Help with Autobiography

OffalyMedic · 04-03-2021 11:47pm #1

Hi everyone, hopefully this is allowed, I wasn't sure where else I could ask. My dad is 70 this summer and for as long as I can remember he has wanted to write his autobiography but hasn't had the time or knowledge of how to starr. It would be for himself and family only not to be published. He has lead an exciting life so far and I know he'd love for his story to live long after he has gone for grandkids etc to read. The question I have is can I hire someone who will ghost write his autobiography with him as a gift? And if so how do I go about finding someone?
If it's any use dad's story would be Irish rural life and politics genre.

Thanks in advance for any help

km85264 · 05-03-2021 9:33am

Sorry, I have no idea how you would go about hiring an experienced ghost writer; I’d imagine that giving the nice people at the Irish Writers Centre a call would be a good place to start. I don’t think that it’s going to be cheap though. If you imagine that a professional is going to have to spend probably at least 8-10 weeks, maybe twice that long depending on the volume of material, you’ll need a deep pocket.
As an alternative, I would recommend a memoir writing course. A friend’s mother did this a couple of years ago and not only got her memoir complete but also met lots of interesting people along the way. You’ll find plenty of such courses, all online these days of course so might be better to wait until after the lockdown. I’d imagine he would get much more out of it attending a course in person.

OffalyMedic · 05-03-2021 11:51am

km85264 wrote: »

Sorry, I have no idea how you would go about hiring an experienced ghost writer; I’d imagine that giving the nice people at the Irish Writers Centre a call would be a good place to start. I don’t think that it’s going to be cheap though. If you imagine that a professional is going to have to spend probably at least 8-10 weeks, maybe twice that long depending on the volume of material, you’ll need a deep pocket.
As an alternative, I would recommend a memoir writing course. A friend’s mother did this a couple of years ago and not only got her memoir complete but also met lots of interesting people along the way. You’ll find plenty of such courses, all online these days of course so might be better to wait until after the lockdown. I’d imagine he would get much more out of it attending a course in person.

That's a really good idea about the memoir course. I'll definitely look into it. I might try get in contact with Irish writers centre too just to suss out options and cost. Thanks again

echo beach · 05-03-2021 11:07pm

Is there a local history group in your area? You could ask in the local library. There are lots of amateur historians who might well be interested in recording your father’s story, probably not a full autobiography but doing a 30-40 page feature would be a good start.
Another possibility would be to divide the work among family members, each one taking a decade or so. The more of the facts, details and background you can gather first the less work would be needed to write it up.

Ash.J.Williams · 11-11-2021 7:58am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058165803/help-with-autobiography

Start with a voice recorder and get talking

LaraPeter · 16-09-2022 7:29am

I also use professional for this!

LaraPeter · 19-09-2022 6:59am

Thanks for that!

LaraPeter · 20-09-2022 9:13pm

Help with Autobiography — boHelp with Autobiography — boards.ie - Now Ye're Talkin'ards.ie - Now Ye're Talkin'

Help with Autobiography

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