Authors Electric

I was invited for afternoon tea on a sunny afternoon by Lifebook.co.uk and I was intrigued enough to graciously accept. As a full-time ghostwriter I receive many enquiries from people who want their elderly parents to turn their memories into books. In most cases these books would have no commercial value but would have infinite emotional value to the parent in question, as well as to their close friends and family. There would also be the benefit for a parent, who might be feeling sidelined by old age, of being given the time to talk about themselves and their lives with someone who is asking genuinely interested questions. With most enquiries of this sort it is not worth the enquirer hiring someone like me and it would be completely pointless for them to set themselves up for rejection by the Big Five publishers, or even by any of the smaller independent publishers. The target markets for these books are sniper-sharp and narrow. So I am never quite sure where ...

Once upon a time immortality was only for the famous or the infamous – now it can be for everyone and I don't see why anyone should be shamed by accusations of "vanity publishing" into forgoing the opportunity. In the past if you wanted your name to live on after everyone who knew you had gone you had to rely on word of mouth. Stories of great ancestors would be told by each generation to the next and through the years they would evolve into myths and legends.   With the invention of the written word the famous were able to take more control of how they were remembered, but only if they were selected by elite publishers or were wealthy enough to pay for expensive private publication. From the writings of Homer to the tales of Beatrix Potter, books cemented the names of only a select few into history. Very occasionally discoveries of handwritten manuscripts like the Country Diary of an Edwardian Lad y would be unearthed and would bestow immortality on someone...