Should You Write Your Own Memoir or Hire a Ghostwriter?

Everyone has a story to tell. A slice of life to share hard-won wisdom, transformation, trauma, redemption, or laugh-out-loud hilarious moments. How many times have you thought, I should write my life story. Only to follow with, The End.

Thinking you’ve got a story to tell and actually sitting down to write it are two very different things. Unfortunately, few are those who move from thinking about writing their memoir to actually writing it. 

If you’ve wanted to write a memoir but haven’t made progress yet, you might be a good candidate for hiring a co-writer or ghostwriter. Here are three more reasons why people hire a writing partner:

1. You have no extra time in your life to take on a book writing project.

You’ve mapped out your memoir, you know what you want to say, but you’ve got zero margin in your life to take on a book writing project. I worked with a man who struggled with this problem. He had a clear vision for what he wanted to cover in his memoir—a founder story about how he ended up as the head of a growing organization. His personal story intersected with his professional success and made for a compelling story that would help add credibility to the platform and community he was building. We spent a full day mapping out his content and a writing plan. He committed to writing his book over one summer, and he planned to route chapters to me for editing as he wrote each one. He never sent me a page.

He had the best intentions, and I have no doubt he would have written an excellent book. But his life wasn’t set up to embark on a book project. As the head of a successful enterprise, his work life was overflowing, leaving no time for something as consuming as writing a book.

He would have been far better off recording his thoughts or scheduling sessions for me to interview him, and then I could have worked with the transcripts to create a book by him with me as his co-author or ghostwriter. He didn’t exercise this option because he really wanted to write the book himself. I respect that. And yet, sometimes you have to weigh what’s more important—being the one to slog it out over months or years, or hiring someone to help you get your book done so you can get your message out.

If your memoir is a project that will advance your business goals, I’d seriously consider the cost of not hiring a writing partner. If getting your memoir written and published will advance your business goals to, say, increase your company’s know, like, and trust factor and potentially increase revenue, then you’re a great candidate for hiring a ghostwriter. If your memoir is a founder story for your business, nonprofit, or start-up, it will likely make more business sense to get the book done as efficiently and effectively as possible. Plus, you’ll learn a lot about the writing process and be better prepared to write your next book yourself the next time around.

Writing a memoir takes a lot of time. Unless you’re able to rearrange your schedule and carve out time over an extended period, it’s unlikely you’ll finish your book—at least not within one year. Consider hiring a co-writer or ghostwriter if writing your book is a bucket list item and will help you achieve your business objectives.

2. You’re not a writer.

You have a great story to share, but you don’t know--or don’t want to know—how to write. No shame in that. Not everyone is meant to be a writer. But that doesn’t need to stop you from getting your story written.

I worked with a woman who had an incredible tale to tell, but she wasn’t a writer. I met with her over the course of 10 days, interviewed her extensively, as well as everyone involved in her story for additional perspective, and then went to work on crafting her story on her behalf. Her story was inspiring and became an important means for raising awareness about her organization. I was able to finish writing it within about three months, and it was published soon after. This never would have happened if she hadn’t used a ghostwriter.

Don’t shy away from writing about your life just because you’re not a writer. A good ghostwriter will help you tell your story in a way that’s authentically you. They’ll help capture the nuances of how you felt, what you saw, what you experienced, and all the other relevant details through extensive interviews and deep listening. You’ll be involved throughout the process and have lots of input. You just won’t be the one crafting the story into a written document.

3. You’re not sure which aspect of your life to write about.

Sometimes it’s hard to sort out which slice of your life story to write. Memoirs don’t typically tell the whole of a person’s life. That’s an autobiography. With memoir, you look for the main theme that runs through your story—the universal truth that readers will resonate with regardless of whether they’ve had the same experiences as you. You share the memories that speak to the theme and readers join in your journey and glean insights that apply to their own experience.

A writing partner can play a key role in helping you clarify the main theme of your memoir and determine which memories to keep and which ones to leave out. Having a writing partner can help you get the job done more efficiently and effectively than trying to do it alone. They can help you map out your story, develop the chapters, and write them for you and work in tandem with you on the writing. In this scenario, your co-writer or ghostwriter will feel like a writing coach, guiding you in the process and keeping you on track with your book project.

What’s the difference between a co-writer and a ghostwriter?

It mainly boils down to whether you choose to share the byline with your writing partner or keep them anonymous. Co-writers will often be listed as “By [author’s name] with [co-writer’s name].”

I’ve written lots of “as told to” and “with” articles in my career. I’ve also ghostwritten lots of articles and books. My name doesn't appear anywhere on the cover. You’d never know that I had anything to do with the published work because my name doesn’t appear anywhere, except sometimes in the acknowledgments.

“Authors” who hire ghostwriters have reasons for not sharing the byline, often based on business objectives or a simple desire to be seen as the sole writer of their own life.

Whether you write your memoir yourself or hire a partner to help you, writing about your life is one of the most challenging, fulfilling endeavors. As you share pivotal moments from your journey, you’ll experience the double power of being transformed yourself by sharing your story and also offering transformation to others as they experience your life story for themselves.

Want to know more about working with a co-writer or ghostwriter? I’d love to talk! Contact me to schedule a call.