Member Spotlight: John DeSimone

AOG: How did you land your first ghostwriting project?

JD: I was struggling to write and publish fiction. At the time, I ran a writers conference to support myself. I invited a ghostwriter to speak at the conference. Getting to know what he did and how he supported himself through his craft, I was drawn into the business. He helped me get a small job with a local pastor finishing a book. From there, my business grew. I built a website and began to reach out to the sources my friend suggested.

Thinking back at how my business grew, it was definitely by serendipity. I met a rehab counselor in a coffee shop where I liked to write. Turned out he owned the coffee shop and operated a chain of alcohol and drug rehab clinics. His project was my first self-help book. It detailed the therapeutic process he used in his clinics.

A former patient reached out to me after her discharge. She had read my book and wanted me to write her memoir. That’s how I met Natalie Sulimen, AKA Octomom. The agent who repped her sent me a manuscript she didn’t know what to do with. I don’t think she ever imagined the memoir would be published. She even rejected it once I had spent a year rewriting it. Another agent sold it to Little A, an Amazon imprint. It became a national bestseller: The Broken Circle: A Memoir of Escaping Afghanistan.

Along the way, I perfected my process.

AOG: What is my favorite question to ask clients during interviews?

JD: I came to writing memoirs from the perspective of learning how fiction works. I’ve published three novels and written several more that were pure practice. The connection between the structure of fiction and the contemporary memoir is unmistakable.

I work to understand a client’s story in the first conversation. My intake is as much a qualification interview as a sales interview. I want to know if there’s a story in the events the authors tell me about. Are they willing to shape it into a contemporary memoir? Or are they fixated on an autobiography, a narrative that tells every detail. Without fail, they see their lives as a series of events and wonder at how they all hold together. Some of their stories are funny, some are sad, and some are even remarkable, but they still don’t understand the meaning of all the events. More importantly, how all this minutia holds together. Or where to begin.

That’s where I come in. I become a guide to understanding their experiences, making it meaningful so I can write a story that reads like a novel but is unadulterated truth.

I want to know about turning points. Moments of change that pushed them to become who they are now. What skills have they learned from their experiences? I don’t want to hear the tragic details of their divorce. We’ll get to that. I want to know what they’ve done with the tragedy. How has it transformed them? I dig for the epiphanies. I help them draw lines in their memory from incident to meaning. I push for ways the experience made them stronger, a better person, an agent of change in their own lives and perhaps in others as well. The best memoirs include the victimization, but never camp there. Readers want to read about the transformative experiences in the author’s life.

Those are the questions I ask first. Then we get on to the price of my services.

AOG: What are the best parts of this career?

JD: Every person’s story brings a unique perspective. Each client deepens my understanding of the human experience, and they often gain greater appreciation for their own stories. Turning memory into meaning is rewarding.

AOG: What’s one thing clients might be surprised to know about you?

JD: How open I am to hearing their stories and how powerful empathetic listening is in writing a compelling story. I’ve never heard a boring story.

AOG: How can people reach you?

JD: You can reach me through my website (www.johndesimone.com), by email (john@johndesimone.com), or by phone (714-244-0554). I welcome all inquiries and look forward to hearing from you.