Mfonobong Inyang: Things To Note Before Commissioning Your Biography

In the past few weeks and months, several books, events, and incidents have been released that have attempted to shape narratives, cement legacies, and, in some cases, almost rewrite history. As a ghostwriter, I have been privileged to collaborate with numerous thought leaders, business executives, and even political operatives in producing memoirs, corporate stories, biographies and other legacy literature. Oftentimes, most clients sincerely believe that a well-written book is all they need to be remembered for good. Whilst that is true to a certain degree, there is more to documenting your life story than just cherry-picking aspects of your journey and curating such for readers.

You Are The Main Character Of Your Story

If you’re going to commission your biography, let it be about you as much as possible. If it’s going to contain heavy content about a third party, then it should not only be someone you have close relations with, but also that you have the locus to tell the story.  I can write about my father because of who he is to me. However, it’s very tacky when a biography is written with malicious intent or to smear someone else. If such a narrative becomes necessary, then you should tie it to how you were affected by those actions. A classic example is when two people end a relationship, whether romantic or business. There is a temptation to write your version of events in a way that demonises the other person. When the love was shacking you,  you didn’t tell us that his genitalia was not inadequate, you were the one picking up the bills, she was cheating on you or that your partner’s family are mad people. Having the resources to commission your biography doesn’t mean you should weaponise it and make it a hit job; whenever the adrenaline goes down, more often than not, you will regret your words, but you won’t be able to take them back. Whilst you are out here being your own hagiographer, don’t forget to truthfully tell about your role in the whole drama.

Your Legacy Is Being Created In Real Time

The average person only thinks of legacy during twilight years; even more sobering is the fact that thoughts of how they would be remembered often come on their deathbeds. There is always that Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda chapter in a biography they never write. As human beings, we can get so distracted to the point we forget that every human life will eventually cease; we will not be here forever. No matter who you are, you are getting closer to that inevitable point where your earthly sojourn will come to an end. It’s called lifetime for a reason because your life on earth only exists for a limited amount of time. The real gift is time because you can’t buy more of it off some supermarket shelf, and if that is the case, your actions and inactions should reflect this understanding. In this era of instant gratification and self-indulgence, you need to embrace long-term thinking. If you live an honourable life, you don’t have to worry too much about how to tell your story. Many biographies are not consequential because the authors had to contort themselves to manufacture non-existent submissions. 

In An Information Age, Your Book Has Many Co-Authors

It is especially true for those who have served in public office or have been politically exposed. This generation is not as co-opted as those that came before them, so when you think about authoring your biography, whatever information you put out there is never in a vacuum. In a digital age, people are documenting their lives on the internet, so what makes you think that you can just write a brilliant book that discounts, dismisses or diminishes their pain points or reality during such a period? What you’re entitled to is your version of events, but not the universal truth. You cannot rule with an iron fist, steal the public coffers dry, entrench nepotism as an official policy, then turn around and insist that you were the best thing that happened to anyone. In law enforcement, whenever a suspect tells a bogus story during interrogation, detectives are quick to point out that such a version of events doesn’t line up with the forensic evidence, and no jury will buy that. So you may gather your friends and associates to have the grandest book launch, but such literature will never be a point of reference for any critical decision-making. The children of the internet have something they call receipts; so while you are waxing lyrical in your book about how you made the sun brighter and the grass greener during your time at the helm of affairs, brace up to answer the infamous question: Is this you?

Inflexion Points, Please

I typically use leading questions to get clients to share as much of their story as possible. On the one hand, this is great because it provides ample material to work with, but on the other hand, it can be challenging to convince the same client that not everything he or she narrated can make it into the final manuscript. One underrated signature of storytelling is cadence, the uncanny ability to pace your content is pure gold because shaping the narrative is just as important as establishing a consistent timeline. Hip hop heads will perhaps appreciate this a little better because of their love for Rhythm Accented Poetry, a genre of music otherwise known as RAP – it’s literally storytelling on a beat. Remember, you don’t author books just for yourself but also for your readers, so their reading experience has to be factored in. The temptation is always to overcompensate by over-flogging the juicy parts of your life story to the detriment of the other parts that are not as fancy. Your intention should not be to bore your readers to death but to keep them as engaged and excited to read and turn from page to page. No biography is anywhere close to being exhaustive; just give us the important details and don’t sweat the little things – don’t see the forest for the trees.

There Can Be More Than One Autobiography

This follows the last point; if you feel so strongly about certain aspects of your story, you can decide to author a series of books that can exhaustively capture your message. I have seen a scenario where a person commissioned a three-part biography to focus on his faith, family and business, respectively. By the way, this also applies to general books. I have once advised a client who had so much to share in one book to commission a series of books instead. His organisation offers professional training to the corporate world, and I sold him the idea of having a book for each of his five core constituencies. The catch here is that there must be a compelling story in the first place; usually, this play is recommended for top leaders in the public or private sectors because of how consequential their actions are in terms of impact on others. It is usually an opportunity to set the records straight on somewhat contentious issues. In fact, most memoirs are driven by the need to debunk certain narratives or tell a story when the person is no longer bound by any legal, economic or other constraints. 

God Did, But Was It God The Father Or A Godfather?

Authenticity is another signature of storytelling that is underrated; if you are going to tell your story, put in some effort to give context. In our neck of the woods, it’s not uncommon for us to ascribe our successes to a higher power, and rightly so if you ask me. However, there is also borderline duplicity. Yes, God uses people to bless you or act as agents in your success story, so just as you are quick to tell us, “na God run am for me” – it doesn’t hurt to also state that your uncle has shares in the bank that granted you a huge loan amount to start your business, your political career started with a huge endorsement by a political juggernaut or that you have an arranged marriage. In my book, Hope Is Not A Strategy, I dedicated an entire chapter called People Power to highlighting key relationships that were critical to my career success, and I mentioned tons of people by name. The need to glaze our stories is how we got into this aspire-to-maguire business in the first place; folks are outchea talmbout, “I started my poultry with a single feather!” My guy, don’t feel ashamed of any perks or privileges you may have had, nor should you over-romanticise your poor background – it doesn’t cheapen your success. If you are a nepo baby, own it with your full chest and stop trying to cosplay someone who grew up from humble beginnings. Conversely, if you are a lapo baby, don’t be ashamed about documenting your origin story – nothing do you, we gather dey. If you truly want to inspire people with your biography, then you have to make your story as relatable as possible and not portray yourself as some mythical character that fell from the sky.

A Will Distributes Your Wealth, A Biography Litigates Your Name 

Commissioning a memoir or biography shouldn’t be something you take lightly; chances are that literature will outlive you. There is only such much you can control in terms of narrative, but if done professionally, a lot of markers can be laid down. The court of public opinion can be very fickle in delivering its judgment. One moment, people are chanting “Hosanna”, and the very next moment, the same people are chanting “Crucify him!” You will never be the person that is universally liked; get used to it. Even if you walk on water, some people will say it is because you can’t swim. What you can do is to share what you know to be your side of the story.

Most people are unfortunately caught in the crossfire of political, religious, economic or cultural warfare, and their reputation in the eyes of the public may have largely been framed by those tumultuous times. In hindsight, when the dust settles, people will appreciate you better; the turning point will always come in due time. People love saying nice things at funerals but hardly ever at birthdays because they love dead heroes; they can oppose a person throughout that person’s lifetime, but once the same person no longer poses a threat in death, the same people will turn around and swear he or she was the best human being to ever walk God’s green earth. So in commissioning your memoir, the best you can do is tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may – potatoes will always potate.