Perhaps you’ve recently heard this term and wonder what it means. Or maybe someone just told you that a significant portion of autobiographies and memoirs are ghostwritten—or that they’ve decided to hire a ghostwriter—and that has sparked your curiosity. 

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Well, regardless of the reasons why you’re curious, wonder no more! This post will provide into the meaning of ghostwriters, delve into how the process works, and much more. 

The Meaning of Ghostwriters

At a high level, a ghostwriter is someone who creates content for another person, publishing it under that person’s name. Ghostwriting can be used for blog posts, speeches, songs, and books about your life, your loved ones, and more..  Let’s focus on a more specific question: “What is a ghostwriter for a book?” As even more of a nuance, we’ll home in on time-tested types of books that are often ghostwritten: memoirs and family histories. 

As an example of ghostwriting books, let’s say that a man named Fred wants his intriguing life story told but isn’t sure how. So, Fred might work with Ghostwriter Mary to pen his tale—with Fred’s name appearing on the cover. This scenario covers the basic ghostwriter definition for books.

In the best circumstances, though, ghostwriting goes beyond simply writing material based upon what another person has to say. Instead, ideally, ghostwriting is a true collaboration between the author and the person whose story is being told, clearly shared in the voice of the storyteller rather than that of the writer. 

History of Ghostwriting

Although the term “ghostwriting” is reasonably new, the concept itself is as old as time. The word itself was created in 1921 by an American man named Christy Walsh. He saw a great opportunity to share the stories of the country’s sports heroes, so he set up a company to do exactly that.

The notion of finding ways of sharing stories, though, goes back thousands of years—back to when our ancestors would warm their hands around a fire and tell tales. Stories that resonated would be retold by the next generation—and then the next and then the next. All this, of course, took place before writing was invented. Then, once writing systems were created, only a select few knew how to use them. Those scribes, then, wrote down tales for other people. 

Fast forwarding to more modern times, it hasn’t been unusual for celebrities to hire other people to write their books. Then, with the advent of the internet and related technologies, the pool of people who have chosen to use ghostwriters to share their life stories has expanded enormously.

Reasons Why People Hire a Ghostwriter

Now that we’ve shared an answer to “What is a ghostwriter?”, we’ll turn to why people do so. Although each person can have unique reasons, here are common ones:

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• You’re too busy. Life can get hectic—and you may simply not have enough time to pen your stories. In that case, turning to a professional who ghostwrites them can streamline the process. 
• A sounding board is helpful. Any time you make a significant life decision (moving, changing jobs, or retiring as three examples), bouncing ideas off of a friend or loved one can be quite helpful. A skilled ghostwriter can perform the same function. 
• You’re too close to the story. As you live your life, what you do can feel typical. After all, it’s what you have spent your time doing! An attentive ghostwriter, though, can stay attuned to areas of your life’s story that are especially fascinating and suggest places where you might expand the memoir. 
• Structuring your memoir can be challenging. Sure, it can be obvious when your story begins. Literally, it’s your birth. But, is that the best place to start a memoir to grab the readers’ attention? An expert ghostwriter can help you with that.
• You lack confidence about your ability. Just like with anything in life, tackling a task that you’ve never done before can come with uncertainty. Relying upon someone with a proven record of success can eliminate that roadblock.
• You’ve tried but stalled out. This is incredibly common! With a dedicated ghostwriter, though, you can set a schedule together and continue to collaboratively move forward on the project. 

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So, if you’ve been wondering, “What is the point of a ghostwriter?”, you can see how choosing the right one will allow you to create a meaningful book of professional quality.

Now, here are more specific ways in which you can receive quality help when you hire a ghostwriter.

Benefits of Ghostwriting Services

Plenty of ways exist to tell the same overarching story, which means that numerous decisions must be made throughout the process. Here are some of the decision points where having a trusted ghostwriter at your side can be crucial.

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Memoir Scope 

Unlike a biography in which a person’s entire life to date is described, a memoir often focuses more heavily upon a specific time in that person’s lifetime or on events that support a specific element. For example, if someone ends up with a rewarding career in the arts, the memoirist may spend some time showing how childhood events contributed to this trajectory and much of the rest on the career events. This isn’t to say that other components of life aren’t included. It’s more about emphasis. Experienced ghostwriters gain a good sense of how broadly or narrowly a story can fit within a certain word count and story arc and otherwise help you to appropriately right-size your scope. 

Memoir Theme

Perhaps you’ve experienced challenging life events. In that case, your theme may be overcoming adversity. Or, maybe you’d struggled to find your purpose in life but ultimately did. The memoir could demonstrate this journey. When looking at your own life, it can be difficult to identify themes, but having one in mind as you choose what scenes to include in your memoir can make a truly unified book. Skilled ghostwriters can have a sense of objectivity as they listen to your story, helping you to pinpoint the most effective theme. 

Memoir Tone

Although different portions of your memoir will likely require different nuances, overall, should your book be humorous and lighthearted? Warm and loving? Optimistic? Conversational? A talented memoirist will help you to navigate tone.

Memoir Audience

Sometimes, people want to hire a ghostwriter to record their life story for their grandchildren. In that case, you might include details that will be deeply meaningful to them as part of their family history. Perhaps, for example, you could share stories about how you chose each of their parents’ names or more nostalgic details about your houses.

With a memoir intended for commercial purposes, you’ll likely want to include more tension and suspense to keep the readers turning pages. Often, you’ll also spend more time placing your life events into the broader context of world events. Ghostwriters who have written books for a range of audiences will have a sense of what content will best dovetail with your chosen audience for the greatest impact. 

Memoir Characters

It might feel funny to think of your friends, family members, and co-workers as characters but, if they belong in your memoir, then that’s who they are in this context. You’ll be the main character, of course, and you’ll want to strategically choose who else belongs. For a memoir intended for family members, you may want to include everyone in an equal manner, and a ghostwriter can remain aware of this focus as the story unfolds to create the desired balance. For a broader audience, you’ll want to select characters in a way that won’t overwhelm the readers.

Inciting Incident

As mentioned above, your actual story began with your birth. To draw in readers, though, you’ll want to pick the best anecdote to draw in and engage your readers for your memoir’s beginning. If, for example, you gave birth to triplets and much of your memoir will focus on raising them, you might decide to start your memoir with the moment you found out you were pregnant with triplets or when you gave birth to them. In other words, the ghostwriter listens carefully to you and then uses those conversations to appropriately structure the most compelling, binge-worthy memoir. 

External and Internal Scenes

Memoir, as a genre, can go beyond what specifically happened. Yes, that’s important and refers to factual truth. It can also include, though, how you felt at certain times of your life and what you thought about as you dealt with challenges and celebrated joys and successes. That involves emotional truth—and a deft blend of both can create a marvelous memoir.

This is not a comprehensive list of memoir and family history elements to consider, but it’s a good start. It’s also a process that a proven ghostwriter will know how to navigate.

Ghostwriting Services at Story Terrace

At Story Terrace, we honor every story, believing that it deserves to be captured and shared. That’s true whether it’s a personal journey, a story of business growth, a generational family story, or one about a cherished loved one. In fact, at Story Terrace, we go above and beyond these types of narratives with ghostwriters also helping people with children’s books, thought leadership books, and more. So, no matter what your vision is for your book, reach out to us to discuss the possibilities. In each case, we craft personalized books to preserve unique narratives. 

When you hire a ghostwriter through us, we’ll carefully match you to the best writer for your needs. Then, you can relax and share your story with this writer through a series of interviews that could take place in person or online, scheduled at your convenience. 

You’ll have full approval over the text and, when you’re satisfied, our professional editors and designers will transform your memories into a lasting legacy. To make that happen, we’ll design, print, and deliver full-color, hardbound books directly to you. Throughout, with our Bookmaker technology, we make the process as seamless as possible. 

For a no-obligation quote for your next project, get in touch! You can also find information about book packages here. We look forward to helping you capture the life stories that matter.

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