Autobiographies are one of the most popular genres on the market. Year after year, they lead the New York Times bestseller list, a fairly reasonable measurement of what the average reader likes—or at least, the American average reader. In 2021, for example, 4 out of the 5 most popular non-fiction books in the US were autobiographies, including Becoming, by Michelle Obama, and Greenlights, by actor Matthew McConaughey. In 2022, I’m Glad My Mom Died, the heart-rendering story of Jennette McCurdy, one of the main characters of the kids’ TV show iCarly, was one of the best-sellers of the year.
Other countries, like Argentina, follow a similar trend: Primer tiempo, by former Argentine President Mauricio Macri, and Simplemente Charli, by tiktoker Charli D’Amelio, were among the best-selling books of 2021. But there’s a fun fact many people don’t know about these books. Despite telling life stories in the first-person, many weren’t written by their protagonists, but by hired writers, known as ghostwriters.
Autobiographies and Ghostwriting
Hiring ghostwriters is a very common practice in the publishing world. It’s, above all, a solution to a technical problem. Many people have interesting stories to tell, but not everyone has the time or the means to do so. Luckily, that can be solved by hiring a professional.
That’s what Michelle Obama did for Becoming, for example. There’s a thank you note for the team that helped her finish the book. Primer tiempo was not written by Mauricio Macri, but by Hernán Iglesias Illa and Pablo Avelluto. But it’s not just politicians who turn to ghostwriters. It is also very common among athletes and people from show business. And you don’t really need to be famous either; ghostwriting is like any other service. It’s a tool, and it can be used by anyone who wants to tell a story.
The Process of Ghostwriting: How to Write Someone’s Autobiography
Ghostwriters are specialists in custom writing. In this sense, they are not strictly limited to autobiographies: they can also work in fiction, science communication, self-help, screenplays, or almost any other genre. However, in the particular case of autobiographies, the process is quite standardized. It usually begins with a series of interviews, in which the client tells their life. The ghostwriter then transcribes the interviews and, based on that material, they decide the structure of the book (which can also be suggested by the client, of course). If the client agrees, the ghostwriter then proceeds to write the first drafts, which are reviewed and corrected by the client, until the book is finished. This whole process can be confidential, and the ghostwriter always waives their rights to the work.
If you are interested in writing your autobiography, don’t hesitate to contact us.
6 Famous Autobiographies Written by Ghostwriters
Many of the most popular autobiographies weren’t written by their protagonists. That is not always a secret: frequently, the hired writer appears as a collaborator inside the book, and sometimes even on the cover. In other cases, they don’t show up in the credits, but the protagonists talk about them in interviews. And there are also ghostwriters who are famous and whose projects are promoted even if their names aren’t on the cover, which is a little paradoxical. Here are some of the best-known cases: 6 autobiographies that were not written by their main characters.
1. Open – André Agassi
The autobiography of tennis player André Agassi was one of the most talked-about books of 2009. Written by superstar ghostwriter and Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Moehringer, Open tells Agassi’s life story from his childhood, during which he was tormented by an abusive and exploitative father, to his retirement. It’s the story of his rivalry with Peter Sampras, his marriage to Steffi Graf, and, above all, his ambivalent relationship with tennis, a sport he hates and loves in equal parts.
And thanks to this book, Moehringer achieved recognition as an autobiographical author. To the point that he was in charge of Prince Harry’s memoirs, Spare setting a record for single-day book sales on its release day.
2. Long Walk to Freedom – Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela was one of the most important politicians of the late 20th century. His autobiography was published in 1994, the same year he was elected president of South Africa. He was the first black president of his country and the first to be elected by universal suffrage, putting an end to apartheid, the system of racial segregation that had ruled the country for decades. In The Long Road to Freedom, he talks about his childhood, his activism, and his 27 years in prison. The book was written in collaboration with American diplomat Richard Stengel.
3. The Book of Margery Kempe – Margery Kempe
The Book of Margery Kempe is the first autobiography in the English language. Written in the 15th century, it tells the life of Margery Kempe, a brewer who, after having mystical visions, decided to devote her life to extensive pilgrimages through Europe. Being illiterate, she couldn’t write the book herself, so she dictated it to one or two scribes whose names are unknown.
The process has a reminiscence with what later, in the 20th century, was called the non-fiction or ethnographic novel. Perhaps the best-known example is Biography of a Runaway Slave, by Miguel Barnet, in which the Cuban anthropologist narrates in the first person the life of Esteban Montejo, a former slave more than a hundred years old.
4. Julian Assange, The Unauthorized Autobiography – Julian Assange
Julian Assange is a controversial character of recent years. Responsible for WikiLeaks, one of the most relevant leak sites in the world, he was alternatively awarded for his journalistic work and accused of espionage. In 2012, to avoid extradition to Sweden—where he is charged with two counts of sexual abuse—Assange sought political asylum at Ecuador’s embassy in London. There, he had more than 50 hours of interviews with the journalist who wrote his autobiography.
A curious fact: Assange was very unhappy with the book, so he refused to publish it under his own name. The ghostwriter cannot sign it either, so the text is listed as anonymous. That implies that the autobiography of the founder of WikiLeaks was, in a way, leaked.
5. My Mission in Life – Eva Perón
My Mission in Life is not a conventional autobiography. It doesn’t tell the life of Eva Perón, Argentine politician, activist, and First Lady, in chronological order, and it’s very vague in its details. It recovers anecdotes and episodes and threads them very slightly. The end result is a kind of hybrid between autobiography and political manifesto. It was written by the Spanish journalist Manuel Penella de Silva, who had previously published an anti-nazi pamphlet.
6. Trump: The Art of the Deal – Donald Trump
Before he was president of the United States, and before he even hosted the reality show The Apprentice, Donald Trump was the author of a best-seller. Trump: The Art of the Deal, published in 1987, mixes memoirs with business advice, and it was largely what consolidated him as a public figure. It was written in collaboration with journalist Tony Schwartz, who in 2016 said it was the biggest mistake of his career.
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