How to Ghostwrite Your Memoir in 7 Steps

Many of us dream of publishing a book, maybe even a memoir that collects our greatest moments, achievements, and lessons—an anthology of who we are that will survive us, that will become part of our legacy. A memoir is an opportunity to tell your story in your words, to share your insights or immortalize your life in the way you want. With the rise of self-publishing, fame is no longer a prerequisite for publishing a memoir. If you have an interesting story to tell, you can also publish your own memoir. You don’t have to have already lived most of your life, either. Even if you’re young, if you have a great story, you can publish a memoir. But first, you need to write the book. 

That’s where most people struggle, where so many abandon their dream: the actual writing. Because writing a book takes a lot of time and dedication, patience, and skills that not everyone has—writing a book is hard, time-consuming work. It’s not as simple as just typing some words on a page. You need to find the right words, ones that keep your readers glued to the page while giving them all the information they need to know and maintaining a cohesive narrative throughout the book. But that’s what ghostwriters are for! Our team of professional ghostwriters will do the hard work for you by capturing your voice to write a book based on your memories, anecdotes, and experiences, and help you publish it in just seven steps. To get a free consultation, contact our memoir ghostwriting services today and take the first step toward immortalizing your life story. 

Step 1: Participate in the first interview with our ghostwriter

The first step of your memoir journey is being interviewed by your new ghostwriting team. As experienced professionals, they know what kinds of questions to ask to determine the most important elements of your story, help you choose the most compelling narratives and themes, and flesh out the most significant details to develop a strong narrative of your life, persona, and story. All the content, ideas, thoughts, and experiences are yours, but your ghostwriter can draw on their vast experience in publishing to weave your tale into the most marketable story possible.

This first interaction is also crucial to help you figure out if you and your ghostwriter are a good match, if you’ll work well together, and whether you’ll feel comfortable sharing your life and innermost thoughts with them. If you don’t click personally with them, you should look for someone else, because it’s essential that you can openly share your deepest thoughts with them and that they can tap into your unique voice. You should also use this as an opportunity to set expectations and establish a clear scope of what your project will entail. 

Step 2: Approve our ghostwriter’s outline

After the initial interview, the ghostwriter will organize the information you’ve provided to develop an outline of what the book’s structure and content will look like. They’ll select the most interesting and relevant stories and anecdotes and arrange them into the most coherent and compelling narrative to engage your readers. You’ll need to approve the outline and the milestones your ghostwriter will deliver, so this is your chance to suggest any major structural or fundamental changes to the project. Since it’s your book and your story, you never have to agree to any content or structuring that you aren’t fully behind, but put trust in your ghostwriter’s expertise—that’s why you’ve hired them, after all.

Step 3: Let our ghostwriter write

There’s not much you have to do for this step except give your ghostwriter the time they need to write your memoir. However, you do need to be available for any feedback or supplementary questions or materials they may need to weave your story into a professionally written narrative. If you don’t have enough time to speak with your ghostwriter in a timely manner, you may end up pushing back the delivery date. Also, make sure you’re giving your ghost enough time—it can take several months to put together a high-quality book.

Step 4: Give our ghostwriter feedback on the first draft of your memoir 

Because ghostwriting is a collaborative process, your ghostwriter will ask you for feedback during nearly every stage of the process. But the completion of the first draft of your manuscript is arguably the most important moment for you to give them your notes and opinions, which they will then implement into the story. This is your chance to read your entire manuscript and make sure it sounds and feels like you and represents you in the way you want to be seen. It’s also an incredibly exciting milestone, as it’s the first time you can read a full version of your memoir. Just don’t let the excitement blind you into overlooking details that aren’t part of your authentic self or story.

Since our team has access to beta readers, they’ll have several people read the manuscript to receive feedback that will help them shape the story and make it more appealing and marketable. You’ll be able to sign off on any changes that the beta readers suggest before they make it into print.

Step 5: Work with our professional editor to refine your memoir

Another advantage of working with our ghostwriting team is you get the benefit of having professional in-house editors and proofreaders meticulously review your memoir. They will provide careful, thoughtful edits that address elements like clarity and flow before fixing any typos and grammatical errors that might have slipped through. This will ensure you get a final manuscript that is up to industry standards. With an entire team of writing and editorial professionals standing behind your manuscript, you can be sure of the professionalism of the resulting book.

Most freelance ghostwriters will simply give you your finished manuscript and call it a day—that’s as far as their services usually go. You’re left to take care of the editing, publishing, and marketing yourself. But we offer a comprehensive, end-to-end service, which is why there are two extra steps we’ll take to make sure your book doesn’t just sit in your hard drive forever and actually gets published. 

Step 6: Collaborate with our ghostwriting team to publish your memoir

Another advantage of working with our ghostwriting team is they can leverage their connections in the publishing industry to guide you through the querying process and help you land the right agent and publishing deal. We can never guarantee that you’ll be published, but we can certainly increase your chances of landing a deal. If you would rather self-publish, we can also advise you on the necessary steps to take and offer several services tailored to self-published authors, including cover design and typesetting.  

Step 7: Promote your memoir with the help of our marketing team

Whether you landed a traditional publishing deal or you self-published on an online marketplace, our in-house marketing team can help you design an eye-catching cover, land book reviews and endorsements, and develop a marketing campaign. A great book won’t get anywhere without a great marketing campaign, so don’t overlook the promotion.

Don’t hesitate any longer. Take the first step toward making your dream of publishing your memoir come true. Tell the world your story the way you want to tell it, share the insight and knowledge you’ve acquired throughout your life, and produce a high-quality book that you will always be proud of. To get started today, check out our ghostwriting services.