It’s the book that every writer thinks about writing at some point in their career: a memoir. But how do you tell your story in a way that resonates with readers? With so many meaningful life moments, how do you choose the ones that will support the message you want to share?
How do you capture your legacy?
Whether you’re writing an autobiography to share lessons or leave a legacy, a book that truly reflects you and your life is crucial. Hiring a ghostwriter to help you organize your thoughts and shape your memoir provides you with the outside perspective you need to write a compelling autobiography.
Here’s how to work with a ghostwriter to tell your story.
Understanding the Ghostwriting Process
So what exactly does a ghostwriter do?
This is a common question, even for authors who have written books without a ghostwriter. Simply stated, a ghostwriter is hired to author a book that someone else will be credited for—you’re basically paying someone to write your book for you.
At Scribe, the relationship between ghostwriter and author is where books are born. Our extensive interview sessions make ghostwriting a collaborative process, as it should be. More on that later.
Autobiographies require ghostwriters to ask authors the right questions. What are your goals with this memoir? Is there a central story that should be the focus? Who was influential in your life? The questions are more personal than with a business book, but the intention is the same: to create a book that tells the story you want to tell.
Selecting the right ghostwriter to write your memoir can be an overwhelming process. There are three types of professional ghostwriting services:
- Freelance ghostwriters
- Ghostwriting agencies
- Publishing services companies
The best option for you depends on your writing and publishing experience. Freelancers are a great cost-effective choice, but vetting them can take up to fifty hours. Also, when you’re writing an autobiography, the ghostwriter you select truly counts.
Agencies act as the intermediaries between authors and ghostwriters. They do the tough job of vetting your potential writer, but they’re essentially a broker: whether or not the writer they select is a good fit, they still get paid. They make the match, and then they’re out. Professional publishing companies such as Scribe, on the other hand, help you navigate the entire ghostwriting and publishing process.
After you select a freelancer, agency, or publishing services company, the next step is to prepare for creating your memoir.
Preparing for Your Autobiography
What are the stories and events that you want to include in your memoir?
This seems like the easy part. After all, why would you write a memoir if you couldn’t think of any important life stories or significant events? But the stories you include should support your overall goal and the thesis of your book. The time you took your parents’ car out for a spin when you were eight might be a funny story (depending on how that turned out), but if your focus is the work ethic you learned that prepared you for your career, other, more closely related stories may be a better fit.
Your ghostwriter is there to help you sort through your options. They may advise you to bring anything and everything to the figurative table to assist in nailing down a central point. This leads to one of the most important steps in creating your autobiography: setting goals and expectations with your ghostwriter.
It’s important to not only list your goals and expectations but to discuss them. What are your goals for the book? What do you expect from your ghostwriter? What do they expect from you? This sets you, your ghostwriter, and your relationship up for success.
Collaborating with Your Ghostwriter
What does collaboration look like?
Collaborating with your ghostwriter often takes the following steps:
- Open communication about goals
- Honest feedback
At the heart of every successful collaboration is a smooth working relationship based on quality communication. One of the expectations you should set in the beginning is that honest feedback is mandatory for both author and ghostwriter. Your ghostwriter will have suggestions for content; your job is to communicate your preferences, likes, and dislikes. Likewise, if a story is a bad fit in a particular chapter, your ghostwriter should tell you.
Good communication helps your book come to life. All progress, pitfalls, deadlines, publishing timelines, and content ideas should be frequent points of discussion between you, your ghostwriter, and your publishing team.
Writing, Revisions, and Finalizing Your Autobiography
What are the phases of autobiography writing?
Similar to other nonfiction books, memoirs travel through the following stages in their journey toward publication:
- Planning/Structuring
- Interviewing
- Writing
- Revising
The writing process can vary in length. The revisions process can also vary, although it can be a tedious, time-consuming endeavor. Even though you may be tempted to rush through revisions to get to your final product, don’t cut this stage short. Your feedback is vital in creating the book you want—every story, example, paragraph, and period.
Why Choose Scribe Media for Your Autobiography
What makes our approach to ghostwriting different?
At Scribe, we offer two ghostwriting services:
- Scribe Professional: Our classic option designed for entrepreneurs, consultants, and executives who want to write and publish a professional book in their words and in their voice but don’t have the time or desire to type it themselves.
- Scribe Elite Ghostwriting: Our award-winning ghostwriting service that includes additional perks and customization, such as guaranteeing you work with a bestselling writer who has written or edited Wall Street Journal, USA Today, or New York Times bestsellers.
We only work with the best ghostwriters and have extremely strict guidelines for hiring them. We offer a money-back guarantee for all of our services, and if the first ghostwriter we pair you with doesn’t work out, we provide you with another writer who will.
An aspect that separates us from many ghostwriting agencies is that we want you to see the quality of our books. You can find every book we’ve ever published on our website, along with our authors’ success stories. We also never ask you to “request a free quote” to see our pricing. Every service page on our site lists the exact price we charge for that service.
Your memoir is too important to leave in the hands of just any writing service. Let our ghostwriters craft your story and help you leave your legacy.