A book is the marketing and branding collateral no one throws out, is passed around, and leaves a big impression. It’s difficult to produce one well, and even when it is, professionals, executives, and thought leaders often find the process frustrating and baffling.

     But there’s plenty of evidence that a well-done, well-leveraged book can define, drive, and build a business. It might even play a role in reviving a dying brand.

     Lee Iacocca had been fired as Ford’s CEO when he signed on as chairman of bankrupt Chrysler in 1979, a career move pundits compared to assuming the helm of the Titanic--after the iceberg. He recruited a skilled ghostwriter who gave up owning a share of the book’s profits in favor of a larger upfront fee. He assumed few would care about the story of a poor Italian kid who grows up to run a dying car company.

     Iacocca: An Autobiography hit the bookstores in 1984 and set a record at the time as the best-selling nonfiction hardcover in publishing history. The book also spawned a business phenomenon that endured for a quarter-century: the celebrity CEO.

     Iacocca, the man, reinvented Chrysler from a spent brand into a shining example of American ingenuity and grit. Iacocca, the book, reinvented the man from one-among-many to first among equals, a leader who inspires the best in others.

     When Iacocca’s book appeared, self- or independent publishing was yet to be invented as we know it today, so it was published by a major house. Today, it’s deceptively easy to become your own publisher, and often the only option now that publishing has become consolidated and managed by marketers instead of editors.

     The good news is that with a solidly-crafted manuscript and professional design, anyone with a desire to establish their authority in any field can capture their message, intellectual property, business DNA, personal or business narrative and deliver it through the same distribution channels as traditional publishers.

    And you don’t have to be an Iacocca to get plenty of bang for your buck.

     John E. Girouard is a successful investment adviser in Bethesda, Maryland who dedicated most of his marketing budget for a year to hiring a writer and producing his own book, “The Ten Truths of Wealth Creation.” His first writer failed to capture his personality or to present his philosophy in an engaging and page-turning voice.

     This is an all-too-common problem: choosing the wrong writer for the task. Girouard needed someone who could adopt his voice, and collaborate on defining his message in a well-organized, entertaining way. He found his writer on the second try, and then had the book produced professionally. He tells the story that the day the books arrived, he gave several to an associate who in turn gave one to a couple to whom he’d been trying to sell a large insurance policy. They had been dithering and he was worried about losing a sale.

    The next morning he reported that the couple called and immediately purchased the policy, generating an $8,000 commission for the broker.

     For the benefit of those who are thinking about hiring a ghostwriter for a nonfiction project, here are some pitfalls to beware of, questions to ask, and some misconceptions to be cleared up.

     How much? You can hire a writer for as little as a few thousand dollars to help polish an existing manuscript, or as much as $500,000, the fee Alan Greenspan’s ghostwriter reportedly earned for the Fed chairman’s memoir. Fees for professional-level writers with track records average between $50,000 and $100,000. If you are an executive, an entrepreneur, a lecturer, or a professional who needs a book to advance your career or business, expect to pay a premium to hire a writer with a proven track record in your field or genre.

     A professional ghostwriter will want to know if there is an existing manuscript or if he or she needs to start from scratch and help develop the content and shape of the book. Is the book going to be self-published or is there a desire or expectation of a sale to a traditional publisher? Is there some current-event urgency, such as an election campaign or an anniversary, that requires an accelerated schedule?

     The most common miscalculation client-authors make is thinking how they can recover their costs or make a profit selling books. It rarely happens and it’s the wrong approach. Books used for branding or capturing and leveraging intellectual property should come out of the marketing budget, and any revenue from book sales should be considered found money.

     Very few books make money even in traditional publishing, no matter how great the idea.

     What should you look for in a ghostwriter or co-author? Experience and availability are key factors. Experience should include having written at least a book or two. I have personally known established journalists who were unable to successfully execute a book. It’s a form of writing that is unique and uniquely challenging.

     Availability means your writer is focused on your project and not trying to do it in his or her spare time while holding down a day job. If your budget is limited, this may be your only option, but be prepared for a longer wait. To develop a professional manuscript of average length can take up to a year.

     There are ghostwriting services that specialize in matching writers with aspiring authors. You should insist on several references and check those out thoroughly before proceeding. In general, it is best to avoid having a middleman as part of the process to avoid complications.

     Most of the projects I work on begin from scratch or from raw material. I am expected to conceptualize and build the book to professional publishing standards. You may think you have a manuscript that just needs polishing but a professional writer may suggest recasting the message and doing additional research.

     It’s not uncommon that a good ghostwriter ends up delivering more than just a manuscript, but also helps define or reposition a business, brand, or thought leader. Every author I’ve worked with has been changed by the experience.

     If you’ve invested well in your manuscript, you avoid opportunity cost by independently publishing as opposed to trying to get a traditional publisher to do it for you. Unless your book project has a clear path to traditional publishing, the economics and control make becoming your own publisher more satisfying and effective, and your unit cost goes way down.