In this blog article, we’re interviewing Story Terrace customer David Taylor to find out how he found the process of writing his life story, ‘A legitimate life’ and how he found working with ghostwriter Lisa Chilvers!

Confused about what a ghostwriter is? Click here for more information.

Why did you decide to write your life story?

Having been born in 1939, as my life has progressed into my late 70s, along the way, I’d often thought about writing my life story down. This was spurred on by the fact that my forbears have left no ‘footprints’ of their lives, so all that I have to go on is their birth, marriage and death certificates – little about their lives, their trials and tribulations, their achievements, setbacks and relationships. For example, my mother died when I was aged just five, and as I was illegitimate, I know nothing of my father’s background and little about my mother.

Had it not been for my elder son & his wife, who were keen that our three teenage granddaughters should learn a little more about my journey through life, the book would never have been written. It was they who commissioned the book as a very thoughtful surprise present on my 77th Birthday.

Did you have any concerns or reservations about writing it?

I had an unpromising start in life at the onset of WW2 – my mother was unmarried, became pregnant at age 36 and was turned out by her family as was the norm back then. There was no sympathy for those in that predicament from family or from society in general. It’s a matter of great comfort to me that she chose to keep me, though she died of T.B. just after my fifth birthday.

Given this bleak start in life and with WW2 raging, my overriding concern was that I didn’t want my story to come across as a ‘misery memoir’ or to have an air of ‘ain’t it awful?’ about it. I had a carefree childhood and have had a wonderful and eventful life. My other concern was that I didn’t want my achievements in life to seem boastful, immodest or conceited, nor for it to sound as though I had any ‘chips on my shoulders’ or had had a raw deal in the lottery of life.

I knew right away that her writing style had a close fit to my own take on things

How did you deal with these reservations? 

It was important to me that the chosen ghost-writer would be sensitive to these concerns, and that as closely as possible would reflect my own personality. I hoped the end result would be a book which others would find interesting to read and which would be a ‘page-turner’.

Why did you choose your ghostwriter?

I chose Lisa Chilvers to be my ghost-writer as someone who I felt could best ‘empathise’ with me and who would have a writing style which would have a close fit with my outlook on life. Initially, we chatted on the phone and Lisa made it clear from the outset that if we didn’t ‘hit it off’ she would bow out gracefully and I could choose another writer.

Describe the process of working with Lisa

Lisa visited me for a three-hour discussion as a starting point.

Though structured, the discussion was free-ranging and I was able to recount early events in my life which I’d long since forgotten. From those initial discussions, Lisa prepared a draft of the first chapter or so, and I knew right away that her writing style had a close fit to my own take on things. I couldn’t think of a title for the book, and given that I’d been born illegitimate, Lisa suggested why not ‘A Legitimate Life’? In all the circumstances, that seemed an apt and creative title, and so it was.

Lisa interviewed me a second time for several hours and we had a good rapport.  As the interviews were conducted in my own home I felt more at ease than would have been the case had we met at some other venue. As the book progressed, Lisa was in touch by telephone and e-mail to receive feedback and amendments to the draft texts. The end result was a joint effort.

I found the whole process to be relaxed and enjoyable

Were you pleased with the final product?

As to the book itself, I was impressed with the quality of the binding, the choice of chapter titles, the layout of the text and photographs and the front cover. I’m pleased to say that my son and his wife, and our three grandchildren – to whom the book is dedicated – have read it from cover to cover. They have been able to contrast my early years three-quarters of a century ago, with theirs today – a contrast which couldn’t be more different.

How did you find the overall process of writing your life story?

All in all, I found the whole process to be relaxed and enjoyable and the finished book – both in terms of content and overall quality – has been excellent. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Story Terrace and the use of a ghost-writer. What a thoughtful birthday present from my son and his wife this has turned out to be!

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