Memoir


If you have an original story and wish to turn it into a memoir, then you've come to the right place. I transform ideas into published, critically acclaimed works.

Most people who want to write a memoir give up before they begin. The task can be daunting. What to put in? What to leave out? What's interesting. What's not. The number and range of life experiences is overwhelming. And even if you did get started there's the chore of imposing some kind of order on the chaos.

What can be done?

I ghostwrite memoirs for a living, and I can help.

In the past few years I've ghostwritten or edited over a dozen books and I have some powerful ideas to attack your roadblocks and help you write your memoir.

More than any other task, writing a memoir is about choosing a storyline and sticking to it. The challenge is pruning away all of those people and happenings that don't need to be there.

For example, in a story about family relationships, one approach is to write about only those relationships that matter most, those with enough conflict to engage your audience and enough inherent interest to keep readers reading.

Your most meaningful stories will have less to do with what happened than with how the event changed you—not your actions, but how you felt about those actions and how your choices shaped the person you became.

My advice: think small.

Tackle your life in pieces. Don't even think about the finished book. Think instead about the handful of events in your life that are charged with emotion—that first date or divorce or promotion or that crippling loss.

Don't hold back. Now is the time to dig deep and put to paper the secrets and anger and passion you've had tucked away for all these years.

On day one, sit down at your computer and recall just one event. Imagine the scene, the people, smells, colors, rage or angst or bliss and write until there's nothing left to say. It doesn't have to be long, a paragraph, a page, a few pages, but it should have a point, a central conflict, and an emotional resonance readers can't ignore.

The following day, do the same.

Day two doesn't have to relate to day one. Take whatever memory comes calling and run with it. Let your mind wander and keep typing as the memories come to you.

It's easier than you think.

In fact, as you continue reading this invitation, I believe a clear, vivid, and compelling storyline will become apparent to you.

Take a deep breath, exhale, and relax. The next few minutes are going to fly by as we talk about how you can quickly take your life and turn it into an extraordinary book.

Keep writing for three months, or six months, or a year. Don't be impatient to start writing your "memoir.” Then, one day, take all your daily writings, print them out and read over what you have. Look for patterns to emerge.

These small stories will tell you what your memoir is about and what it's not about, what comes first and what follows, what's interesting and what's not, what has meaning and what doesn't. Begin shuffling the pages until you see an obvious progression. With any luck you'll spot a clear storyline with only minor gaps in the telling.

Then all you have to do is put all the pieces together.

BUT…What if you don't have the time?

What if you don't have the skills? What if you're just not sure where to start? Stop worrying, because I have a simple solution.

Let me write it for you.

You talk. I write. It's that simple.

Successful people realize they can drastically reduce the learning curve by emulating and learning from a professional ghostwriter.

John F. Kennedy used a ghostwriter for his memoir “Profiles in Courage,”
Ted Kennedy for "True Compass,"
Sarah Palin for "Going Rogue,"
David Bechham for "Both Feet on the Ground,"
Hillary Clinton for “It Takes a Village,”

and . . .

Andre Agassi for "Open,"
Michael Jackson for "Moonwalk,"
Ivana Trump for “For Love Alone,”
Ted Turner for "Call Me Ted,"
Ronald Reagan for "An American Life,"

and . . .

Pamela Anderson for "Above the Waist,"
Rush Limbaugh for "The Way Things Ought to Be,"
Randy Pausch for "The Last Lecture,"
Geraldo Rivera for "Exposing Myself,"
Clay Aiken for "Learning to Sing," and
Chesley Sullenberger for "Highest Duty."

I could go on . . .

These respected and highly intelligent people benefited from the honest criticism and insightful advice of a professional ghostwriter. They watched, learned, listened, and…were transformed by this powerful influence.

Many authors like you have someone like me in the background coaching, writing, and editing. I can promise you that Lee Iacocca didn't write those two best-sellers by himself. Iacocca was the author, but he wasn't the writer.

As an experienced ghostwriter, I offer absolute confidentiality, fifteen years of writing for organizations, experience in book publishing, and extraordinary results. You are always identified as the sole author and you keep all advances and royalties. You control all rights to your book and pay only a simple flat rate.

Call me today and see if working with a ghostwriter is right for you.

Go for it! You'll be glad you did.


Latham Shinder
903.271.7770
latham@lathamshinder.com