Bios / memoirs of athletes

[MarkEsq]

Just wondering what this market is like - saturated, popular etc. I have a friend who used to play in the NFL and he's thinking of writing a memoir, or having me help with an autobiography.

He's pretty well know, won the superbowl more than once, and his story would be along the lines of "inspirational." He's been married to the same woman for 15 years, loads of cute kids, but came from very poor and violent background.

I guess I have no sense for whether this is "been there, done that" or something saleable.

[Wayne K]

Anything is salable if it is written well. If he is famous, you will get people's attention.

See where it goes.

[CammyMayHunny]

Anything is salable if it is written well. GOD, how I wish that was so.
But, and very especially for this sort of book, it's more like: if people are interested in your friend it will probably sell.
It seems to be that the big selling sports books aren't necessarily about the biggest stars, but about controversial topics like exploitation of players by the league, use of steroids, etc. But my impression might be skewed because it's based on titles seen in the houses of male friends.

So I would emphasize the fact that your friend had a relationship with Madonna, contributing to her fifth abortion, and that he benefitted from the use of a new breed of performance drug that is just starting to menace the young.

Seriously, I think the money shot in such a book would be fighting out of early poverty and violence. I would also say that an important factor would be his spiritual or philosophical orientation. If he attributes his success to Jesus, for instance, it will incline the book towards a certain cluster of markets. Which could be a good thing.