Member Spotlight: Vic DiGenti
How did you land your first book ghostwriting project?
Marty Olsen believed he was the luckiest man in the world. As a soldier fighting for his country, he had survived World War II, returned home, and transformed his father’s small machine shop into a multi-million-dollar company. Marty had a great story to tell and had worked on his biography for two years when time and circumstances brought it to a halt. We had been in an investment club together, and Marty knew I was a writer—I had written six novels and was working on a seventh at the time. He contacted me, saying, “Vic, I’m 90 years old, and I want to publish my book before I die. Can you help me?”
I agreed to help, and using the pages he’d already written and hours of interviews, we completed his book. In 2014, Marty Olsen became the published author of We Were Amateur Soldiers: How the Great Generation Changed the Face of America.
Since then, I’ve written ten other biographies and family histories, and book doctored another half dozen. I never finished that seventh novel, but it’s waiting for me when I have some free time.
What’s your favorite type of project or client?
Everyone has a story to tell, and I embrace them all. Some of them are more dramatic, like Marty’s or Bob Solano’s rags-to-riches story, The Last Beach Boy. Others are more inspirational, overcoming setbacks and serious physical conditions to succeed. Some have lived lives of accomplishment, using their talents to travel the world and impact people, as jazz musician Bill Prince did. I documented his amazing story in Music is My Ticket: The Musical Journey of Bill Prince.
My favorite clients have life stories brimming with drama and conflict. As a former and hopefully, future novelist, I recognize that these elements drive stories and keep readers turning the pages. I’m especially drawn to those whose lives have intersected with important moments in history, which allows me to use my research skills to dive into the past and place their stories in context. A perfect example of this is the biography I wrote for the granddaughter of James R. Anthony, an early 20th-century Florida entrepreneur successful in banking, real estate, retail, and insurance. The book, James R. Anthony: The Banker Who Shaped Florida’s History, documents how he helped bankroll South Florida developers, led the charge to change Florida’s Constitution to eliminate the state income tax, and interacted with pioneers and high rollers like Henry Flagler.
What’s your favorite question to ask clients during an interview?
The first two questions I ask a potential client are “Why do you want to write this book?” Followed by “Who is the audience for the book?” These questions lead to discussions about the differences between legacy projects written for family and friends and those available for purchase on the retail market. After a contract is signed and we begin the actual interview, I typically guide them through their life chronologically with leading questions, listening carefully to their answers to capture their voice. A favorite question is “What is the one thing you want your readers to know about your life and accomplishments?” Another is “What would you do differently if you were given the chance?”
What are the best parts of this career?
Putting myself in another person’s shoes, I try to remember that this book is an important extension of their life. I’m humbled and honored that they share their knowledge, whether it’s the complexities of a chief economist’s job or how to arrange big band music. I’ve heard personal and intimate stories, painful breaking points, and how they surmounted them. Sometimes coming back stronger. Sometimes not.
From that time in the sixth grade when I won an essay contest, I had a goal, perhaps subconsciously, to be a writer. Now that it’s my full-time career, working from the comfort of my home, meeting fascinating people, and bringing their stories to life, I can say I’ve achieved my goal.
What’s one thing clients might be surprised to know about you? Well, maybe more than one.
People who have lived in the NE Florida area, where I reside, know me from my many years working at the PBS/NPR affiliates in Jacksonville. They watched me asking for their support during our fund drives, but they didn’t know that, for a time, I was the man inside the Big Bird costume the station had fabricated when we pitched around children’s programming. They also may not have known I was the producer of the Jacksonville Jazz Festival for eight years. Others know me as the author of the Windrusher adventure-fantasy novels, which have a feline protagonist, and I’m always pointed to as “the writer of those cat books.” Now, many of them are surprised to learn I’m a ghostwriter.
How can people reach you?
They can reach me at vicdigenti@gmail.com or through my website, www.windrusherhallpress.com. I’m always open to new connections that might change both our lives in positive ways.
