The Creator
Marcus T., freelance ghostwriter based in Berlin, writing business books for executives.
The Situation
Marcus ghostwrote a leadership book for a tech CEO under a work-for-hire agreement. The CEO’s company went through a restructuring, and new management claimed the book was written by an internal team — refusing to pay Marcus’s remaining $15,000 fee and threatening to credit someone else as author. The original contract was with a subsidiary that had been dissolved.
The Problem
The dissolved subsidiary meant the contract’s enforceability was complicated. Marcus needed independent proof that he was the person who actually wrote the text — not just a contractual claim, but forensic evidence that the manuscript originated from him.
The AuthorHash Solution
Marcus had timestamped each draft milestone with AuthorHash: the outline, the first draft, three revision rounds, and the final manuscript. Each certificate showed the progression of the work over 4 months, all linked to his email. The chain of certificates created an undeniable authorship trail — no one else could produce matching timestamps for the same content at earlier dates.
The Outcome
Marcus’s lawyer presented the certificate chain in mediation. The new management team settled within two weeks, paying the full $15,000 plus $3,000 in damages. The mediator noted that the timestamped evidence was “unambiguous and professionally compelling.”
"I timestamp every draft now. It costs less than a lunch and it’s the best insurance a ghostwriter can have. The chain of timestamps told the whole story of who actually wrote that book.
Key Takeaway
Ghostwriters: timestamp each milestone — outline, drafts, revisions, final. The chain of certificates is stronger than any single proof.