Have you developed a revolutionary business idea that now positively influences your life? Do you have a desire to share this idea with your company… or with the world?
Dear Future Business Memoir Author,
Every few years, it seems, a new business idea—often in the form of a best-selling book—sweeps across our country. Consider In Search of Excellence in the early 1980s… or Seven Habits of Highly Effective People in the early 1990s… or The Essential Drucker at the beginning of this century.
If you’re a successful businessperson, there’s a good chance you have some wisdom inside of you that, if published in book form, could be just as powerful as the ideas above.
There’s an even better chance that if you’re a successful businessperson, you don’t have time to sit down and write a paragraph, much less an entire book.
That’s where I come in.
My 28 years of writing experience (click here for specifics) can help you focus your revolutionary business idea into a business memoir. Not only will I write and edit your manuscript for you, I’ll help you decide what concepts are important, and what concepts might best be left alone.
In only 9 months I will transform your idea into a physical book you can sell (or give away) to your colleagues, your employees, your friends, your family, and even your competition.
Or you can submit your business memoir to a literary agency or publisher—and perhaps one day the country will be talking about your revolutionary new business idea.
What Exactly is a Business Memoir?
If you look online, you’ll find dozens of different definitions of “business memoir.” For our purposes, however, I’m going to define it as:
A first-person, fact-based book about a single important facet of your business life.
In other words, you will select a single theme around which your book will be centered—and it is this theme you will convey to your readers.
In your business memoir, you will be the one telling the story, and it will be told in your voice.
My job is simply to guide you through the process… and to do the bulk of the heavy, behind-the-scenes lifting.
Why Should I Write A Business Memoir?
There are many different reasons you might consider writing a business memoir. Among them:
Legacy—During your lifetime, you’ve spent tens of thousands of hours at work. Consider how much you’ve learned in your career—and how men and women just entering the business world could benefit by learning about your successes and failures.
Credibility—Watch the evening news for any amount of time and you’ll see an “expert” being interviewed. Same with newspapers and magazines. Many of these experts have written successful books. In our media-driven culture, having a book with your name on it gives you instant credibility in the eyes of your colleagues.
Business Education—If you run a large company, you could write a business memoir simply for the benefit of your employees. This memoir could have a profound effect on how you are ultimately viewed by your employees.
Sales—Let’s face it, the American public is always on the lookout for the next great business concept—and conversely, for the next great business book.
Whether it’s Seth Godin’s Purple Cow or Freakonomics, if you can introduce your revolutionary idea in an entertaining and informative way, you could potentially sell thousands of copies of your book… or more.
Examples of Popular Business Memoirs/Biographies
- Straight From the Gut by Jack Welch
- Grinding It Out by Ray Kroc
- Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis
- Personal History by Katharine Graham
- Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough & John Helyar
- The HP Way by David Packard
- Business at the Speed of Thought by Bill Gates
- Made in America by Saw Walton
- The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley
How Does the Writing Process Work?
The vast majority of your work is going to come at the beginning of the project.
Once we agree to work together, I’ll travel out and meet you (the cost of which is included in my fee). We’ll spend 3 or 4 days together—talking for a total of 15 – 20 hours.
It’s an exhausting but exhilarating process, but this is where you’ll perform a “memory-mine,” narrating every single thing, every single memory, every single anecdote you might want to include in your business memoir. I will guide these interviews the best I can, but since it’s your story, you will be doing most of the talking.
The rest of the writing process, which takes exactly 39 weeks, is the same as it is for writing a personal memoir. You can learn more about my in-depth writing process here:
Your Investment
There are a few things you should consider before hiring me to ghostwrite your business memoir:
- Our interviews will be completely confidential. Other than the person who transcribes your interviews, nobody will know anything you tell me until they read the final copy of your memoir. If you reveal to me an episode you later decide not to include, I will never tell a soul.
- Your name alone will appear on the book cover, and you will own 100% of all the book rights. This will be 100% your book. I’m just the “ghost” who helps you get your story down on paper.
- My fee is all-inclusive. In addition to the writing and editing of the manuscript, it covers:
- A physical trip out to discuss your project in person. All other contact will be initiated by Skype/Zoom/FaceTime, email, or telephone.
- Professional transcription and proofreading costs.
- Creating a professional-looking cover for your business memoir.
- Writing a query letter and book proposal—so you can submit your business memoir to literary agents or publishers.
- Setting your book up on Amazon (including the ISBN number)—this includes both print and Kindle editions.
At the end of 39 weeks, you’ll be the proud owner of a business memoir that is approximately 250-300 pages long—between 60,000 and 70,000 words.
My fee, which includes everything I mention above, is $30,000 (payable in monthly installments). That’s extremely low for this type of book—I’ve seen fees as high as $500,000!
I should also mention that I’m a perfectionist—and because I put every ounce of energy I have into my projects, I’m only able to work with one business author at a time.
Preferably somebody who is bursting to see their revolutionary business idea in print.
If you are that somebody, please call or email me today! I’d love to get started tomorrow.
Jim Gratiot
916-805-4875
jimgratiotghostwriting@yahoo.com
P.S.: I’m a strong believer in business referrals. If you’re not ready to make the time commitment right now but know somebody who is, please send them my way. If they hire me to write their business memoir, I’ll send you a check for $500.
Jim Gratiot Ghostwriting 