Why you should write a memoir even if you're not a celebrity
The world of entertainment doesn’t do mundane. It loves to evolve, and if you linger too much on one channel, subject, or personality, it won’t be long before you find yourself in a world that’s so far removed from reality.
Take, for example, the speed at which we’ve moved on from watching full-length reality show episodes on TV about families and frenemies we bear no connections with to watching short TikTok clips about them or, better yet, reading their life stories in a memoir.
As usual, Hollywood is paying attention and staying ahead of the curve. That’s why, in Fall 2023 alone, at least 22 celebrity memoirs are slated to be published. Kerry Washington’s ‘Thicker Than Water,’ Jada Pinkett’s ‘Worthy,’ Brittney Spears’ ‘The Woman in Me,’ and Dolly Parton’s ‘Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones’ join a long and increasing list of celebrity memoirs released over the past few years.
You might assume Prince Harry’s memoir, 'Spare', started the frenzy given its publicity and sales. But you’d be wrong. Celebrities have been reliving painful, delightful, and regrettable memories in books for a long time.
French actress Sarah Bernhardt's 1907 memoir, 'Ma Double Vie' (translated as My Double Life), was the celebrity memoir published and has since begun the endless wave of nonfiction memoirs and autobiographies by public figures. In recent years, readers, celebrities, and publishers alike have given this type of nonfiction even more attention and credence than we’ve likely ever seen.
Inherently, this increasing interest in celebrity memoirs is a good thing. It bodes well for the book publishing industry, and even more, it is a telling sign that more people are willing and interested to read books about true life stories where they can learn from other people’s experiences, failures, and triumphs. It is for this reason that non-celebrities should consider writing memoirs, too.
Forget what you might have been told; you don’t have to be a celebrity to write a memoir. You do not need to be an actor/actress, athlete, TV personality, politician, or any other type of public figure to share your story and message in a book.
One of my favorite award-winning memoirs was written by a non-celebrity, Tara Westover. Westover’s ‘Educated’ is often quoted by authors and ghostwriting clients I speak with as an inspiration for their own memoir-writing ambitions. The same can be said for Jeannette Walls’ ‘The Glass Castle’ and Cheryl Strayed’s ‘Wild’.
These authors were barely known outside of their own communities when they published their memoirs. Yet, their books went on to win national awards and spent time on bestseller lists.
The idea that someone who is relatively unknown can write a book about their life experiences that garners the attention, readership, and recognition of strangers may seem far-fetched. I’d admit it is not an easy feat to achieve, but it’s not impossible, and I’ve seen it happen time and time again to authors whom I’ve been privileged to collaborate with or ghostwrite for.
If you’re struggling to wrap your head around this—you’re thinking about writing a memoir but worried that no one will bat an eye at it or care enough about you or your story to pick up the book—I’ll suggest you look within and consider why you want to a memoir.
Like most projects that are worth doing, you’re going to need more than external validation to get started and keep going when working on a memoir. This is something that you have to want to do from within, something that requires having a strong, solid, and consistent ‘why.’
I know that might sound cliché, but it is the truth. I’ve seen a few ghostwriting clients lose hope during the memoir writing process because they didn’t understand why they were doing it, or whatever reason they told themselves before they started writing no longer held true. As a ghostwriter, it was my job to help them dig deep to find their ‘why,’ so they could fully understand the essence of the work they were doing.
With this in mind, I’ve listed five reasons you should write a memoir, even if you’re a non-celebrity. These reasons are based on my experiences with memoir authors and ghostwriting clients.
Preserve your memories
Most people who approach me about writing their memoirs do so because they want to preserve their memories, knowledge, and life experiences so their friends, family, colleagues, and communities can always have a piece of them when everything is said and done.
From family matriarchs and company founders to religious leaders, several people have gathered lived experiences that they’ve never had the chance or time to share with their loved ones, communities, and networks. A memoir is a great way to document experiences so these memories can live on for a long time.Share your worldviews
One of the fascinating things about social media is that more people are open to sharing their perspectives and personal experiences publicly and, in many cases, for good. I know there is some degree of toxicity on social platforms, but, all things considered, society is much better when there are more open online forums for sharing worldviews and learning from each other.
That said, there is only so much you can say, share, and learn online. You can’t share 50,000 words worth of information on any known social media platform, and no one is interested in reading a webpage that’s that long. But you can put that many words in a book.
Particularly, with a memoir, you can get creative and give people a great reading experience by sharing your worldviews using a chronology or collection of memorable, relevant true stories and events from your life.
Inspire readers with similar experiences
Information can do many things for people. It can be a source of entertainment, encouragement, enlightenment, or inspiration. I’ve found that a good number of memoir authors want to share their stories and knowledge with people who may be experiencing events that they went through at some point and overcame.
In many ways, sharing information and stories that give people like you an advantage is one of the most basic but important acts of altruism you can make. There’s no real benefit to gatekeeping knowledge; eventually, people will figure out how to get ahead and overcome any situation. But with a memoir packed with inspirational stories, you can be the reason they do.
Connect a community of readers
Few mediums bring like-minded people together as books do. That’s why there are an estimated 5 million book clubs in the United States, talkless around the world. And almost half of those book clubs focus primarily on memoirs. Each book club and reader is an extension of a community connected by a book.
Thanks to you, the author, your readers can have a shared experience that binds them together. The best evidence of this is in the reviews section of a book on Amazon or Goodreads. If you take a look at your favorite book’s Amazon or Goodreads page, you might find threads of comments from strangers who are discussing the topics, subjects, and stories shared in the book. If that isn’t community-building, I don’t know what is.
Side note: Book clubs are still expanding the reach and marketing potential of books. I’ve had authors whose book sales were boosted simply because more book clubs were reading their books. So, if you’re considering writing a book, be sure to research book clubs that are interested in your genre and see if you can get them to consider your book.Build your personal brand
Another common and valid reason my ghostwriting clients have had for writing memoirs is to expand their network and grow their brands. This is especially true for authors in leadership positions, artists, or entrepreneurs.
These authors understand that people buy from people. The more potential buyers can learn about you, your experiences, and your knowledge, the closer they feel to you, and the more they are likely to trust what you have to offer them.
You can attract more people to your brand and work by sharing a bit of yourself through a memoir. In other words, a memoir can be as effective and compelling as an introductory call or consultation session with a potential buyer.
Write a memoir you can be proud of
Several celebrities write memoirs for the same reasons non-celebrities do. After all, they are human. Besides their social media follower counts and TV appearances, many of them simply want to own the narratives that have been publicized about their lives, share their perspectives with the world, inspire others, and reach a community of people. They have the same motivations you do.
To meet the standards set by these bestselling celebrity memoirs, your memoir needs to be expertly written. It needs to be approached thoughtfully and with in-depth research and creativity so that, as a literary body of work, it can stand out. This is where a professional ghostwriter comes in.
My work as a memoir ghostwriter is all about retelling true, authentic, and meaningful stories using the author’s voice and presenting them in a way that gets and keeps readers' attention from cover to cover.
A memoir is part of one’s life work. As such, it needs to be written like it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (because it is for so many people), so I curate my entire memoir ghostwriting and book development process so that it leaves authors with a book manuscript that they can be proud of.
With the right motivations and an experienced writer by your side, you don’t have to be a celebrity to write your memoir. Even better, you can take a bold step towards writing your memoir today