How To Write A Professional Biography

How To Write A Professional Biography

Writing a Biography isn’t just about writing a story, it’s so much more. It means dedicating yourself to a work with a great cultural and social impact. Collecting stories, making sure they are not lost – whether you write for work or for passion – are practices of great importance within the literary and civil panorama.

When one decides to undertake such writing, one must analyze various aspects of the biographical story, find the right voice and the correct point of view, but, most of all, one must not forget that we are dealing with the life story of a person. So, how to write a biography? To such a question, the right answer is: with a lot of respect, care and the ability to remain silent. 

In what sense silence? Whoever writes a biography must listen to the protagonist or protagonist of which it is narrated or, in case they are no longer alive, to the voices and documents that become witnesses of the experience.

When you engage with this type of narrative, somehow, you change. People’s stories contaminate us, they allow us to reflect on our own lives and we always learn useful lessons. The saying that stories are teachers of life really has a solid foundation. Are biographers born or made? The passion for biographical writings was born, but then it must be cultivated. It is important to read many biographies, because reading inspires, and to create a sort of archive of models. I have been enriching my archive for years and I must say that the idea has proved to be very useful for my work as a biographer. 

Biography and autobiography: the differences 

One of the first indications that should be underlined is the difference between autobiography and biography. I refer you to a very detailed article I wrote and published entitled Autobiography: how to write it. Because it is useful and different from the biography. You will find the main differences between the two genres. 

I want to tell you, however, that the biggest difference is this: the autobiography is written in the first person by the narrator of his own story; while the biography is entrusted to others, that is, to an external voice that narrates the story of a specific person. Can a biography be narrated in the first person? Yes, but I don’t recommend it because it would lose the characteristic features of the genre. I always mention the case of the Autobiography of Alice Toklas , written in the first person. In reality, this text was written by Gertrude Stein (since her friend and companion did not decide to tell her story) and configures a biography of her. 

 

Writing a biography: what’s the point? 

Asking what is the point of writing a biography and what are the implications for us and for the publishing, cultural and social panorama is a very interesting analysis.

• Writing (and reading) biographies is always, as I mentioned earlier, a source of learning and inspiration. Think of biographies of great entrepreneurs such as Del Vecchio or Scavolini, but also Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk: reading their stories, one cannot help but reflect on the dynamics and characteristics of entrepreneurial activity.
• When we write the biography of a character we understand and allow us to better understand the role played in the development of a specific field or sector. 
• Writing a biography is not only a description of facts that strictly concern a person, but also a description of an environment, an era and a society, therefore a significant contribution is also made on a historical level.
• Writing a biography improves our understanding of the evolution of existence.
• The biography allows you to keep the memory of the exploits and actions of a person, a hero and therefore we can say that it becomes a real educational tool.
• Biographical research allows you to discover information about great historical figures.
• Writing biographies is an effective way to share knowledge and love of the past with readers.
• Writing a bio can be very rewarding as it allows you to celebrate someone’s life. It can also have a positive impact on self-esteem and help build bridges between different people through the exploration of their history.

The organizational process 

The biography can be commissioned from us or it can be our free initiative. Furthermore, writing a biography is often a challenging and exciting process that requires rigorous research and in-depth exploration. To write a well-balanced biography, you need to examine both primary and secondary sources and find material that can document the experiences of the person in question.

As far as I’m concerned, when I’m entrusted with writing a biography I start outlining the various steps I’ll follow and I propose them to the author or authoress, so that he clearly knows the contribution he will have to give to the drafting of his story. I elaborate a real path that always begins, after the approval of the agreements, with the collection of sources and the first interview. 

Collection of sources: here is the first source 

This process also involves researching sources thoroughly so that we can present the facts as accurately as possible.

If the person whose biography we tell and write is alive – and perhaps it is the very one who commissioned it – he represents the first real source: his stories will constitute our first approach to history and will allow us to embark on a path that it doesn’t have to be chronological; different modalities can be found, it is enough to read biographies to see the variety, even if, in fact, the most usual modality is the one that goes from birth to present day. It must be said that many biographies of entrepreneurs that tell of their connection with the company often begin with the birth of the business itself. 

Secondary sources 

Secondary but important sources are other voices that tell the story of the protagonist; they are important and whoever writes an autobiography should not fail to consult them. It is these testimonies that offer a more complete and exhaustive picture of the story, to reveal different facets. Perhaps, as often happens, not everything is reported in the text, but, as mentioned, these contents are essential.

All the documents useful for deepening the biographical narration also belong to the secondary sources: letters, postcards, diaries, certificates. Today, emails, videos and audios should also be included. I happened to write a biography whose contents were all passed to me through audio.

Style 

There are a number of decisions that must be made in the organizational phase of writing a biography. 

Meanwhile, the style. What will it be? We know that style is the way we write and structure a text. The answer to this question will depend a lot on the language we choose to adopt, the narrative rhythm, whether we insert dialogue or not. There are many elements that combine to form the identity of a style. The choice of metaphors, similes, the use of punctuation, the readers for whom the work is intended are also important. 

The choice will also be made on the basis of the story we tell. You can lean towards a more humorous or sarcastic style or move towards a more serious, reflective, intimist or motivational one (in the latter case the biography is written mostly to inspire whoever will read). 

The narrative voice 

Who will tell the story?

The task could be entrusted to an external impersonal voice; or to someone who has known the person being told about in a close or particular way; often the biographies are narrated by journalists, ghostwriters. We think the biography of Steve Jobs was written by Walter Isaacson ( More than forty personal interviews with Steve Jobs in over two years, and more than a hundred interviews with family, friends, rivals and colleagues, allowed Walter Isaacson to tell the gripping story of the brilliant entrepreneur ), a journalist; or the recent one by Leonardo Del Vecchio written by Tommaso Ebhardt, the same author of the biography of Sergio Marchionne . Ebhardt is a biographer who devotes himself, before writing, to a thorough research of sources and documents, as it should be.

The importance of interviews 

Le interviste vanno condotte nella modalità ascolto, ma mai passiva. Diciamo che devono anche essere poste le domande giuste per stimolare il ricordo. Spesso gli intervistatori biografi lamentano il fatto che le persone parlano poco, ma forse le domande sono poche o poco efficaci. In realtà, è il biografo che, attraverso i quesiti, stimola il racconto. Devo ammettere che mi aiuta molto la mia formazione come coach e come raccoglitrice di storie (un percorso di formazione sostenuto presso la Libera Università dell’autobiografia di Anghiari).

Once all the necessary data has been collected, it is important to place them in chronological order and insert them into an articulated narrative that presents the information in a clear and fluid way. Like any text, it will have its own subdivision into chapters and possibly also into parts. When the biography is addressed in strict chronological order it is often divided into parts that correspond to phases of life.

How to write the biography of an illustrious person 

Who, like me, carries out the profession of ghostwriter can be contacted by illustrious, famous people. How to proceed in this case? The first contacts for the collection of sources most often take place with an assistant or spokesperson for the character, it is with him or her that the negotiations are made and the contract is stipulated. Then we come to the first meeting, to the informative interview. Often there is also a pre-contractual meeting because many VIPs prefer to ascertain first (and I think it is right and I usually ask) if there is a feeling with whoever will have to write their biography. 

 

Write the biography of a family member 

In other cases it may be decided to write the biography of a family member. It is generally a writing job which, also in this case, is entrusted to those who write for a living. But there are also many journalists and writers who have ventured into the biography of one of their relatives. I am thinking, for example, of the work of Lietta Manganelli, daughter of the unforgettable Giorgio, who wrote the biography of her father Waiting for hell to begin to work . Writing the biography of a family member may seem easier, but that’s not the case, because the risk is of being too involved and therefore not very objective. 

 

Write the biography of an entrepreneur or a company 

There are also numerous biographies relating to an entrepreneur and consequently to the company. The story of a true entrepreneur (it is not difficult to understand why, in Italy, there are still many more male entrepreneurs) is also the story of the company to which he gave birth. 

In this type of work, the collection of sources is fundamental, because every company keeps (or should keep) an archive of the various developments and transformations. I am thinking, for example, of companies which, over time, have transformed their corporate form to the point of becoming a joint-stock company. Transitions to stock market listing are not mere bureaucracy, but reveal moments of great enthusiasm and tension within the company itself which recovered by who will write history.

In an entrepreneurial and therefore corporate biography, it is important to deal – obviously – with the entrepreneur. If he should not be alive, the heirs will tell the story of him. In fact, the biography is often commissioned for a celebratory anniversary. I wrote biographies for the founder’s birthday, to celebrate a company milestone, to tell human resources the story of the company they work for. 

But not only. Today the company biography has become a real marketing tool that more and more companies require. The narration of a story reaches people, makes them participate in a journey that has seen many successes but also numerous difficulties.

I must say that in recent years, working with entrepreneurs of great human and professional quality, dedicating myself to collecting their stories, I have really learned a lot, it has been a real school that has improved me as a person and as a professional. 

Community biographies 

They are all those biographies that tell stories of community and in these cases writing really becomes the expression of a common feeling. 

The community biography combines memory with history, enhances geographical areas that risk being forgotten, saves the stories of characters that would otherwise be lost, restores unity and identity. 

But what are community biographies really? 

I recommend a very interesting text: Becoming community biographers. Taking care of life stories in Caterina Benelli’s pedagogical research.

The Free University of Autobiography of Anghiari has included the advanced course Mnemon: to become community biographers in its teaching program of the Specialization School ; a training course capable of responding to the needs of trainers, teachers, operators and volunteers interested in meeting and taking care of the biographies of others. I also invite you to follow the work of the community biographer (writer and journalist) Roberto Scanarotti . 

As we have seen the world and the dimension of writing biographies is really vast. It requires care, attention, patience and expertise in managing some steps of this practice, but what you receive in return is truly a profound return. Life lessons.

Source: BiographyTips