise. And when we ask what you think, just tell us in your own words. It doesn't need to be polished.
Common Questions
If your question isn't listed below, use the form below to ask.
How much does it cost to hire a ghostwriter?
With Inkhorn Creative, most ghostwriting projects typically run $50K–$75K, with developmental editing, line editing, book proposals, and query letters included as relevant.
How long does it take to write a book?
It depends on how you work with us. A typical ghostwriting project takes up to a year. Coaching packages run in six month containers. Developmental and line editing have a 4–6 week turnaround, depending on availability.
Whose name goes on the book—do ghostwriters get credit?
Your name goes on the book. It's your book, your ideas, and your voice. Ghostwriters stay behind the scenes.
What is book doctoring?
Book doctoring, which we call manuscript mending, is for a rough or unfinished draft that needs rewriting rather than notes. Instead of telling you what to fix, we make the revisions for you. It's a good fit if you don't have time to revise or your writing isn't living up to your ideas.
What's the difference between developmental and line editing?
Developmental editing looks at the big picture: structure, organization, messaging, and whether the book works for its readers. For fiction, that includes characterization, plot, pacing, dialogue, and setting. You get an editorial letter with clear feedback, and you do the revising. It's ideal before querying agents. Line editing works sentence by sentence, in Track Changes, on readability, syntax, grammar, and repetition, and you keep full control over what you accept. Many books benefit from developmental editing first, then line editing.
What if I already tried using AI?
Bring it to us, but expect us to largely rewrite it—and charge accordingly. We want your voice and ideas, not what some computer says. If ten people use AI to write ten identical books, where's the originality?
Do you work with international clients?
Yes—we have clients all over the world. Our only requirement is that you speak English well enough to communicate with us, and that the book is in English. If English isn't your first language, manuscript mending is a great fit.
What should I bring to our discovery call?
Just bring your idea, wherever you are with it. We'll ask what your book is about, how much you've written (if anything), your publishing goals (self-publishing or traditional, for example), and why you're writing it: to grow your business, as a lead magnet, as a legacy for your family, or just for the joy of it. You don't need an outline or a draft to book a call.
What happens after the discovery call?
If we're a good fit, we'll send you a contract and ask for a deposit. Then we get to work.
Do you offer payment plans?
Yes. We offer flexible payment plans for all of our services. Ask us about options on your discovery call.
Book a Free Discovery Call
You don’t just want to write a book. You need to, and you're ready to start.
On your free 30-minute discovery call, we’ll talk about your book, where you are in the process, and what kind of help you need. If we’re a good fit, we’ll tell you what working together could look like.
We’re really nice. You’ll like us.
Start with a free 30-minute discovery call. Or submit the form to ask us a question.
