Released
on: June 15, 2009, 4:48 am
Author: Arbor Books
Industry: Consumer Services
(New
York, NY)—Memoirs are still the hottest genre in the publishing industry,
according to experts, so if you’re asking, “How do I tell my story?”
then you’re in luck.
Larry Leichman, cofounder of Arbor Books (www.arborbooks.com),
a top ghostwriting firm, says that despite recent controversies, memoirs still
dominate The New York Times’ best sellers lists and consistently rank
as top sellers at Amazon.com, a situation Mr. Leichman says is related to our
fascination with the lives of others.
The sales figures for the memoir genre support that opinion, jumping from $170
million in 1999 to nearly $300 million today, according to the Bowker Industry
Report.
And, in recent years, many of the top memoirs have come from outside of the
top publishers, often with the help of ghostwriters.
Mr. Leichman’s company, Arbor Books has added more memoirists to its roster
of ghostwriters in an effort to support the genre—one that Mr. Leichman’s
cofounder, Joel Hochman, says is alive and well through the help of self-publishers.
“Self-publishing a memoir used to be looked down upon,” says Mr.
Hochman, the other cofounder of Arbor Books. “It was once called ‘vanity
press,’ but today that term no longer applies. The big publishers aren’t
keeping up with people’s desires to tell their stories and ghostwriting
firms are supporting people who have amazing life stories but who want them
professionally written and marketed.”
Recent years have seen the rise of the memoir. Barack Obama’s "Dreams
from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance" and "The Mercy Papers:
A Memoir of Three Weeks" by Robin Romm are just two examples.
“These
stories are very personal, and we want to offer our clients the chance to tell
their own stories with help from professional writers who know how,” says
Mr. Leichman.
Ghosting a memoir is a common practice for public figures, including:
* Athletes
* Politicians
* Actors
* Business leaders
* Celebrities
Elements of most memoirs include the following:
* blistering honesty
* raw, unvarnished story-telling
* a clear theme
* lots of "movie" scenes (don't tell -- show)
* interesting characters
Whether it’s the commitment of time or the inability to articulate their
feelings, hundreds of authors have used ghostwriters to help tell their stories.
Arbor Books believes there are great stories yet to be told—ones the traditional
publishers have turned away.
Arbor Books provides an array of publishing services to their clients such as
ghostwriting, editing, typesetting, design, printing, marketing and distribution.
Arbor Books is the only publishing firm catering to independent authors that
is 100-percent insured against defamation and plagiarism, and it is associated
with one of the most prestigious publishing law firms in the United States.
Arbor Books authors have appeared on CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, ABC News and FOXNews
and have become columnists for major newspapers and magazines including USA
Today.
Cofounders Joel Hochman and Larry Leichman are publishing-industry veterans
and are listed in Literary Market Place. Their staff is capable of handling
any genre and any size book.
Contact Details:
Arbor Books, Inc.
244 Madison Avenue, #254
New York, NY 10016
Contact: Olga Vladimirov
Phone: 212-956-0950
E-mail: Info@arborbooks.com