The ghostwriter is a skilled artisan who crafts masterpieces behind closed doors, but who exactly is this invisible architect of prose? What part do they play in creating written work published under the name of another?
Using a professional ghostwriter will be a new experience for most authors. Here are 7 brilliant tips for working with one.
Many people looking to preserve their memories struggle with the idea of putting their life stories onto paper. That’s where a ghostwriter comes in.
Think about the last autobiography or memoir you read. Who was it about? Royalty? A celebrity? Regardless of who wrote it, chances are it had a very captivating hook: escaping a dangerous situation, participating in a historic event, just to name a few bestselling storylines. But what about the stories of everyday people?
Andrew Crofts is a world-renowned ghostwriter, and he recently visited LifeBook Memoirs. He chatted to LifeBook Memoirs founder Roy about the use of ghostwriters and the private autobiography industry as a whole. Andrew was most interested in the way LifeBook Memoirs separates the interviewer from the ghostwriter.
In these digital days, we’re bombarded with selfies, tweets, text messages and voice messages. As a ghostwriter for LifeBook, receiving a fresh 90-minute interview with an author gives me permission to mute my iPhone, unplug all my devices, don a pair of headphones and tune into the pleasure of listening, as a person, dips back into his or her past.
The authors whose memories I’ve helped to write for LifeBook Memoirs come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some grew up ‘making do’, while others had well-off parents; some had easy childhoods while others struggled. However, one thing mentioned by nearly all of them is how things have changed during their LifeBooks.
I have been making a living from writing for over 50 years, Indeed thinking about it, the importance of the written word to me goes back nearly 70 years as I am a product of Urdd Gobaith Cymru – the Welsh League of Hope – and I have a group picture including me, aged 5, having won some poetry prize – and I am not the youngest in the group.
With these steps complete, you’re ready to get started on creating a written record of your life, that lasting legacy to pass on to your family and friends. If you feel you can’t manage that task unaided, our team at LifeBook Memoirs will be happy to offer you all the support you need, from words writing, design, typesetting, and printing.
To be a successful LifeBook ghostwriter, it’s essential to have the ability to capture and maintain the storyteller’s ‘voice’ throughout the book. Consider the difference between a biography and an autobiography. In a biography, there’s a distance between the writer and the subject. The opposite with an autobiography.
