Since COVID started, I’ve gotten an incredible amount of inquiries for my services as a memoir ghostwriter. I think that’s because, in part, we’ve all been faced with our own mortality in the face of a massive crisis. When we die, what gets left behind? Who will tell our stories? That’s where hiring a ghostwriter for your memoir comes in.
Bleak, pandemic-related realities aside, I think the art of memoir writing is quite beautiful. But it can also be tough to tackle the challenge on your own if you’re not a seasoned writer.
A memoir should be a way for you to leave a legacy, set the record straight, and also give your family a kind of heirloom that will allow future generations to get to know you and how cool you were. (My memoir is just going to be just printouts of my Spotify playlists so my ancestors can see how great and so very obscure my music taste was.)
Enter: a ghost. (And not the scary kind!)
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Memoir Ghostwriter?
Whenever you’re hiring a freelance writer for something, there’s a few different things that come into play when it comes to cost:
- How experienced is this writer? The more years of experience a writer has, the more expensive they are. You can also trust that your ghostwriter knows what the heck they’re doing if they’ve written books before. (Anyone who hasn’t written a book or done extensive fiction writing won’t understand the full scope of what writing a memoir takes!)
- How much training/eduction does this writer have? Better education often costs more money, which again factors into rate. For example, I went to USC and was lucky enough to study under some incredible writers and mentors who have shaped my career to this day. (But also: USC is expensive.)
- How challenging will your book be? A book that has a complex core that involves a lot of research will take far longer than a simpler story about one person’s journey. For some memoirs I’ve been on, I’ve spent a lot of time traveling to visit clients as well as interviewing other people involved in their story. Those memoirs by nature of the amount of legwork involve cost more than some of the straightforward pieces.
- How long will the memoir be? Memoirs are typically between 45,000-80,000 words in length. If you’re looking to do an epic memoir that spans generations and is a hefty book, that will be factored into your ghostwriter’s rate as well.
- Opportunity cost of jobs not taken. If I say yes to one project, that means I have to say no to another. Every freelancer needs to factor in the basic costs of not only their own bills/existence as a person on this planet, but also knowing that taking on this work will make them unavailable for other kinds of work. And memoirs are an involved process. I usually do weekly meetings with my clients, and spend a lot of time pouring over research, documents, photos, and more. It’s not an easy undertaking, so we have to charge accordingly as these types of projects take us away from other kinds of work, including our own writing.
With all that said, I know you’re probably reading this article to get a numerical sense of how much a memoir costs.
Basically, if you’re paying any less than $20,000, I can almost guarantee you that you’re not going to get a quality book done, because that ghostwriter isn’t a professional/isn’t valuing their time/won’t be able to write your book well and truly help you get to the heart of your story.
Books take expertise, time, and passion. Hire a ghostwriter that has all three.
So, most high-quality memoir ghostwriters are priced around the $30,000-$75,000 range depending on length and complexity, for several reasons:
- Your memoir ghostwriter needs to set aside months of their life to work on your book and get to know you in order to do your story justice.
- Your memoir ghostwriter needs to take the time to both organize your book structurally, understand your story, write the rough draft, do revisions, and then complete a fully finished draft.
- Your memoir ghostwriter serves not only as a writer, but as a fellow collaborator on this project, and since they will not be participating in any profits/film TV options from the book and can’t use it as a portfolio piece/won’t be getting an author credit, they need to be paid for the value of their work upfront.
There’s different ways to structure memoir ghostwriting deals with things like payment plans and such, so feel free to work with your ghostwriter on the exact terms. Some writers are comfortable working in the $20k-$50k range if the project speaks to them and their financial obligations allow them to take on the book.
At the end of the day, us writers just wanna write stuff for you! We just need our projects to make sense within our own lives and financial obligations.
So what if you don’t have that kind of cash lying around to hire a memoir ghostwriter? There are some other options to get your memoir written!
Want to read more about memoir writing? Check out my other post about how to hire a ghostwriter for your project.
Hiring a Ghostwriter as a Writing Coach or Developmental Editor Instead
One of the other ways I work with clients is as a writing coach or developmental editor.
This is a more affordable way to get your memoir written, but it does require you to actually write the draft on your own.
As a memoir writing coach, I’m your personal strategist and and cheerleader. I can help hold you accountable with weekly meetings, and we can talk through any problems you’re having as you write your draft. I really love this setup because I can save you time and energy by being an outside perspective, and can pitch you ideas on how to structure your memoir and how to approach chapters. You can check out more of my coaching offerings here.
As a developmental editor, I can help get into your draft with you and offer feedback and notes to strengthen your book as you work, or after you’ve completed a full draft.
These services vary in cost depending on the scope of work, but they’re great budget-friendly options for those who aren’t able to have a ghostwriter handle the full draft work.
Memoirs: Do Them Right or Not at All
It’s my belief that there’s a right time and place for everything. If you don’t have the time to develop the draft yourself, or don’t have the resources to hire a professional to help you, it might not be the right time to write your memoir.
Unlike fiction, a memoir is your life story. It’s meant to capture the essence of the life you’ve lived, and just like in life, there are no do-overs. So, wait until you can do it right, and not until then.
If you’d like to talk more about my ghostwriting services, or just about ghosts in general, feel free to reach out and shoot me a message and let’s talk legacy:
Looking for other great memoir ghostwriters? I co-founded the freelance writing collective Kingdom of Ink, and you can check out our highly-trained memoir ghostwriters here.
Want to read more about memoir writing? Check out my other post about how to hire a ghostwriter for your project.
