Writing for Immortality

In this episode, Barbara discusses ghostwriting and the recent controversy surrounding President Biden's ghostwriter, Mark Zwanitzer. Barbara also highlights the long history of ghostwriters working with presidents and the importance of confidentiality in the ghostwriting relationship. She provides tips for finding a reliable ghostwriter, including researching their track record, asking about confidentiality provisions, and understanding their fee structure. Barbara concludes the episode by giving a writing exercise to improve storytelling abilities.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:29 Ghostwriters coming out of the shadows

04:20 Responsibility of the ghostwriter

05:18 Confidentiality in ghostwriting

06:25 Historical examples of presidential ghostwriters

09:22 Choosing a reliable ghostwriter

12:31 Considering the fee structure

13:28 Writing exercise: Limitations

In today's episode, Barbara talks to Jane Goodrich, a photographer and founder of the Picsello platform that helps photographers build and sustain their businesses. They talk about how she got started, what led her to Picsello, how she believes that anyone can take a good photograph, and the importance of telling a great story through imagery. Stick around until the end when Jane and Barbara talk about AI and how it's changing the photography industry and human creativity.

About Jane Goodrich:

Connect with Jane:

Jane Goodrich:

In this episode, Barbara explores the art of writing your life story and finding your voice. She emphasizes the importance of building a working library and using style guides to improve writing accuracy and efficiency. Barbara discusses the limitations of generative AI in writing and the need for writers to develop their own unique voice. She explains the characteristics of written voice and the differences between written and spoken voice. Barbara provides tips for developing a written voice, including reading widely, writing regularly, and experimenting with tone and style. She concludes with a writing challenge to eliminate weak words from writing.

Takeaways

Building a working library can give writers the tools and resources they need to produce high-quality writing.

Generative AI can be helpful in the writing process, but it cannot fully capture a writer's unique voice and style.

Style guides are valuable resources for writers, providing writing rules and conventions that ensure consistency and clarity.

Developing a written voice requires reading widely, writing regularly, and finding authenticity in one's writing.

Experimenting with tone and style can help writers discover their unique voice and improve their writing.

Eliminating weak words, such as 'only,' 'rather,' 'really,' 'quite,' and 'in fact,' can improve the clarity and strength of writing.

Links to style guides mentioned in this episode

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: Writing Your Life Story and Finding Your Voice

02:58 Building a Working Library

04:20 The Limitations of Generative AI in Writing

05:46 The Importance of Style Guides

08:12 Developing Your Written Voice

11:40 Understanding Written Voice vs. Spoken Voice

13:16 Characteristics of Written Voice

14:43 Finding Your Authenticity in Written Voice

20:09 Experimenting with Tone and Style

25:53 Writing Challenge: Eliminating Weak Words

28:06 Conclusion

Retired nurse Nancy Belouin joins Barbara to talk about writing her life story as a legacy for her children and why she's already at work writing her second life story book.

Nancy used DIYBook to write her life story, where the prompts help writers reminisce about their past and engage in personal reflection. The online writing platform is easy to use and has tips to help writers like Nancy start and complete a rewarding and fulfilling project.

Notes:

🙌 Nancy is an 80-year-old widow who decided to write her life story as a gift to her children. 1:49

✅ How a friend's experience writing her life story inspired Nancy to do the same: 2:19

❗ Don't miss an opportunity to write down family histories 3:00

💜 Propmts can be helpful, but Nancy was very organized as well. 3:35

👉 Nancy keeps her project a secret from her adult children, and their reaction was priceless 4:40

🍫 Memories are fleeting, but most people don't take the time to contextualize those memories by writing them down. 6:30

🧡 Writing is therapeutic for the grieving process 7:15

💜 Special memories come back that were forgotten, such as Nancy's childhood visits to her French-speaking grandparents in Maine 7:50

🧡 Nancy referred to photo albums to help remember stories 10:30

💜 Emotions could be happy or sad, depending on the story, but Nancy aimed to keep the story light and upbeat 12:00

✅ Special family memories of Christmas 12:52

🧡 Nancy enlists a son-in-law to help her add pictures to the book and keep the book a secret 14:44

💜 Nancy starts her second book, dedicated to her husband's life, whom she met in high school. 15:17

🧡 The story of how Nancy met her future husband 15:56

💜 Nancy's 7 grandchildren read the book 19:09

🧡The DIYBook program made writing Nancy's life story easy and enjoyable 20:10

Do you think the first step to writing a life story is...writing? If so, you're in for a surprise. In this episode of the Writing for Immortality podcast, Barbara explores the topic of writing a life story book and tells us that getting started doesn't mean sitting down to write--at least, not right away. Barbara emphasizes preserving personal experiences and capturing narratives for future generations. She also discusses the time commitment required for writing a book and advises listeners to set realistic goals. (A book in six months? Maybe. A book in 6 days? Probably not.) Then, she gets into the preparation and research process, including identifying the subject, conducting interviews, and verifying facts. And finally, Barbara stresses the importance of organizing and cataloging research materials to help writers keep their sanity and facilitate the writing process.

Takeaways

Writing a life story book allows individuals to preserve their experiences and create a lasting legacy.

Setting realistic goals and considering the time commitment required is crucial for completing a book.

The preparation and research process, including identifying the subject and gathering materials, is essential before starting the writing process. Conducting oral history interviews and verifying factual information adds depth and accuracy to the book.

Transcription platforms:

We could do a whole episode on AI vs. human transcriptions--maybe we will! In the meantime, here are our top 3 picks:

https://www.rev.com/ (Offers AI and human transcriptions. Barbara uses Rev--voted best transcription service of 2024 by PCMag)

https://gotranscript.com/transcription-services (low-price human transcriptions)

https://otter.ai/ (AI transcriptions)

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Writing a Life Story Book

02:20 Considerations Before Starting the Writing Process

04:40 Approaching the Writing Process

05:10 Preparation and Research

11:19 Gathering Research Materials

13:44 Conducting Oral History Interviews

16:37 Verifying Factual Information

18:28 Organizing and Cataloging Research Materials

20:49 Conclusion and Next Steps

About Barbara: As the founder of In Ink Ghostwriting and DIYBook Barbara has dedicated her career to helping people preserve their stories in print. This podcast is an extension of that work. Everyone has a story to tell--remember that!

"Writing for Immortality" is for writers ready to start and finish their books as well as those who simply love good writing. We'll discuss the world of book creation, with each episode unlocking the secrets of transforming an idea into a masterpiece.

Join us as we navigate the twists and turns of a writer’s journey, offering insider advice and strategies for every stage of the writing process. Our guests include authors, artists, PR professionals, and literary agents who will share their tips and tricks to help you write something that stands the test of time.

Your host is Barbara Basbanes Richter, a twenty-year veteran of the writing world and founder of In Ink Ghostwriting, a full-service ghostwriting firm, and DIYBook, a fully online do-it-yourself guided writing program that helps people write their life stories and business books affordably.