So what memoirs get picked up?

[RunWrite]

I know its all about the writing, unless you are a celebrity, and I can't edit my life, but memoirs seem so popular and yet so difficult to land. Are certain topics more popular? Certain experiences?

[veinglory]

As a reader it seems to me that the memoirs that get picked up are mainly those of people who had very interesting lives, whether they are famous or not.

[sense]

I know its all about the writing, unless you are a celebrity, and I can't edit my life, but memoirs seem so popular and yet so difficult to land. Are certain topics more popular? Certain experiences?

Just my impression: seems like abuse/dysfunction/bad luck stories that get picked up are written with a lot of dark humor where the writer is simply wickedly funny. it helps to be relevant to a particular current event or social issue that is "in vogue." seems people like adventure/travel/foreign culture aspects. finally, there's that one where the little kid almost died and swears he saw the light and met jesus or something.

[shaldna]

I know its all about the writing, unless you are a celebrity, and I can't edit my life, but memoirs seem so popular and yet so difficult to land. Are certain topics more popular? Certain experiences?

There are two main groups of memoir that do well - celebrity memoir and tragic lives.


Just my impression: seems like abuse/dysfunction/bad luck stories that get picked up are written with a lot of dark humor where the writer is simply wickedly funny.

Not really.

There are some which are written that way, but many aren't. Mainly because most people don't find abuse funny.

[RunWrite]

I'm seeing a number of agents who say on their websites no abuse memoirs. Mine isn't about abuse, so it doesn't affect me, but it does make me wonder about such categorical trends. I see plenty of memoirs in bookstores in which nothing much happens either than "growing up in the 70s," or something like that.

[Bubastes]

For a while, I saw a lot of "1-year stunt memoirs" (like eating local for a year, not buying anything made in China for a year, testing happiness theories for a year, etc.). I'm not sure if that trend is still holding, though.

[sense]

Not really.

There are some which are written that way, but many aren't. Mainly because most people don't find abuse funny.

I wouldn't say those books are poking fun at abuse. I would say the humor is medicinal.

[shaldna]

I'm seeing a number of agents who say on their websites no abuse memoirs. Mine isn't about abuse, so it doesn't affect me, but it does make me wonder about such categorical trends. I see plenty of memoirs in bookstores in which nothing much happens either than "growing up in the 70s," or something like that.

Abuse memoirs, or 'tragic lives' as Waterstones calls them, are a huge part of the memoir genre, so much so that they often have their own sections in bookstores - they usualyl have a white cover, and commonly there are photos of children and teddy's with sad, reflective titles.

memoirs in generally are a pretty hard sell unless they fall into the abuse or celebrity category. That said, these things come in waves and sometimes memoirs about certain things become popular - there was a phase for holiday rep/seasonal worker memoirs a couple of years back, and as someone else said upthread, experimental memoirs were popular for a while.

But generally most people just aren't interesting enough for other people to want to read about their lives, which is why you usually have to be someone famous or have a really, really great and unusual story to tell.

EDIT : I'm seeing a growing trend in spiritual /enlightment style memoirs and also a lot of 'hope' memoirs about overcoming personal hurdles too.

[Ruth2]

And then there are travel memoirs, which may be a different fish altogether.

[Bushrat]

Mine is about living in Canada's wilderness, and I found an agent for it very fast. Still haven't got a publisher, but only two rejections so far - it's not "adventurous" enough (I refuse to feed the myth that living in the bush is terribly dangerous and that bears are out to get you).