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8-Step Writing Process More than any other resource, it takes time to turn the most interesting events of your life into a marketable manuscript. To shorten the writing cycle and improve quality, I have developed a well-defined 8-Step Writing Process. Dear Friend, The goal of any memoir or business biography is a good story well told. A good story means something worth telling. Well told deals with craft and the principles of story composition. To achieve a good story well told, from inspiration to last draft, I rely on a process that draws readers into deep involvement, holds that involvement, and ultimately rewards it with a moving and meaningful experience. To that end, let me share my 8-Step Writing Process. 1. Site Visit and Interviews I will fly out to meet you and spend a day or more conducting face-to-face interviews. I record all interviews and use the material as the basis for your memoir. We will discuss key life events, controlling idea, and the five-part story structure. 2. Telephone Interviews In addition to the site visit, I conduct 30 or more hours of telephone interviews (this is typical for a memoir) and record our conversations. 3. Transcription I have the interviews transcribed by a professional transcription services firm at my cost. The cost typically runs between $1,500 and $2,500. 4. Restructure Edit I conduct five edits of the material as follows: I first perform a Restructure Edit. This process involves taking the raw transcripts, notes, and all other supporting information and structuring the material in a way that makes logical sense. Most memoirs are written chronologically. Others, like Donald Antrim's wonderful “The Afterlife: A Memoir” are grouped into chapters based on ideas of family, loss, and connection. The goal of this edit is to construct the most compelling reader experience possible. 5. Initial Edit The second edit involves two parts. Part one is to choose a story genre. Most memoirs, in my opinion are “rites of passage” stories, however, memoirs can be a range of genres—“rags to riches,” “redemption,” “love story,” or other story types. Part two is to decide where the story begins—to identify the first major event of the telling. Once we have an opening, I create subsequent scenes, scene sequences, dialogue, transitions, and story conflict. This phase is about raising the stakes as the story progresses and building your story to a clear crisis, climax, and resolution. 6. Polish Edit The third edit involves developing the main character (you) by showing you grow through your life experiences. We do that by creating scenes, dialogue, and narration that show you in conflict. True character can only be expressed through choice in dilemma. How you choose to act under pressure is who you are. The greater the pressure, the truer and deeper the choice to character. The key to true character is desire, and a character comes to life the moment readers glimpse a clear understanding of that desire. 7. Line Edit The fourth edit is a word-by-word reading of the text to correct or improve readability, grammar, spelling errors, and inconsistencies of characterizations. I outsource this edit to one or more professional line editors and cover all costs which typically runs $1,500 to $3,000. 8. Proofread Edit The final edit involves proofreading the manuscript by two separate proofreaders, correcting grammar, word usage, and comparing the pages to the line editor's copy and making sure corrections have been made. I also outsource the proofread edits to two separate professional proofreaders and cover all costs which typically run $600 to $1,200. Putting It All Together My deep understanding of controlling idea, genre, story structure, voice, holding reader interest, and character define the art of story, and are the same insights I hope to share with you as we put your life to paper. I will ghostwrite your memoir, a 250 page (75,000 words) book, based on the five-month schedule outlined below. Schedule of Deliverables
Call today and see if working with a ghostwriter is right for you. Go for it! You'll be glad you did.
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