Ralph Dranow | Ghostwriter | Editor

I can write your life story for you.
If you are not a writer and would like me to write your life story for you, I can do this. By interviewing you, listening empathetically, and asking the focused but gentle questions that draw out the important details of your life, I can collaborate with you on creating a rich portrait. In my questions, I encourage you to reflect on such issues as: What really matters to me? What have I learned during my life’s journey? What have been the turning points in my life? What am I proudest of? Reflecting on these questions will give your book more depth and will make it a more meaningful experience for your readers.
“Ralph did more than simply listen during my oral history. He sensed the thread of meaning in my story and guided our discussion toward deeper and more interesting reflection on my experience.” ~ Daniel Marlin, artist and poet.
We can work together with the material you’ve already written to write your autobiography.
If you’ve already done some journal writing about your life, for example, and need help going beyond this, we can collaborate on this. I can take this material and edit and polish it. It will also be useful as a guide to fill in the gaps of your story. You might want to do further journal writing at this point. Also, I can interview you to make your life story more complete. Journal entries and interviews can be combined into a rich picture to create a beautiful memoir. Again, I will be careful to maintain your unique voice, so the story will feel like your own.
“Ralph has been exceptionally helpful in working with me on a book about my husband’s life-threatening illness. It was a very emotional time for my husband and myself, and Ralph was extremely patient with us. I could not have finished the book without Ralph’s assistance.” ~ Tammy Ring-Gjerde, co-author of Beyond and Back: The Journey.
If you need an editor, I can help.
And if you’ve already written a memoir or autobiography and would like to bring it to a higher level, this is also a service I can provide. In a well-edited memoir or autobiography, the writing will flow and be clear and fresh. It will have correct grammar and punctuation. And the book will be well-organized and have dramatic movement; its structure will make sense on an intuitive level. These are some of the questions I’ll address in editing your book:
* Does the writing ring true on a deep emotional level?
* Will readers believe how the story is being told?
* Does the book pull readers in from the beginning?
* Does it end in a way that feels complete?
* The best way to organize your story. Chronologically, thematically, or some other way.
* Do you need more material in some places and less in others?
* Do some parts work better than others? And if so, what to do about it.

Now that you know all this, please contact me. The initial phone consultation is free: (510) 465-3935.

And if you have more questions, be sure to read my articles:

Writing Your Life Story--Ten Common Questions

Writing Your Life Story--Getting Started

More Testimonials:

“Ralph is an excellent reader. He tells it as he sees it.” ~ Michael Chacko Daniels, novelist, short story writer, author of Split in Two and That Damn Romantic Fool.

“Ralph has an unerring instinct for taking out what isn’t needed, revealing the spare and to-the-point beauty of what’s left. And his interest in human stories makes him the perfect listener, reader, and writer’s friend.” ~ Naomi Rose, author of Motherwealth and The Blessings Ledger.