Writing a book about myself

geek84

Hi Folks

I am thinking of getting someone (ghost writer) to write a book about myself. I am just an ordinary guy - not famous in any way, but I just want to write my experiences and difficulties that I had growing up. My parents are both immigrants and came to England in the 1960s. I had a very restrictive and harsh upbringing, got bullied at school etc. I hated my childhood.

Do you think it would be a good idea to write my experiences? I will of course change all names and places. The book would be ideally intended for readers whose parents were immigrants or who had a sad/difficult childhood. How would I know that my book will sell or do you think I would be wasting my time?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

matt-comparison

On the contents of the book and likewise? :beer:
What is your purpose? Blowing off some steam about your childhood or get to an audience of readers?

Forget about writing a novel that'll be one of a kind masterpiece using a ghost writer though, unless you can hire a top class one, costing insane amounts of money.

matt.

SailorSam

I started to do a family tree and it was nothing like the Tv programme with stories about who the people were, all i had was a long list of people and dates. So i thought i'd write some sort of biography, like a diary of things i could remember from a child up to the present day. Much of it was rubbish but i thought anyone that looked into 'the tree' in 50yrs or 100yrs may find it interesting. Then it got me thinking could i convert it into an ebook.
Anyway i've been reading about blogging to try and make an extra few bob and thought about my book. But most of what i've read with lots of research on the Internet says if you want to make money, don't write about yourself. They're the hardest books to sell. But if it's like me doing it for a bit of fun, i'd say give it a go.

VJP

I'm wondering why this book will be intended for other people like yourself? Many many many people have had difficult childhoods and / or are immigrants - this in itself is not a catchy enough pitch. But maybe you will come up with something original once you start working on it. To be honest, people who have had these experiences would like to see light at the end of the tunnel. So, if you have overcome something then that could be interesting. But if so, then perhaps it would be better to write some kind of 'self help' guide with your own stories interspersed with advice on how to integrate your past experiences and to become a successful person. Writing is not a moneyspinner though.

geek84

Thanks for your advice, folks.

GentleGenius

Without wishing to seem argumentative towards anyone else, I'd say go for it as this sort of book largely sells well.

mandragora_2

GentleGenius wrote: »

Without wishing to seem argumentative towards anyone else, I'd say go for it as this sort of book largely sells well.

I'd debate this. Getting paid anything for writing is really difficult. Getting paid enough to make a living from is really, really difficult. Making money from selling a book that you've paid someone else to write for you - well, unless you're Victoria Beckham or A N Other famous person, I can't imagine how you'd do it. I have two friends who are actual, paid writers.

One is an English teacher, extremely well-known in their field, they write poetry (which, when published is well reviewed but very poorly paid) and also write commissioned-for pieces for educational publishers, for school text books. This adds a useful supplement to the income they make from their teaching work; it would not be enough to live on. They are a fantastic writer, and they write brilliant pieces about their own life and observations (and they, too, had a somewhat difficult start in life). These pieces attract no payment, but my friend self-publishes them in the form of blog articles which have a good following.

The second person I know who has made money from writing is a sci-fi novelist. They write and write and write, devoting lots of free time to it, and again, they are extremely well-regarded in their genre. After several years of unrewarding work, and many publishers' rejections, this friend decided to self-publish via Amazon e-books. Over a couple of years of hard work promoting the book, entering writing competitions etc, etc, eventually an American publisher has picked the book up via Amazon and they've agreed a publishing deal to do a print version of the book, which has just gone into production.

My friend was hoping to give up maths teaching and make a living from writing. When I asked how it was going, the reply I got was: 'It's brilliant. Sales have really taken off. I'm going to be able to retire soon at this rate'
'Blimey,' I said, 'how much have you made?'
'Last year, £37.50,' was the reply.

I am sorry to tell you that I can't think your proposal will be a money maker, though I may be wrong. If you want to write your story down, do so. Do it as a blog. Put it on the internet. Others will see it and may learn from it which would be lovely. Don't expect it to make you rich, though. There's lots of amazing writers out there already - and the average annual earnings for regular, published writers is only around the £11k mark for most of them. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/11/traditional-publishing-fair-sustainable-society-of-authors

geek84

Good Morning Folks

Thanks very much indeed for your replies, especially mandragora for the detailed advice.

CACHAF

I would have a look at self publishing on amazon kindle. That seems to be a good way to get started these days and to see if you book has readership / is popular. Those figures could then help you to get a publishing deal, if appropriate.

Good luck x

Owain_Moneysaver

I wouldn't pay a ghost writer. If you want help in writing join a local creative writing group (ask at the local library).