They say that “Everyone has a story in them.” I don’t know that I necessarily believe that EVERYONE does, but surely MANY people do. For some, it’s a novel that they have an idea for. For others, it’s their memoirs. Still others have a nonfiction idea—a how-to, an inspirational or motivational message, or the biography of a person they admire. The problem arises when the individual realizes that he or she may have a great idea for a book, but they lack the writing skills to turn that idea into a well-crafted, well-honed piece of writing.
That’s often where I come in—and I’m not the only editor or ghostwriter in town. If my schedule is too full when you contact me, there are others who can help you as well.
As I’ve noted in this space in the past, you don’t have to have lived a life of adventure or fame to write your memoirs. I’ve had several clients approach me to either ghostwrite or edit their memoirs who were aiming their books at only family and friends. They wanted to be sure their stories would live on after they’re gone, so they set them down on paper (or in electrons).
They never intended for their books to be best sellers or for that matter to sell in stores at all. They wanted short press runs of just enough copies to take care of family and friends. But they still wanted their writing to flow, their grammar, spelling, and punctuation to be spot-on, so they hired me—in some cases as a ghost, in other cases as an editor.
Of course, I have ghosted other books besides memoirs. One fellow comes to mind who had a deep appreciation of a particular entertainer of days gone by. No one had written a biography of her, so he wanted to…but he isn’t a writer. He had collected a bunch of resource material—largely newspaper clippings about her—and delivered a big carton of this background info to me (along with a deposit against my fee). I ghostwrote the book. The byline proclaims he wrote the book. He and I know better. He got whatever glory there was. I got the money. We’re both happy.
I’ve ghostwritten other books, too, not to mention editing. I just finished editing a book for a foreign-born fellow whose writing is pretty good but whose spelling is unbelievable. And he’s not the only foreign-born client I’ve done work for. But these people had books in them and wanted them to be properly written and edited…and, once again, that’s where I came in.
So if you have a story in you—or any book at all—but lack the writing chops to get it down in good shape, don’t leave your story untold. Depending on your abilities, you just need a good ghostwriter or a good editor—and, once again, I’m not the only game in town. If my “dance card is full,” or if you’re in some part of the country far from South Florida and you don’t want to work with your editor or ghost long distance, I’m sure you can find someone to help you. (CraigsList and ThumbTack are good places to look.)
Just don’t put it off and put it off until one day you die with your story still untold. That would be a shame.