✍️ Getting Hired as a Freelance Memoir Ghostwriter: The Ultimate Guide
All of my resources for memoir ghostwriters in one place!
I don’t know about you, but I feel like a ~ lot ~ has been happening in January.
Just on the writing side of things, I’ve been busy with some lovely book projects with new and continuing clients, while also finishing up a big round of edits on my upcoming romantasy novel The Ash Trials, and preparing to head to San Francisco with my partner Kyle in a few days.
I also just booked my spot for
’s creative retreat in Tuscany, Italy this spring. Emma runs the amazing Substack publication The Hyphen which I love in addition to being the author of several books. If you’re headed on this retreat also, let me know!I’m also headed to RomantasyCon in Los Angeles at the end of February. If you’re there, I’d love to say hi and give you a free signed copy of my book The Ash Trials and talk to you about what you think about Onyx Storm and all things romantasy 😊
Even though things are busy, I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world—there’s something so cozy about curling up with a book draft (mine or my clients’!) and immersing myself in great stories all week—and being able to plan fun trips and retreats all centered around books and creative living.
None of this would be possible without the foundation of my career, which is ✍️ freelance memoir ghostwriting.
Today I’ll break down tips on how you can start your freelance writing career in the niche of memoir ghostwriting, and why this type of freelancing is so complementary to fiction writing.
In today’s newsletter, you’ll read about:
✨ All of my memoir ghostwriting resources in one place!
✍️ A round-up of this past week’s writing jobs
📚 A spotlight on one of the authors in our writing community and her upcoming book!
✍️ Missed This Past Week’s Writing Jobs?
Did you miss it? Here are the writing jobs on this past week’s job board:
Write about the ethics of AI for a Youtube Channel at $750 per script
A freelance copywriting job at $40-$44/hour for email and we content
Last call for applications for the $50,000 project for a freelance memoir ghostwriter
If you missed the last issue of my writing job board, check it out at the link below:
🎉 Writing Community Spotlight
Shout-out to Megan Okonsky, who shared in the subscriber chat that her upcoming book The Barefoot Followers of Sweet Potato Grace is now available for pre-order.
Pre-ordering a book is a great way to support fellow authors, so if you see a book you’re interested in or a writer you want to give a boost to, consider pre-ordering their book to help them with their first week sales numbers!
Don’t be shy about starting threads in the subscriber chat, whether that’s to ask fellow writers for feedback, advice, or to share your wins! 🙌
🫖 Sunday Tea: Getting Hired as a Freelance Memoir Ghostwriter, The Ultimate Guide
Back in the pre-Internet days, novelists all used to become journalists as their “day jobs.”
Why? Because as a journalist, you’re forced to be out in the world asking thoughtful questions of different people. You’re constantly being exposed to new people, new stories, and new walks of life.
When I was evaluating my options for what I would do as my “day job” back when I was getting started as a writer, I found that making writing my job was the best path for me — but not as a journalist.
Instead, I became a freelance memoir ghostwriter, and I work with clients all over the world. I take on just a few clients per year, and this work allows me plenty of free time to write creatively, travel, and arrange my daily schedule the way I want.
“How can I get started as a freelance memoir ghostwriter?” is a question I get in my inbox every week, which was part of the inspiration for writing this post.
There are a few different ways to get started.
You can start small, with freelance copywriting and content writing projects if you want to dip your toes into what it’s like to be a freelance writer and work for yourself.
(This is what I did and what I recommend if you also want to spend some time learning copywriting and content writing — skillsets that also have a ton of value in other areas of your creative life!)
But if writing newsletters, blogs, and ad copy doesn’t sound like the thing for you, then you can also skip that step and go all-in to freelance ghostwriting from the jump.
To begin, you need a great portfolio. I have some tips for how to do that in this post:
While it’s not required for you to have a book-length sample to apply to memoir ghostwriting jobs (short stories and essays are great samples for a memoir ghostwriter’s portfolio!) it is helpful for you to have written a book so you know generally how long it takes you to write one.
Then, you need to discern what your hourly and flat-rate projects rates are. I have details on how to calculate this here:
Next, I recommend thinking about who your ideal client is.
Do you want to write books for entrepreneurs? Do you want to write family stories? You don’t have to have a super-defined niche (I don’t) but you should get a general idea of what types of clients you want to work with. This will help in the next step.
I also think it’s helpful to chat with a lawyer and accountant to get the nuts and bolts of your freelance business sorted out (i.e. LLC stuff, contracts, etc.) and check with your local laws about what you need to do to protect yourself and your freelancing business.
Investing in expert help is worth every penny at this stage—which is why it may be helpful to do some smaller copywriting and content writing projects before you throw yourself in the deep end with a huge memoir project. I list tons of freelance copywriting and content writing jobs on my Monday writing job board for you to apply to.
From there, you need to land your first client! How?
Here are all the ways you can get hired as a freelance memoir ghostwriter:
You can apply to freelance memoir ghostwriting jobs on job boards like my weekly job board, which has memoir ghostwriting and developmental editing jobs as well as general bookish and freelance writing jobs.
You can cold email clients directly.
You can build a great portfolio website, and keep up a blog to become more visible to clients who want to hire you.
You can write and publish your own memoir, or a memoir-ish book (such as a collection of personal essays!) to help attract clients and also add a strong sample to your portfolio.
You can attend conferences and events where your ideal clients hang out.
Once you’ve landed your first client, congrats! It’s now time to feel out your process and how you work best with clients.
Generally, I recommend you work via Zoom (or in-person meetings if the client wants to fly you out and you’re comfortable with that) and record every meeting once the project starts.
Then, you can use a program like Descript to transcribe all of your call recordings. These transcripts are super helpful when you’re trying to capture a client’s voice—I love returning to transcripts to grab funny lines, thoughtful metaphors, or other pieces verbatim from my chats with clients.
If your client prefers phone calls, I’ve used Tape A Call recorder for the iPhone in the past (it’s a paid app) but I believe the iPhone now has a call recorder built into it now.
(Don’t quote me on this, I recommend testing out this feature with a friend before you use it with clients! I’ve been mostly using Zoom and the iPhone recorder app for in-person meetings, so it’s been awhile since I’ve had to record something on my phone.)
Every memoir ghostwriter approaches the outlining process a bit differently, here’s how I approach mine:
I have a two-step outline approach, which includes the “macro” outline and then a “chapter” outline. Here’s a chapter outline and a guide on how to use it below:
Need some help writing your rough draft? Here are some more tips for you:
Honestly, there’s so much nuance to this type of work — but don’t let it overwhelm you! Every ghostwriter does things differently, so find what works best for you and your clients.
Because I want to make sure you’re armed with ~ every ~ available resource I have for you on the topic of memoir ghostwriting, I’ve got some more posts you might find helpful:
More free posts on my blog about being a freelance memoir ghostwriter:
More posts from this Substack about being a freelance memoir ghostwriter:
Want to learn all of my tips, tricks, and strategies for how to grow your writing business? Get my book Six-Figure Freelance Writer (which is free on Kindle Unlimited right now!)
Lastly, I do offer coaching for freelance writers and those who want to be memoir ghostwriters. It’s a bit more expensive than other coaching options out there because I go all-in with the writers I work with and spend a whole month diving deep into every aspect of their freelancing business and goals, and create a custom curriculum for the month that also includes hands-on support in between sessions.
It’s not right for everyone, but just wanted to mention it in case you wanted deeper support in crafting the perfect freelancing career for you! Feel free to hit “reply” to this email with any questions you might have about my coaching program.
📚 Author Corner: Surviving Rewrites on My Upcoming Romantasy Novel, The Ash Trials
I wrote over 120,000 words of my upcoming romantasy novel The Ash Trials in 2.5 months — and I’ve spent the last month rewriting the draft.
This is the most I’ve written (and rewritten!) in such a short period of time, but there is a benefit to having fewer projects on your plate and focusing more deeply on them.
Rewriting is hard enough, but it does become a bit easier if you’re able to be in the draft for 2-4 hours per day every day so you don’t get disconnected from the problems you’re trying to solve.
Taking breaks every 60-90 minutes is also a nice way to get refreshed before you dive back in: I’m a fan of going for walks every few hours during writing days to keep ideas flowing.
Whenever I’m starting to feel burned out from long rewriting sessions, I take a break to read a book in the same genre as what I’m writing, as that helps me get inspired and gives my brain a break from trying to solve all of my own draft problems.
I can’t wait to share The Ash Trials with y’all so soon!
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Sending creativity and good writing vibes your way,
-Amy
OMG. You're going on Emma Gannon's retreat? AMAZING.
Officially on my list for next year.
Enjoy!