If you’re a professional sports athlete, you’ve probably thought about writing a memoir but have been deterred due to time constraints and risk. What you may not know is that publishing a memoir while you’re still in the game can boost your brand and provide a lifelong source of income post-retirement. So, how do you find the time to write a book, and more importantly how do you mitigate the risk of endangering your career by divulging too much info?
The best way to write a memoir while you’re still in the game is to leave the private stuff about your teammates, coaches, and the sport, private. Now is not the time to provide the inside scoop on anyone but yourself. Talk about your life before professional sports. Did you always know you wanted to play football? Who inspired you? What’s the first step you took towards your goal? Talk about the training and discipline involved in reaching the top, the effects on relationships and family, and the pitfalls you may have faced. Publishing a memoir now increases your endorsements and builds your brand by giving the people what they want, what they’ve always wanted; a glimpse into the real you.
Most retired professional athletes find it hard once the cheers stop. Being in the public eye, playing in front of thousands of people, and hearing the crowd roar, is a real high. And once that’s gone, some retired athletes struggle to capture a bit of that feeling again. Living on a fixed budget after living so large is also another reason so many pro athletes seek other means of making an extra buck while staying relevant and feeling that high again. Speaking engagements provide the perfect way to get up in front of a crowd and talk about your sport and having a previously published memoir makes you more valuable as a speaker because the audience loves to receive autographed books. The key, though, is writing your memoir while you’re still playing.
After you retire, write your second memoir, and it’s in this one that you can go into detail about your playing years, teammates, coaches and sport. Two memoirs will be excellent sources of income.
Your first memoir can be anything you want it to be. It can be a chronological account of your life from birth to present day, or it can be written in a series of stories, flashbacks, failures, and successes. One of the biggest reasons people love reading memoirs from their favorite sports figures is that they may have had the same dream at one time in their life, or they’re dreaming about it right now. People want to know that it’s possible to achieve these types of things and they want to know how to do it.
By writing your memoir you’re teaching and coaching your readers and giving them pertinent information, not only about the game itself, but about what it takes to get to the top. You’re educating and inspiring others to reach for what they want and letting them know that it’s not always easy. By pulling back the curtain, you’re revealing all the physical hard work, the sacrifices, and the mental struggles that are part of any climb to the top. While the crowd only sees the glory, you can show them that the game is just an hour or two out of a week of work.
So, how do you go about writing your first memoir? If you’re not a writer, then do an internet search for memoir or autobiography writing services. (You will probably find us on the first page of search results). This way you remain as the author of the book, but it’s written by a professional. A good ghostwriter will speak with you and get to know your voice so they can write in your tone and style, and deliver a book that reads as if you wrote it yourself. While you’re busy with your sport the ghostwriter will go to work and write your book.
To find the best ghostwriter, you want to research those who write memoirs and who are skilled in writing these true accounts. It’s important to hit it off with your ghostwriter and to make sure you can work well together. You want to make sure the ghostwriter understands what you’re trying to convey and that they can deliver your story in a well-written and compelling way.
Ghostwriters Central has already vetted its staff of ghostwriters and can help you select the best writer for your story. They’ll work with you as your memoir manager to make sure you get what you want, on time, and with the highest quality. Telling your story now can be your next big goal, basket, touchdown or gooaaaal!
