Gutted …

[Fray Bentos]

I don't think any ghost writer is going to put in the work for free or for some token sum - if you want the proceeds to go to charity, then you are going to have to write this yourself - you have two massive things going for you - you have a great story and the other is you know how to market a product and you have loads of contacts in boxing and the army.

Book cover design and formatting etc will also cost a few quid - you might get some Filipino to do it for 50 quid on fiverr but you want a proper job done with it - it will take 18 months to two years, get it written down, get it edited but you will have your book out there and I am sure loads of us will buy it and you will be out there promoting it on IFL and such channels that would happily have you on their podcasts - you will have a massive sense of satisfaction if you do it this way and your story deserves to be enshrined in print for people to read.

I can respectfully tell you you are wrong about a ghostwriter not working for free. I recently wrote a book for a former boxing champion and never took a penny

Why not? Was it published?

I don't know many people who would give free time to do that.

Nor would I to be honest!

[Fray Bentos]

I will be very open and honest with you … i have been incredibly naive in that I truly believe I have a fascinatng story to tell, that people would be interested in assisting me to produce it.

In the last 48 hrs I have had my eyes firmly opened.

What hasn’t changed because I know how difficult it’s going to be producing this book i am now completely determined to take on this
Project.

Thank you to 2 people from this forum that
I have spoke today.

Thank you for being brutally honest its what I needed.

I don't think any ghost writer is going to put in the work for free or for some token sum - if you want the proceeds to go to charity, then you are going to have to write this yourself - you have two massive things going for you - you have a great story and the other is you know how to market a product and you have loads of contacts in boxing and the army.

Book cover design and formatting etc will also cost a few quid - you might get some Filipino to do it for 50 quid on fiverr but you want a proper job done with it - it will take 18 months to two years, get it written down, get it edited but you will have your book out there and I am sure loads of us will buy it and you will be out there promoting it on IFL and such channels that would happily have you on their podcasts - you will have a massive sense of satisfaction if you do it this way and your story deserves to be enshrined in print for people to read.

I can respectfully tell you you are wrong about a ghostwriter not working for free. I recently wrote a book for a former boxing champion and never took a penny

Fair enough! I think though it was Spud asking this ghost writer to pen his story for gratis with all proceeds going 'to charity' before getting a publishing deal that got him the short shrift rather than his actual story which I would imagine a lot of people would want to read. I think very few people would want to work for free.

Good on you if you are going to help him out in your own time, that is very commendable.

[coneye]

Don't be like most of us , ALL TALK , just do it , Can't say i know anything about this sort of thing , christ i can't even spell , and i have been informed theres such a thing has a spell checker ,but don't know or care how to use it , but what i do know is this , why die wondering , just do it

I

[tonyevs]

Lots of sound advise on here.

After 4 pages of comments it seems pretty clear that writing a draft or putting it on here (Off Topic section I assume)and getting feedback is a good starting point. Ai, no matter how good or bad it is will be a good help too.
As others have also said; its clarifying what the book will primarily be about. If all profits are to be given to PD charities then I`d think PD would be the primary theme with all other interesting parts of your life being reflected on as you come to terms with the illness.

Best of luck with it.

[Giancarlo]

My story would have included :
.
.
.

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

I doubt that Spud.

I don't think trying to titillate your potential audience with locker room tales is the way to go (though I do think you should mention getting thumped by that big sex pest when you forgot your true position in the "company").

If you want to leave a record for your children and grandchildren etc, which in and of itself is a worthwhile endeavor, then a straightforward telling of the life of Spud Woollett is all you need to do. You could actually do that right now mate.

If you want to reach a wider audience then pathos might be the way to go.

[jamesmcdonnell]

My story would have included :
.
.
.

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

I doubt that Spud.

I don't think trying to titillate your potential audience with locker room tales is the way to go (though I do think you should mention getting thumped by that big sex pest when you forgot your true position in the "company").

If you want to leave a record for your children and grandchildren etc, which in and of itself is a worthwhile endeavor, then a straightforward telling of the life of Spud Woollett is all you need to do. You could actually do that right now mate.

If you want to reach a wider audience then pathos might be the way to go.

I entirely agree, this type of stuff is not going to really resonate with most people - it's a bit tabloid, and really those stories add nothing to the narrative and have no lasting impact.

Pathos is far more effective than sensationalism.

[Spud]

Fantastic advice …please forgive me I disgree some of it..

Ty for taking the time for advising me .

[Alba]

I am gutted …

It seems the dream of writing a book is over before its even started…

I like speaking to people who are brutally honest and I spoke to a ghost writer today who I admire greatly and he says people would not be interested.

My story would have included :

Mum & dad barnodos kids
Dad died on fathers day 1973
Mum diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic
Brutally bullied at a military boarding school

My 24 years in the Army which included serving with the elite pathfinders platoon

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

On leaving the army working as a Debt Collector in some of the most deprived areas of the North East

Working as a care officer for some of the most disadvantaged looked after children in the country

Having to keep quiet some high profile sportsmen were drug cheats.

Being diagnosed and coping with Parkinson’s

It seems a publicist would not be interested.

Oh well it seems i am a boring ****

I asked for honesty and got it straight between the eyes.

So did you speak to a Ghost Writer or was it a Publicist's ?

[Deserter]

Fantastic advice …please forgive me I disgree some of it..

We’d expect nothing less Spud

[Spud]

I am gutted …

It seems the dream of writing a book is over before its even started…

I like speaking to people who are brutally honest and I spoke to a ghost writer today who I admire greatly and he says people would not be interested.

My story would have included :

Mum & dad barnodos kids
Dad died on fathers day 1973
Mum diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic
Brutally bullied at a military boarding school

My 24 years in the Army which included serving with the elite pathfinders platoon

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

On leaving the army working as a Debt Collector in some of the most deprived areas of the North East

Working as a care officer for some of the most disadvantaged looked after children in the country

Having to keep quiet some high profile sportsmen were drug cheats.

Being diagnosed and coping with Parkinson’s

It seems a publicist would not be interested.

Oh well it seems i am a boring ****

I asked for honesty and got it straight between the eyes.

So did you speak to a Ghost Writer or was it a Publicist's ?

I spoke at length to Mark Turkey who ghost wrote Clinton Woods & Glyn Rhodes book. Mark gave me some sound advice but what was clear he both did not have enough time to assist me in my quest.

I had a fantastic chat with James McCdonnell who has gone up even further in my estimations … we spoke about a number of things, but again he stated he did not have the time to assist me.

I have had a number of other conversations… I have decided to dig my heels in with regards wha type of book I want, and that is a life story not an Army Book and not a boxing book. I feel there is mileage in writing about my life.

I have a lot of time for James but disagree with this

This type of stuff is not going to really resonate with most people - it's a bit tabloid, and really those stories add nothing to the narrative and have no lasting impact.

I absolutely agree my story is a coming from a very tabloid angle, but I am convinced the various chapters are precisely why I should stick to my guns.

I do not wish to be someone I am not, what I cannot get my head round is people don’t want TABLOID … I have to be genuine here and that is I come from a tabloid wAy of life … and there is many people who are like me and will enjoy my book when it comes out.

Again thank you so much for all the posts on here and the phone calls … I am very very grateful to the people who have been blunt and to the point.

[Spud]

Nice speaking to “Muttley” … we have known each other for years … it was great catching up

Thank you for the advice … I will defo use you.

To Sean Brennan tried getting hold of you a few times today.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I am gutted …

It seems the dream of writing a book is over before its even started…

I like speaking to people who are brutally honest and I spoke to a ghost writer today who I admire greatly and he says people would not be interested.

My story would have included :

Mum & dad barnodos kids
Dad died on fathers day 1973
Mum diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic
Brutally bullied at a military boarding school

My 24 years in the Army which included serving with the elite pathfinders platoon

My 20+ years in boxing which included working with Lennox Lewis, Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton & David Haye having tales which would make your hair curl.

On leaving the army working as a Debt Collector in some of the most deprived areas of the North East

Working as a care officer for some of the most disadvantaged looked after children in the country

Having to keep quiet some high profile sportsmen were drug cheats.

Being diagnosed and coping with Parkinson’s

It seems a publicist would not be interested.

Oh well it seems i am a boring ****

I asked for honesty and got it straight between the eyes.

So did you speak to a Ghost Writer or was it a Publicist's ?

I spoke at length to Mark Turkey who ghost wrote Clinton Woods & Glyn Rhodes book. Mark gave me some sound advice but what was clear he both did not have enough time to assist me in my quest.

I had a fantastic chat with James McCdonnell who has gone up even further in my estimations … we spoke about a number of things, but again he stated he did not have the time to assist me.

I have had a number of other conversations… I have decided to dig my heels in with regards wha type of book I want, and that is a life story not an Army Book and not a boxing book. I feel there is mileage in writing about my life.

I have a lot of time for James but disagree with this

This type of stuff is not going to really resonate with most people - it's a bit tabloid, and really those stories add nothing to the narrative and have no lasting impact.

I absolutely agree my story is a coming from a very tabloid angle, but I am convinced the various chapters are precisely why I should stick to my guns.

I do not wish to be someone I am not, what I cannot get my head round is people don’t want TABLOID … I have to be genuine here and that is I come from a tabloid wAy of life … and there is many people who are like me and will enjoy my book when it comes out.

Again thank you so much for all the posts on here and the phone calls … I am very very grateful to the people who have been blunt and to the point.

The point I was trying to make, is that your own personal journey is far more powerful than any revelations about figures in the industry.

When I did Charlie's book, I got a lovely review from Colin Hart on the Radio, and the bit he singled out, was the last chapter, on how retiring from boxing made charlie feel - he said it was the best exposition he'd ever read on what the life and afterlife of a fighter was.

My point is, the value of your book, is your own personal experiences in and out of boxing, the army, and boarding school.

These are only my opinions, you must write about what moves you - if I was in different circumstances, I'd be happy to devote more time to your project, but as we talked about, I've not even got time to devote to my own personal projects, as I'm working 50-60 hour weeks on my business, desperately trying to survive incredibly difficult market conditions.

I hope one day to write the book on Danny Williams, or some other topic that grabs me, I've thought about writing my own book,but my own life is pretty unremarkable.

Best of luck Spud.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I'm so stupid, thought the thread had gone, was looking for it in OT for the last 2 days! Wally

[Muttley]

I don't think any ghost writer is going to put in the work for free or for some token sum - if you want the proceeds to go to charity, then you are going to have to write this yourself - you have two massive things going for you - you have a great story and the other is you know how to market a product and you have loads of contacts in boxing and the army.

Book cover design and formatting etc will also cost a few quid - you might get some Filipino to do it for 50 quid on fiverr but you want a proper job done with it - it will take 18 months to two years, get it written down, get it edited but you will have your book out there and I am sure loads of us will buy it and you will be out there promoting it on IFL and such channels that would happily have you on their podcasts - you will have a massive sense of satisfaction if you do it this way and your story deserves to be enshrined in print for people to read.

I can respectfully tell you you are wrong about a ghostwriter not working for free. I recently wrote a book for a former boxing champion and never took a penny

Why not? Was it published?

I don't know many people who would give free time to do that.

It was not about the money for me,or the ex champion. In any case,there is very little money to made in the boxing book market unless you are Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua.

[Controversial]

I can respectfully tell you you are wrong about a ghostwriter not working for free. I recently wrote a book for a former boxing champion and never took a penny

Why not? Was it published?

I don't know many people who would give free time to do that.

It was not about the money for me,or the ex champion. In any case,there is very little money to made in the boxing book market unless you are Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua.

Yes I can't imagine unknown people make a lot from one-off book sales. I used to be mates with someone who had several books published, fiction stuff and they didn't earn much from it, that wasn't their motivation though, they done it for the love of writing. I wonder what guys like Bruno and Lewis made from their books?

[jamesmcdonnell]

I can respectfully tell you you are wrong about a ghostwriter not working for free. I recently wrote a book for a former boxing champion and never took a penny

Why not? Was it published?

I don't know many people who would give free time to do that.

It was not about the money for me,or the ex champion. In any case,there is very little money to made in the boxing book market unless you are Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua.

Oh I know that, believe me only too well, I earned a pittance for Magri's book.

My point is, if someone asked me to do a book, then unless it was something which was a labour of love for me, also, and it was a subject which was a joint project, and they did the research, and I did the writing, with a view that we might, if we are lucky, make a little bit of cash, I would never consider it. Far too much work, and in many ways, much harder helping to write someone elses story.

The amount of work is pretty phenomenal, I never totted up the precise number of hours, but I remember calulating that working on Magri's book, I earned way way less than minimum wage for the amount of hours it took me. I was probably doing 30 hours a week on it, which included weekends, on top of the months of research, interviews and transcriptions, the transcriptions, was probably the worst bit actually - if it was now, AI tools would have helped me reduce that significantly, but back in 2004, speech to text was absolutely terrible. I wouldn't be surprised if in the end I was earning about 2 quid an hour. Certainly if I was paid by the word

The transcription, and then the editing and proofreading were by far the worst bits, as they are really boring. Proofreading and editing is awful - I'd urge anybody doing a book, to pay for someone to do that, who is a professional, because it's hell on earth.

[nobleart1978]

Forget about employing a ghostwriter Spud.
Write the book yourself. Put your heart and soul in to it. Take yourself back to the time you want to describe and write vividly about it, that way the book should have real "feeling."

If you are as well connected to boxing people as you say you are, then when you have a final draft, contact a publisher and ask one of the boxers or managers if they would write an intro or a foreword to give your work even more gravitas. Edit every sentence thoroughly. Eliminate al typos and spelling errors to give yourself the best chance. Good Luck...

[Spud]

Ummmm..

The power of boxrec ..

Had a friendly text from a lawyer of a boxing personality.

My reaction is I will not be silenced.

[Muttley]

Why not? Was it published?

I don't know many people who would give free time to do that.

It was not about the money for me,or the ex champion. In any case,there is very little money to made in the boxing book market unless you are Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua.

Yes I can't imagine unknown people make a lot from one-off book sales. I used to be mates with someone who had several books published, fiction stuff and they didn't earn much from it, that wasn't their motivation though, they done it for the love of writing. I wonder what guys like Bruno and Lewis made from their books?

I expect they got a half decent advance

[veriton]

I've got a football book with my name on it, but I didn't get a penny. Doubt it sold many copies anyway. I doubt many writers make a living out if it.

[Giancarlo]

Ummmm..

The power of boxrec ..

Had a friendly text from a lawyer of a boxing personality.

My reaction is I will not be silenced.

LOL.

Silly me.

I get it now.

There isn't gonna be a book.

There never was gonna be a book.

It's just another "Look at me. " thread.

[Controversial]

Ummmm..

The power of boxrec ..

Had a friendly text from a lawyer of a boxing personality.

My reaction is I will not be silenced.

Have you sought legal advice, what is the law about writing about other people? The tabloids make stuff up about celebs so presumably they don’t get sued all the time or they’d be bankrupt, sometimes they write an apology in the press but not sure what forces that, legal action if the story is serious enough I’m guessing?

[si7dog7]

Ummmm..

The power of boxrec ..

Had a friendly text from a lawyer of a boxing personality.

My reaction is I will not be silenced.

LOL.

Silly me.

I get it now.

There isn't gonna be a book.

There never was gonna be a book.

It's just another "Look at me. " thread.

Tbf. I get this. At the outset I want Spud to do it.
He’s caused agg for a long, long time. Maybe to stir things up.
One last chance now. Write your book Spud.
You’re not gonna get a “ghostwriter”
Your story. Tell it. I’ll read it. I really will.

[CaptainSpacerod]

Ummmm..

The power of boxrec ..

Had a friendly text from a lawyer of a boxing personality.

My reaction is I will not be silenced.

LOL.

Silly me.

I get it now.

There isn't gonna be a book.

There never was gonna be a book.

It's just another "Look at me. " thread.

That was my first thought on seeing this thread

A lot of the guys engaging with Spud I have a lot of time for and really enjoy reading their forum contributions so I began to doubt my original opinion

But on balance I agree with you

[Fray Bentos]

Ummmm..

The power of boxrec ..

Had a friendly text from a lawyer of a boxing personality.

My reaction is I will not be silenced.

LOL.

Silly me.

I get it now.

There isn't gonna be a book.

There never was gonna be a book.

It's just another "Look at me. " thread.

Tbf. I get this. At the outset I want Spud to do it.
He’s caused agg for a long, long time. Maybe to stir things up.
One last chance now. Write your book Spud.
You’re not gonna get a “ghostwriter”
Your story. Tell it. I’ll read it. I really will.

I think you summed it up pretty well, ghostwriting is a labourous endeavour and probably moreso with Spud at the helm who would want full creative control and if they're not getting paid for their work then I don't see who would do it? I think Spud talking about ghostwriters and all the proceeds going to charity might have got peoples backs up that is typical Spud grandstanding BUT he has a good story! And could be one of the great boxing books of the period between Tyson coming to the UK which is when Spud got involved with boxing until he bowed out of the sport - he has a lot of stories that should be committed to print.

Harry Gibbs wrote an excellent autobiography, one of the best boxing books I have ever read and a lot of it was about his childhood, being in World War II and a prisoner of war so Spud could fit all those non-boxing things into his story and I would find that more interesting than the boxing bits personally but I think there is an excellent book and it seems he has now come back down to earth with a bit of bump with the reality check, he needs to get this written and get it out there - like you, I will buy a copy as soon as it is up for sale - I would love to read it.