Any Ghosts here?

[frahse]

Tell me yours and I will tell you mine (carefully.)

Ghost Writers, that is?

[frahse]

Years ago, when I had only published a few stories and articles, 2 books in 1 series, and was just beginning another series, I made 25K once, above the Ghost writing fee plus all expenses for signing a contract giving up all rights, including credit forever, for the personal memoir of a very accomplished and wealthy man. I gave my word of course, but just in case, the contract stipulated that I would have to pay back double that amount if the contract was breached unless I was forced to by court order.

When the writing started we only met in secret with the pretense of hunting and fishing trips. Sometimes I felt the lodge or motel people thought we were "involved" to put it delicately.

Finally all material I used had to be burned. The digital record was expunged. The single laptop that was used had encryption on it, and it was turned over to the client who owned it, along with a dozen 3 1/2 inch floppies that were the only backups.
(The client had been in the service and he liked to use the expression "deep-six it.")

That client has been dead a few years now which is why I can mention it, but that really doesn't matter.

I don't remember a thing much beyond what I have just said. The name also vanished once I saw he died. Now I never knew him.

[VydorScope]

How did you get such a contract?

[frahse]

The engineering consulting company I was a part of did some work for this man in one of his plants. I had been in the military out of college ROTC in the South, and he had too though much earlier. He was a Korean vet, and then he had worked in multiple businesses. He didn't have 1 big manufacturing plant, he had several smaller ones that he had interests in, and other things too that he put his children into. e.g. car dealerships.

Anyway, I was at his plant checking on a control system and the engineering for a project that was due in 2 weeks, and he had come over and we talked about progress, problems, completion goals,etc., and then when he was satisfied, we talked about our backgrounds over lunch. I told him I had written about the military and interesting military leaders and situations. He was riveted. He got the names of the books, and I sent him some info.on the articles.

Five or six months later, he called our Sales and Marketing guy, said that he had another job and that he wanted me to come down.

We got there and talked business about an hour, and then his plant manager and engineer and our contract and project manager went over to the business office and we set and talked for another 2 hours but about a personal project of his.

He had read all my writings, and he liked them. He said that he had been talking about writing his memoirs since the end of the Korean conflict, and that he had written notes, and had assembled materials, but that finally he had realized that he just didn't have the ability, or maybe more like he didn't have the patience to just do it. His relatives, friends and business associates would ask him when it was coming out, and he kept having to make excuses and he wasn't the kind of man that made excuses.
He had contacted several people of the kind that you can see their name on the memoir genre books, "Big Guy" with "Writer Guy" and they first wanted a lot of money and really balked at not having their name somewhere on the book. Plus he really didn't like the "professional writer" type. He wanted to deal with someone that "got him."

My client, and by now I considered him a friend because "heck" he had bought 3 hardbound copies each of my books (to have in several places), and who had back ordered magazines with my work, etc., and was an expert on the work of at that time a small niche writer, wanted to present his own life in memoir form, as written by himself alone, "fait accompli" to the world, at least to "his world."

I asked a few questions. He wanted his entire life, with a good bit of detail on his early years up through Korea, and then some detail on the start of his working life, with a broader compass (weiterer Umfang) on his later working life, and then more detail on his experiences with his wife, his children and his grandchildren.

I estimated that it would take 200 pages at least, and probably 300 to do it or even 400 if it bloomed out. It would take at least a year, up to two because it would have to be done in my spare time and during vacation time which I did have a good bit built up at that time. Also I had some periodical obligations for the next year.

I said that he could trust me to keep it anonymous, but he insisted "as a business man" that he considered that everything had worth and he would pay for that privilege that I was extending.

I didn't realize that in his world that meant that a big International Law Firm would "draw up papers" that I then signed, seemingly in my first child's blood, in their Washington Offices.

When I had gotten the time line and a general outline down with notations of what would go into each segment, he became very interested and provided more feedback than I really expected or for that matter wanted. The upper page estimate became the goal, and therefor the price went up. He readily agreed with a simple add on to the contract. We met at lodges, motels, hotels, about 8 times (3 times for a week) over that time and I would sent sealed "packets" to him from time to time with the progress. He would always call to address any points he wanted to make. Never an email in the entire process.

It took a year and a half plus. He paid the extra add on and gave me a completion bonus in recognition of the unexpected extra time he had caused me to take, and a really, really, (oh my God) really fine over and under shotgun of great worth, though not an antique because I wanted to use it not just admire it. (It was from his own collection, and he said his kids would never appreciate it except for its worth.)

He reported to me, almost breathlessly, that the unveiling of his book (our secret project) at a very large family gathering went exceedingly well.

This is the only Ghost Writing of note (a book) that I have done, and I guess that is because nobody knows I am a Ghost Writer.

Now days, I am almost entirely in the field of fiction and publish what I consider minor works, while I work on that bigger (I hope) signature series. I have too many obligations to give up my "day job." Still one day, maybe when I retire, at least that is the dream.

[VydorScope]

Awesome story!!!

[frahse]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Awesome story!!!

Call it a personal perfect storm. We matched background, likes and beliefs. He trusted me. He also had good evidence that I could do the job.

I will also state that I earned my money. I worked hard on that book and I made more money on it for the time I spent than any other writing I have ever done. Of course there was the carrot of the guaranteed payday.

If anyone wants to start writing memoirs, I suggest that you pick a relatively familiar historical figure that has virtues that you admire, but one that isn't as well covered as others so you can put in new embellishments, and write first an article for a magazine about them and try to get that published, and then fill it out to book size, though I suggest 200 or so pages not 400. (The goal of a magazine article may play a big part in who you pick. That it is published is a real selling point.)

I would further suggest that you don't write about someone that you have to criticize.

When you advertise as a memoir writer, then you can show that article and that book as ample evidence of how you would write favorably about person.