Should You Hire a Ghostwriter for Your Memoir? 4 Questions to Help You Decide

You’ve had some extraordinary moments in your life, and you want to immortalize them as part of your legacy. What better way to preserve your story than to share it in a memoir? People from all walks of life could pick up your book and read your story the way you want it told, with your words living on long after you’re gone. You can impart your knowledge and curate the image you leave behind, making your mark on the world. However, writing a book is anything but easy, and you may be wondering if you should hire a ghostwriter to help you complete your project or if you should attempt to do it yourself. 

Whether or not you enlist the services of a ghostwriter will depend on various factors, including your individual circumstances. While these professionals are a good solution for most people who want to publish a memoir, everyone’s situation is different. To learn more about how a ghostwriter can help you tell a compelling personal story, check out our memoir ghostwriting services. If you’re still unsure whether you need a ghostwriter or not, these questions can help you decide.

Do you have the time to write your memoir?

Time is one of the main reasons anyone hires a ghostwriter, whether because they’re on a deadline or simply can’t spare the time to write a book on their own. If you’re rattled by the thought of spending the little free time you have working on your memoir, you should definitely consider teaming up with a ghostwriter. There’s no shame in outsourcing this work even if you have the writing skills to do it yourself. Time is a finite resource, and you have to decide where yours is best spent.

Writing a book is a major commitment, and not everyone can devote months or years to such a large project. Of course, if you have time on your hands or aren’t burdened by a deadline, you could attempt to write it yourself. Just make sure you stick firmly to a writing schedule and set yourself daily goals, no matter how small. Your initial motivation will only get you so far, and it’s easy to veer off track and abandon the initiative when you hit roadblocks halfway through the project, so discipline is the most important ingredient in the mix. If you’re committed to publishing a memoir but lack in the self-discipline department, you should consider collaborating with a ghostwriter. 

Do you have the writing skills to pen your memoir?

Time and discipline aren’t all you need to write a memoir: You also need good writing and creative skills. True, it’s your story, and no one knows it better than you, but you want to tell it in a cohesive way that will keep your readers interested and invested rather than bored and indifferent. That’s not something everyone can do—in fact, it takes special skills to tell stories effectively. 

That’s where a ghostwriter’s skills come into play. This is their job; they have trained for it and know exactly how to present the most gripping moments in your history in a voice that sounds authentically yours. Not only will they help you identify the best stories, anecdotes, and insights to include, but they’ll also order them in a way that creates a smoothly flowing narrative, painstakingly selecting the best words to express your thoughts.

Have you ever written a book? 

Don’t worry too much if the answer to this question is no. Every published author out there was once an unpublished hopeful who managed to make the leap, and you can do it, too. However, writing a book is a long, complex process, and the more experience someone has, the easier it will be. If you’ve never written a book before, it will probably take some trial and error before you find your stride and your process. Some people get so frustrated that they up and quit instead of asking for help. 

To write a memoir, you have to dig deep into your memories, make sense of them, and then figure out how to put them together in the most engaging way. You must find the strongest narrative and connective threads to bring all your anecdotes and experiences together into a coherent read, which can be incredibly challenging. Even the most exciting stories and brilliant insights will fail as a book if they aren’t properly organized. Professional ghostwriters are also experienced interviewers who know how to extract the best ideas and information from the author to weave their story together and put it on the page. 

You should also keep in mind that there’s a lot more to publishing a book than simply writing it. A completed manuscript is only half the journey—you must have it edited, reach out to literary agents and publishers, hire a cover designer and typesetter, and more. The process can be overwhelming for first-timers going it alone, especially for those with other commitments. Ghostwriters who offer comprehensive service packages will guide you through the entire journey to publication, so you’ll always have a professional to lean on.

Do you have the money to hire a ghostwriter? 

This is an important question you have to ask yourself. Hiring a ghostwriter to produce an entire book doesn’t come cheap—and for good reason. Ghostwriters are skilled professionals who will go through the entire process with you, from the first interview to the final round of editing. If you work with our ghostwriting team, our experts will even guide you through the publishing and marketing process. All this help is worth a lot, which is reflected in the rates ghostwriters charge. What you have to decide is whether it’s a worthwhile investment, or if you’d rather spend the time instead of the money to do it yourself. 

Polishing your memoir will take a lot of editing, revising, and proofreading, which are services a professional ghostwriter can outsource to their own editorial team. You can either do all of this yourself—which we don’t recommend as editing requires a specific skill set, on top of which it’s nearly impossible to edit your own writing effectively—or outsource this work to a proofreading service, which will incur additional costs. Keep in mind that an end-to-end ghostwriting service can cost anywhere between $40,000 and $80,000 for a full-length manuscript. 

It’s helpful to think of the cost of ghostwriting as an investment. Whether you should invest the money depends on why you want to write a book—for a CEO or a public figure using a book to enhance their reputation or give their career a boost, the investment in a ghostwriting service can be more than worth it. If you’re an individual who simply wants to share their story with the world, you have to consider how much you’re willing to spend to achieve that goal.

Hiring a ghostwriter will undoubtedly streamline your writing process and result in a professional book you’ll be proud to show to your friends, family, and colleagues. So, if you’re ready to work with a professional ghostwriter backed by an experienced editorial team, reach out to our memoir ghostwriters and get a free consultation today.