Memoir Ghostwriter: Your Story, In Your Voice, Built to Last
You talk. I write. Your family gets the record in your own words, built from recorded interviews.
113+ books under my own name you can read tonight. 54+ ghostwritten, including memoirs for clients in their nineties.
What does a ghostwritten memoir cost?
I interview you, write the memoir in your voice, and you own every word. The rate is $1 per word, paid in monthly advances, whether the book is for your family or for the world.
Pricing covers the interviews, the outline, the writing, and the revisions. No hidden fees. You own the manuscript, the copyright, and every right to it.
Want a shorter family memoir at a lower price? AI-Assisted Books start at $15,000. It’s a different kind of offering: AI drafts the book from prompts I build out of your interviews, and I edit every page.
“When Richard steps in, I know he’s not just ghostwriting. He’s writing with my heart. He gets me. That’s rare.”
Gerry Mecca
Fractional CxO and memoir client
Want to hear your memoir before you commit?
The Book Discovery Intensive gives you ten hours of strategy, a full book plan, and a 2,000-word sample chapter in your voice. Go on to full ghostwriting within 60 days and the entire fee is credited toward your book.
Why write a memoir with a ghostwriter?
A memoir does specific work. It puts your version of events on the record, in your voice, so the people who weren’t there understand what happened and why. Your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will read your own words instead of guessing at them from photographs and half-remembered family stories. The book becomes the record that lasts after everyone who knew you firsthand is gone.
Some clients write the book for their family and never publish it. Others publish for a wider audience, because their experience is one other people will recognize and learn from. Some write because their parents never got their own story down, and they refuse to make the same omission. The process is the same whichever path you choose.
What do memoir clients get?
Real memoir projects. Identities protected where confidentiality requires it.
How does memoir ghostwriting work?
You don’t need to be a writer. You need to be ready to talk about your life. The writing is my job, and it moves in six phases.
Why this book
We start with what the memoir is for: a record for your family, a book for a wider readership, or both. That choice shapes everything after it.
Discovery
Recorded interview sessions, an hour or two at a stretch, scheduled around your life. You talk through the events, the people, and the turning points. I listen for the stories and for how you tell them.
Architecture
The recordings become a chapter outline: the narrative arc, the order of the stories, the opening. You approve the outline before any writing starts.
Creation
I write the chapters from the recordings. Your share is about 20% of the effort: the interviews and your review. Mine is the other 80%: the structure, the writing, and the polish.
Refinement
You read each chapter as it’s drafted and direct the revisions. The voice gets tuned in the first two or three chapters, facts get checked, and nothing is final until you say so.
Publish (optional)
Family-only or public, you choose the path. Publishing guidance, print and ebook editions, and distribution are available as a separate package.
See the full 6-phase process →
The full method, step by step: 10 Riveting Steps to Ghostwriting Memoirs.
A sample of my published work
Examples from the books I’ve written and ghostwritten, across fiction, leadership, business, faith, and more.
Who writes your memoir?
One writer, start to finish: 113+ books authored under my own name and 54+ ghostwritten, including memoirs across professional, family, military, and immigrant lives, all under my published Ghostwriter Code of Conduct.
About Richard Lowe
Richard Lowe is a professional ghostwriter and bestselling author. He has authored 113+ books and ghostwritten 54+ more for executives, founders, coaches, and public figures. His clients have used their books to raise over $30 million in venture capital, land a TEDx invitation, and secure deals with traditional publishers. His own book How to Manage a Consulting Project was used as required reading in a course at Purdue University's Krannert School of Management.
His current lead book, The Ghostwriting Advantage, is the comprehensive guide to hiring a ghostwriter. He also authored the bestselling Focus on LinkedIn and the publishing-journey trilogy: Make a Living as a Self-Published Author, Publish Your Book, and Sell Your Books. He served as Technical Editor and Contributing Author on Cyberheist, the cybersecurity book by KnowBe4 founder Stu Sjouwerman. His ongoing series include Enemies of You (nonfiction cultural commentary) and the Victorian fiction series, contemporary reimaginings of classic Victorian science fiction by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.
Before becoming a full-time ghostwriter, Richard spent 33 years in enterprise technology, including 20 years as Director of Computer Operations at Trader Joe's, where he managed infrastructure across 400+ stores. He hosts three interview podcasts: Leaders and Their Stories, Author Talks, and Conversations With Influencers, and has appeared as a guest on 100+ podcasts including The Chris Voss Show.
Want to explore all my ghostwriting insights? Visit the Ultimate Ghostwriting hub.
Based in Clearwater, Florida, serving Tampa, St. Petersburg, Palm Harbor, Largo, Safety Harbor, Pinellas and Polk counties, all of Florida, and authors everywhere remotely.
What stops people from starting a memoir?
Every memoir client arrives with hesitations. These are the usual ones.
The practical questions
Cost, timeline, ownership, and what you need to bring.
More questions? See the full Memoir FAQ.
Go deeper
Everything on this site about memoir, from the stories worth telling to the formats that work, is in one place: the Memoir Hub →
Talk with Richard about your memoir
Ready to get your story down while it’s still yours to tell? Book a free call. We’ll spend 30 minutes on the life you want on the page, what you’ve already gathered, and whether this is the right fit. No pitch. No pressure.
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