Become a Writer Today What It Takes to Become a Successful Ghost Writer with Ruby Peru
11 snips
Jun 21, 2021 
Ruby Peru, an author and biographer who has ghostwritten about 19 books, explains her move into memoir and narrative nonfiction. She talks about vulnerability vs heroism in memoir, treating memoirs like page-turning novels, her month-long interview and transcription workflow, editing and deadlines, credit and ethics in ghostwriting, finding clients between projects, and launching a small press.
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First Memoir Came From A Cult Escapee
- Ruby's first memoir commission came from a cult-escapee with a confusing spiritual stance which required patient interviews and editing.
- Living near the cult and having India experience helped her land the job and learn memoir craft by trial by fire.
Memoir Can Be Entertainment Not Instruction
- Memoir and self-help often cross when an author uses personal experience to teach lessons, but memoir can simply aim to entertain.
- Ruby writes memoirs like novels, prioritizing page-turning scenes and dramatic arcs over didactic lists.
Interview Deeply Then Build A Timeline
- Record roughly 30–40 hours of interviews over a month and transcribe them to internalize material before writing.
- Build a timeline from messy memories to show cause and effect, making structure easier later.
