Memoir & autobiography writing services: Top-quality ghostwriters are ready to help you now!

By- Michael McKown

People often assume memoirs are reserved for celebrities, politicians, and business leaders.

They aren’t.

Some of the most compelling memoirs come from ordinary people who experienced extraordinary events, overcame difficult challenges, served in historic moments, built businesses, immigrated to new countries, or simply lived lives worth remembering.

The challenge isn’t whether your story matters. The challenge is turning years of memories into a book people will want to read.

That’s where a professional memoir ghostwriter can help.

Definitions: memoir vs. autobiography

Let’s begin with some definitions from Dictionary.com:

Autobiography: A history of a person’s life, written or told by that person.

Memoir: A record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal observation.

While related, an autobiography is one’s complete history. A memoir is the story of part of, or an event in, that person’s history. Of course, we have written many. Usually the finished manuscript is destined to a traditional publisher, but some authors prefer to have them privately printed and distributed only to their family.

Initially, the memoir ghostwriter’s task is to listen and to review whatever notes, journals, diaries, documents and recordings the author can provide. Oftentimes, the writer will need to interview the subject in order to fill out the narrative. If distance permits, we can do that in person, or by phone, Zoom or FaceTime. That is what a professional ghostwriter actually does.Almost always, a professional ghostwriter will complete the manuscript quicker than would you.

Who needs a memoir?

Anyone with an interesting story to tell. Commercial publishers want to sell thousands of books, even if your story will fit a niche, such as a memoir about 1991’s Desert Storm invasion of Iraq, targeted to those with an interest in military history. If commercial publication is the goal, you need to present your story in the most compelling manner possible, and that’s when a skilled memoir ghostwriter truly comes in handy.

It’s much the same thing with an autobiography. For commercial publication, the subject should either have a high-profile or be well known, or have a very powerful, eye-opening story to tell, or both. For private publication, such as for a family, neither is a factor. Here’s an article on the industry-wide cost to hire a professional ghostwriter.

I imagine you’d like to have ghostwriting services explained, what you’re actually paying for. Easily done!

Examples of good candidates for a memoir

Corporate leaders. Business founders. Sports stars. Music, film, television and stage personalities. Artists. Writers. Politicians. Innovators. People intimately involved with major events, such as elections, military ops, revolutions and civil rights. Another good candidate would be the story of a David vs. a Goliath, such as in a precedent-setting courtroom battle where an ordinary, otherwise unknown person takes on and vanquishes a giant foe and changes history in the process.

For example, memoirs and autobiographies I have in my library include those by Col. David Hackworth, Tip O’Neill, Sam Walton, Patricia Kennealy, Richard Branson, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, Michael Eisner, David Brinkley, Gay Talese, Bob Schieffer and Warren Buffett. I have many more biographies not written by the subjects.

I find personal stories highly informative. Not only am I curious about how people did or achieved things, I’m in business and I often find the lessons useful in my own life. One of those lessons came from Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton’s memoir. The reason for the iconic Wal-Mart greeter was two-fold: To make people feel welcome and, more importantly, to keep customers from walking out of the store with unpaid merchandise. I’d bet most who received those warm and fuzzy greetings weren’t aware of the other reason for that person standing near the door. Back in the 1990s, I successfully adapted his idea to prevent scammers from fraudulently using credit cards to buy goods by mail or phone order at a company I used to own.

Your personal story may not only entertain readers but it may also be useful to them, as Walton’s was to me.

The story can be told as fiction

Sometimes, often to avoid lawsuits, a true story is related as fiction. In film, the producers of 1960’s Inherit the Wind changed all the names involved in the 1925 Scopes “monkey trial” about a school teacher’s arrest in Tennessee over teaching the theory of evolution. In 1960, some of those small-town, small-minded people were still alive and apparently armed with lawyers.

Sometimes, a work is presented as fiction for reasons of storytelling. In books, Thomas Keneally’s work, Schindler’s Ark (List in the US) told the true story of a Nazi named Oskar Schindler and how he exploited Jewish slave labor in the making of war equipment, then later acted to save well over a thousand of them from extermination. Keneally wrote the story using the techniques of fiction and even won a fiction prize, despite the story not being fictional. (Yes, it’s the book on which the famous Steven Spielberg movie was based).

The New York Times carried an article about the writing of the book. It’s worth reading.

Here’s an article on how to write a book with a ghostwriter. We also have a recent blog post on hiring a ghostwriter for an autobiography or memoir. And then there is our video on hiring a ghostwriter to pen your autobiography or memoir.

 

Frequently asked questions about memoir ghostwriting

How long does it take to write a memoir?

With the assistance of a professional ghostwriter and given easy access by the writer to the client, a few months is common.

How much involvement is required from the client?

A great deal of involvement. The ghostwriter is charged with telling your story as a memoir or autobiography. Interviews are required, and these can occur via Zoom, FaceTime, phone, or possibly in person. Of course, interview sessions can be scheduled in advance.

Do I need notes or journals?

If you possess notes, journals or recordings, the writer will want to see them. But those are not mandatory in order to tell your story. It is through the interview process that the writer obtains most of the information they require to do the writing.

Can a ghostwriter help organize my memories?

Absolutely! That’s part of the process.

Who owns the finished manuscript?

When the work is completed and the payments are completed, you do! And you have full author credit.

Can you help find a publisher?

No, that’s not our business. But you can find agents for commercial publishers by doing a search for: literary agents. The odds of finding a commercial publisher are higher if you use an agent. No outside help is required if you plan to self publish.

We can help you

Ghostwriters Central has been providing professional ghostwriter services to clients literally everywhere since 2002. The first step is to read reviews of our ghostwriting services. Every word is true. We can write your personal story, or you can also hire us as writing consultants. This is a recent blog post about hiring a non-fiction ghostwriter. If you’ve mused about whether your personal story would also make a great movie, we have an article about which to write first, the book or the film script. Click to contact a ghostwriter. You will be connecting with me and we will have a conversation. I will describe the process, policies, pricing, and answer any questions you may have.

You can also find the pricing information on our ghostwriting rates page.