How Long Does it Take to Ghostwrite a Memoir?

Asking how long it takes to ghostwrite a memoir is a bit like asking how long a piece of string might be – the answer can vary widely depending on the ghostwriter, the client, and the memoir. However, I can tell you how long the average project takes for me, and give you some information on why it might take more or less time.

My process

For me, it takes usually around six months to ghostwrite a memoir. This includes a block of either six or twelve hours of interviews. You may be surprised how much information can be imparted in these sessions – and I tend to set the number of meetings based not on how complex or involved your life story might be, but rather on how much time I think you may need to tell it, based on our first meetings and my first impressions.

For our first official meeting, as we go into a strategy session to plan the book out, I’ll get a general overview of your story – the timeframe we’re working in, the main events that happened in this time, and where we want to end it.

The first few interview sessions after starting the book project proper will involve diving deeper into each of these events, one by one. As we talk, I’ll take copious notes – and behind the scenes, between our meetings, these notes will start turning into chapters. While I write, I’ll come up against details I don’t know, things we’ve forgotten to talk about, and facts I need to verify.

I will do a lot of my own research as well during this time – such as looking up how a place appeared ten years ago using Google Earth’s history feature, checking on the correct technical terms for things, or verifying the dates of publicly-known events.

Over our last few sessions, I’ll be diving deeper into each of the questions that comes up for me while I’m writing, ensuring that we can fill in any and all gaps and checking we haven’t missed anything out. By our last session, you’ll be giving me feedback on the full manuscript – just like that!

How to make it quicker

If, for any reason, you feel as though six months is too long to wait, we can make the process faster.

I do offer a rush service for a three-month memoir project. There are a few things to keep in mind about this service:

• I charge more for this service, as I’ll need to focus very deeply on your project in a shorter amount of time (bearing in mind that many ghosts need at least a year to work on a project like this) – I may need to work evenings and weekends, and will have to turn down any queries from new clients I get during this time
• You will need to be available for a more time-intensive process on your end – we still need to do the same number of interviews as a longer timeframe project, and we’ll also need to go through the whole manuscript for edits at least once before the three months are up. If you’re not able to offer edit notes on time, the whole project will be delayed
• This timeframe is more suitable to shorter projects. If your memoir is planned as more than 100,000 words, for example, I will likely advise that three months is not enough time to get it done
• While I do offer a publishing service to help you self-publish your book after we finish writing it, this is not included in the initial project timeframe, which relates only to getting you a finished manuscript in your hands

How it ends up taking longer

You may also wonder what can happen to delay a project, particularly if you are embarking on one now and want to make sure that there are no delays. This is a non-exhaustive list of what can happen to slow us down:

• Missed or delayed payments
• Delays on your end in delivering edit notes
• Not being available for meetings on a timely basis
• Needing to get permission or details from another person – if you need the involvement of a third party, it’s best to get this all settled before we begin working
• Edits being passed around to other people – I often find clients waiting for feedback from family and friends can end up waiting a long time!
• Difficulty in focusing: if you’re having trouble getting to the stories that matter, this can hamper the interview process. I’m a dab hand at getting things back on track, but sometimes people love to talk – and I love to listen! – which can push us off schedule
• Changing structure or ideas halfway through the project, when we’ve already developed chapters and research that might need to be thrown out
• Very long or challenging projects – again, I will be able to advise on this upfront, to help keep your expectations realistic

That said, most projects tend to avoid these kinds of delays, so the risks of them happening are slim!

If you’re looking to get a project done in the next three months to one year, feel free to get in touch with me today for a free consultation meeting. I’ll be able to advise you on first steps, whether your idea is a good one, publishing paths, and so on – as well as getting a plan together for how long your book will take!