After writing a dozen biographies and family histories for clients, I’ve been accepted by the Association of Ghostwriters. I’m often asked about the role of a ghostwriter. It’s fairly simple: a ghostwriter is hired to write a book for someone who may not have the time, patience, or skill to write it themselves.
Historians tell us that ghostwriters have existed for 5,000 years, dating back to ancient Egypt, when scribes penned words for their pharaohs. Many publishers learned early the power of an author’s name and hired ghostwriters to continue writing series even after the original author’s death. If you ever read Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys, they were written by many different authors.
Today, it’s been estimated that at least 60 percent of nonfiction bestsellers are ghostwritten. Today’s ghostwriters are also referred to as collaborators, and they’ve been busy helping celebrity clients become bestselling authors. I’m one of the writers who collaborate with people who are not considered celebrities but have a life story they wish to preserve and pass along to their family and friends. I help them write their biographies, and sometimes, I’m acknowledged as a co-author, and sometimes not.
I began by penning biographies for two WW II veterans. In the past eight years, I’ve worked with and written about successful men and women from diverse fields, including real estate, economics, music, golf, banking, law enforcement, and more. Each person is unique, and preserving and sharing their life story is as much a gift to them as it is to their family. Capturing these memories in a book is a way of leaving a literary legacy and becoming a part of history.
Anyone who has led a life filled with extraordinary experiences has probably been told, “You should write a book.” It’s easier said than done, which is why many of them turn to someone with a track record of working with accomplished individuals and successfully completing biographies that paint a revealing portrait of that person’s life. And it doesn’t hurt that this biographer is also an award-winning novelist.
Maybe you have had a book idea streaming through your head but didn’t know where to start. Or perhaps you’re one of those people who have been urged to write a memoir or your family history, but life seems to have other plans, and time is slipping away. If either of those scenarios strikes a chord, let me show you how we can collaborate and make those dreams come true. Contact me at [email protected] for a free consultation.