Pubspeaks

Writing Biographies: Subject Appeal for Writers and Readers

By Georgina Baumgartner, WIW Member

“This is a person worth writing about,” said Kenneth Ackerman at the April 12 Pubspeak, referring to the subject of his latest book Boss Tweed: The Rise and Fall of the Corrupt Pol Who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York (March 2005).

Ackerman looks for stories that appeal to him and urges other biographers to do the same. The choice about who to write about is critical and means that a writer has to live with the subject for as long as the book is being written—usually a year or more. “It is like being married to them.”

Because of his extensive research,  Ackerman knew more details about Tweed than family and friends ever did and sometimes began to feel as if he were seeing the world through Tweed’s eyes. He also assured his audience that it isn't necessary to like the person. There has to be “something about them that intrigues you or something about them that you don’t quite get.” And, he  explained, a writer must have a good story.

Praised by Publishers Weekly, Booklist, the New York Times, Washington Post Book World and Kirkus Reviews, Ackerman’s book tells the story of a magnetic and larger-than-life individual who controlled almost every city government nomination and whose cronies stole an estimated $45 million or more.

When asked for advice, Ackerman tells would-be biographers to choose “a person that you are comfortable with, that you like, that draws you—even if you do not know why they draw you.”

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