The author will have a series of face-to-face interviews, they are in-depth but relaxed conversations covering special moments and stories of your life. After every meeting, your specially selected interviewer, will up load your conversations to one of our professional writers.

Our writers are trained to put themselves in another’s shoes, allowing them to capture your ‘voice and tone’ to create a book everyone will want to read.

You will be able to review the chapters as they are written and make any corrections that may be necessary. Interviews will also be an enjoyable time to collect and choose your pictures to be included in your book.

On average it takes just six months from the first interview to you receiving your books.

Yes, we are able to modify the timeframe to suit the author’s requirements, although our experience shows that a weekly interview timeframe is ideal. By extending the project time it may incur additional charges. Please see our terms and conditions for full details.

The author will receive a professionally finished hardback linen book which is printed on Mohawk archival paper, section-sewn and handbound, your dust cover will be beautifully printed with your title and picture. Please refer to our packages for full details on all of our books.

In the author’s home or in a mutually agreed upon, quiet and private location. Each session lasts 90 minutes.

For Royal and Imperial projects there are 12 meetings in total:

• 10 × 90-minute interviews
• 1 Main Review meeting
• 1 Sign-Off to Typeset and Audio Highlights recording meeting

For Signature projects there are 14 meetings in total:

• 12 × 90-minute interviews (also 2 x optional scanning sessions)
• 1 Main Review meeting
• 1 Sign-Off to Typeset and Audio Highlights recording meeting

No. The project team includes a professional editor and proofreader. They will check not only spelling and grammar but also story consistency and structure.

Yes. Almost all documents, images and photographs can be included in the book. These will be scanned for the author by their interviewer without taking any away. Where necessary, the scanned images can be digitally remastered and enhanced at an additional cost.

When some of the author’s favourite family photographs are only available in digital format, it may seem logical that if they look great on the screen, they will also look great when printed in the author’s book. Unfortunately, this is not always the case and we cannot guarantee they can be used without first reviewing the quality. If the author has digital photos, please inform the project manager and they will discuss this with the author.

We would only scan the selected photographs to be used in the finished book due to the processing time and costs involved. The author can of course purchase additional photographs and the project manager will happily discuss this with them.

The author can choose between placing their photos at the end of each chapter or in a standalone section at the end or middle of the book. Bespoke placement is available at an additional cost. If the author would like this, please do contact the project manager and they will happily discuss this option.

A locally selected interviewer who has been specifically chosen, background checked and fully trained to guide the recounting experience and prompt reminiscences.

The relationship between the author and interviewer is a very important one, so our interviewers are carefully chosen for each project based on the author’s requirements and the personal background information provided to us. We have a vast team of trained and checked interviewers, but if we don’t already have someone suitable and available in the author’s area, we start a selection and training process. In our experience, this typically takes two to eight weeks.

This is done by our experienced HR department. We have a large pool of proven interviewers and ghostwriters; when we recruit these, we carefully select experienced professionals to suit the author and the story. Once selected, each interviewer undergoes full background checks and a bespoke training programme. Our interviewers’ personalities and backgrounds may vary broadly, but we choose individuals who enjoy the company of others and possess empathy and active listening and questioning skills. They will be respectful toward an individual’s privacy, they will be open-minded, friendly  and mature in their outlook and they are required to act within the professional guidelines set down within their LifeBook training.

With over 1,000 projects completed, the skill of our selection team is acknowledged by the fact that it is very rare we need to change an interviewer. We recognise, however, the importance of a strong rapport being built between the author and the interviewer. If the author has any concerns following their first interview, they shouldn’t hesitate to contact their project manager immediately to discuss them.

Each session is designed to fully engage the author with an enjoyable activity, so we suggest that the author has their interviews alone. We have found that additional family attendees, although well-meaning, can sometimes distract the storytelling and thus detract from the author’s enjoyment.

From the outset, the author will be appointed a personal project manager who will co-ordinate and monitor the project from beginning to end. They will be available  to answer any questions the author may have.

• Our interviewers are skilled personable individuals who undergo our training programme. They are also subject to full background checks. For interviewers who do not reside in the UK, we perform the equivalent check appropriate for the country in which they reside.
• Our ghostwriters are highly qualified and experienced writers.
• Our project managers have extensive experience in project management and co-ordinate between the editing, proofreading and production team members.

The author’s personal project manager monitors each interview session as well as the ghostwriter’s progress and will regularly update the author on developments. The author is free to discuss any aspect of the book with their project manager.

The manuscript will be written by the ghostwriter in the style and structure that the author chooses at their first interview. We supply a range of sample writing styles that the author can select from before interviews start if they wish. The author will be sent regular review copies, so they can further influence the narrative as it evolves. If, having made their selection from our samples at the first interview, they would prefer an adjusted approach to the writing, we would be happy, following the first review, to provide a small rewritten sample. In order to do this, we would need clear guidance and feedback from the author. At this stage, once the sample has been approved, we will be happy to rewrite the first review, adhering as closely as possible to the chosen style. Should further rewrites be required, this should be discussed with the project manager as additional charges may be necessary.

Our interviewers are trained to provide an enjoyable experience and will seek feedback during the process to accommodate the author’s wishes and disposition. If the author is not happy, the project manager should be contacted. If a satisfactory outcome cannot be reached, the contract can be terminated. Please see our terms and conditions for full details.

The author can cancel at any time with just one month’s notice in writing so that we can notify the interviewer and ghostwriter. Please see our terms and conditions for full details.

We will postpone the interviews until the author is well enough to continue and will reschedule the remaining interviews to suit the author’s recovery and availability. Long delays may incur a nominal re-start charge. If the author becomes too ill to continue or does not wish to complete the autobiography project for any reason, the contract can be cancelled. This must be done in writing in accordance with our terms and conditions.

Yes. We regularly send out printed reviews to keep the author updated on the progress of the book. The author will then discuss these reviews with their interviewer in their meetings. With the author’s consent, the reviews may be made available for family members to read. However, only the author can consolidate and confirm the changes they would like made to their manuscript.

No. We welcome anyone who would love to turn their memories and stories into a LifeBook.

Yes, extra copies are available to purchase at any time. The minimum number of additional hardback linen books is two. The project manager will be happy to arrange this.

Yes, we would not want the author to feel that they have to leave out a precious story or photograph, but the additional work required to accommodate this will incur a charge. The project manager can discuss this with the author.

The ghostwriter will be selected from our team of professional writers. All our ghostwriters complete a specific ghostwriting test to ensure they have the skills essential to writing a LifeBook memoir for our customers.

This is the author’s story; it covers as much or as little as they want to say and reflects how they remember it. We cannot and do not fact-check anything, and the author is responsible for their own content.

This decision is of course entirely down to the author, and the book will take whatever form they choose. We find that most authors tend to adopt a chronological structure, but we are happy to offer assistance and advice to help the author make the best choice.

This is the author’s legacy, so it will include only the stories that they want written down. Even if a story comes up during the interviews and, later in the process, the author changes their mind about including it in the book, it can be removed. Nothing goes to print without the author seeing and approving it first.

LifeBook owns all copyright until the book is completed, paid for in full and handed over to the author. Thereafter, the copyright of the text belongs to the author. See our terms and conditions for full details.

Once completed, the copies of the autobiography received by the author belong to them. The author is responsible for any libel, breach of privacy, copyright infringement or similar risks. See our terms and conditions and Author Consent form for full details.

• The contract may be cancelled at any time following the serving of the required notice. Please see our terms and conditions for full details.
• We offer a 14-day money-back guarantee from the date of purchase.
• We provide the utmost care and a professional service.
• The author’s confidentiality is protected, with each interviewer being fully background checked and trained.
• Each project has an allocated project manager who oversees the individual project from start to finish.
• The company is based on integrity and respect, and we enjoy a mutual respect with our clients.

All LifeBook employees and associates are subject to rigorous confidentiality clauses within their contracts. The Author Consent form confirms our commitment to confidentiality.

We can incorporate past work or writing for an extra fee. The ghostwriter is contracted to listen to and write the author’s 10 x 90-minute interviews only. If the author has any written material, this will need to be discussed with the project manager as soon as possible as there will be extra costs involved to include/incorporate it. However, the author can always read their pre-written material during the interviews to form part of the included interview time. Please let us know as soon as possible if the author has any extra material to be included so that we can accommodate their requirements.

For confidentiality reasons, we cannot share the unedited audio recordings of the interviews. However, we do have a service available that matches the audio to the edited copy as it appears in the book.

All our autobiographies are private and confidential; therefore, we cannot show authors a completed book. However, approved extracts and author testimonials are available on our website.

This is a 60-minute audio recording of the author reading aloud some of their favourite stories, for our “Royal” and “Imperial” packages and a 2 hour recording for our Signature package The recording is presented in a bespoke, gift-boxed USB, along with copies of all the images and photographs used in the book, plus the digital book and copyrighted Word document.

Yes, LifeBook has created autobiographies for authors in over 42 countries around the world.

Our projects are all in English. However, we can offer a professional translation service into other languages, upon request.

Our projects are all in English. However, we can offer a professional translation service into other languages, upon request.