So, my question is - are memoirs saleable? Are publishers crying out for material of this nature? Am I wasting my time, even though this is a hobby more than a business. HELP!
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Hi Debbie,
There is a "Life Story Writing" forum here:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=42
And I think there is more of a market for good Memoirs now then there was ten years ago, but then that is my opinion and subjective based on what I have seen since I have written my own and am trying to find an agent to represent it. Have you written it yet? Or just thinking of starting?
Welcoime to the board Debbie!
There is a "Life Story Writing" forum here:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=42
And I think there is more of a market for good Memoirs now then there was ten years ago, but then that is my opinion and subjective based on what I have seen since I have written my own and am trying to find an agent to represent it. Have you written it yet? Or just thinking of starting?
Welcoime to the board Debbie!
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It is my impression that memoirs are a decent sized and growing segment of mainstream publishing. Last year, 168 fiction and 110 non-fiction hardcovers made the bestseller list (according to PW, 1/8/07) There were a good number of memoirs in there. There were also 52 trade paperback bestsellers, some of which are memoirs.
This past year, I wrote a memoir about growing up with Asperger's syndrome, and I am now finding considerable interest from publishers. So my experience tells me, if you have a memoir that is timely and interesting, there is a market for it.
This past year, I wrote a memoir about growing up with Asperger's syndrome, and I am now finding considerable interest from publishers. So my experience tells me, if you have a memoir that is timely and interesting, there is a market for it.
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thecollector50 said:
Well, I would not describe my Asperger's as causing a "hellish life" but there are many who would agree it makes life harder.
The thing is, there are many books that deal clinically with all sorts of conditions. For the most part, they are extremely dry and hard reading. 99% of them will never be read for entertainment.
If you can write a memoir that is fun to read, easy to read, and yet sets out the ways life may be different for someone with a given condition, there is probably a market for that.
Not all stories have a happy opening, tell it like it was and convey the emotions you need to and write your heart out, that's my advice.
Welcome to you John Robinson. Welcome to the AW Cooler! I often wonder what living with Asperger's Syndrome is like, I have an online friend who is also into writing fan fiction and that is kind of how we met. It's nice to meet another adult with Asperger's who is into writing. 
Welcome to you John Robinson. Welcome to the AW Cooler! I often wonder what living with Asperger's Syndrome is like, I have an online friend who is also into writing fan fiction and that is kind of how we met. It's nice to meet another adult with Asperger's who is into writing.
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Thanks for the welcome, Pamster. I hope to make a transition from a regular job in the automobile business to a creative career in writing and photography over the next few years.
And to you, James Ritchie, I can say this: I am not famous. But I did begin my writing career last March by writing a memoir about life with Aspergers. And it was saleable-enough-looking that a good agent took it on, and I believe we will have more positive news of it soon.
From everything I have seen, if you have an interesting story to tell, and you tell it in a compelling fashion, there is a market for writing from previously unknown authors.
And to you, James Ritchie, I can say this: I am not famous. But I did begin my writing career last March by writing a memoir about life with Aspergers. And it was saleable-enough-looking that a good agent took it on, and I believe we will have more positive news of it soon.
From everything I have seen, if you have an interesting story to tell, and you tell it in a compelling fashion, there is a market for writing from previously unknown authors.
thecollector50 said:
I say yes. In Novel Writing, there's a thread that's been talking about Joseph Campbell's work. I think memoirs serve to create a connectivity between people. (C. Jung dealt with this in his psychology theories.) Part of the reason (the main reason) I'm writing the novel I am is to make it available to people like me.
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In my last post I said I would have news of my memoir about Asperger's. The news is that the Crown imprint of Random House will be publishing my story in the spring of 2008. I would have waited to announce this but it's already on the news services and it will appear in PW next week, so there it is.
So for those of you who wonder if memoir is marketable - several editors told me it is a big category today, but those same editors also said you need something new and fresh. "Bad childhood" and "drug and liquor addiction" were cited several times as being overdone.
There was tremendous interest in my story, and I've never written a book before. I will also comment on the speed question - something that is often raised here. My agent called publishers during the week of January 15 to ascertain their interest in the manuscript. On January 22, we sent manuscripts out for review. By the end of the week we knew which publishers wanted the book, and we set up ten interviews. My wife and I drove to New York Sunday night. We had dinner with our agent Sunday and commenced publisher meetings first thing Monday.
It was an exhausting few days of meetings, with the publishers showing us what they would do with the book, and what else they had done. Everyone wanted to talk about how I wrote it, and what it meant. It was very clear to me that the people I met (editors, publishers, marketers, publicity staff) had read the book in depth and were deeply moved by it.
The suggestion that publishers or editors do not read books they buy - something I have seen posted here - was clearly wrong in my case. They had read it and loved it.
I'm sure some of you wonder what made them love it. Here are some comments I heard,
"It's a beautiful work of art . . ." We heard this more than once. The editors talked about the voice, and how it sounded true and clear. Several people said the book read as if I were there, telling the story. "I would think anyone could write a story the way they'd tell it to you," I said. One editor laughed and said, "if you believe that, I have a huge slush pile you can sift through to find one . . "
"It's a story of inspiration and hope . . " Editors said the book made them feel good. That's rare, they said.
"It's a loving portrait . . " I had worried that my book does not contain any sex or shocking events. Apparently that's OK. When I raised that issue I was told my book could appeal to any reader. True feelings meant more than graphic description.
"When I read your words I can see my autistic nephew as a grownup . . " I was most moved by comments like that, because I was that nephew as a child. That really meant a lot to me.
"Your book will give hope to families everywhere . . ." That too was very moving, and it was indeed a goal of my book. The unanimous impression was that I accomplished that. I wanted to tell a story that would let a person with Asperger's see that there can be a good and happy life as an adult.
By Tuesday afternoon it was apparent that they all wanted the book. We decided to go with the team that loved it best, and that was a very hard thing to decide, given the reception we received at all the houses we visited.
As I move through the process I will keep all of you up to date on how it works - editing, developing the marketing, etc. At this moment, we are waiting as the contracts are written and I get placed in the publisher's work schedule. We'll be going back to work in 2-3 weeks, they tell me.
Meanwhile, my next step is to get a web site up. I hope to do that next week.
I will try and distill all the things I heard for you soon. This is a great community and although I am not a prolific poster I will contribute what I can. Meeting all those publishers and having my book received as it was was surely one of the finest moments of my life.
So for those of you who wonder if memoir is marketable - several editors told me it is a big category today, but those same editors also said you need something new and fresh. "Bad childhood" and "drug and liquor addiction" were cited several times as being overdone.
There was tremendous interest in my story, and I've never written a book before. I will also comment on the speed question - something that is often raised here. My agent called publishers during the week of January 15 to ascertain their interest in the manuscript. On January 22, we sent manuscripts out for review. By the end of the week we knew which publishers wanted the book, and we set up ten interviews. My wife and I drove to New York Sunday night. We had dinner with our agent Sunday and commenced publisher meetings first thing Monday.
It was an exhausting few days of meetings, with the publishers showing us what they would do with the book, and what else they had done. Everyone wanted to talk about how I wrote it, and what it meant. It was very clear to me that the people I met (editors, publishers, marketers, publicity staff) had read the book in depth and were deeply moved by it.
The suggestion that publishers or editors do not read books they buy - something I have seen posted here - was clearly wrong in my case. They had read it and loved it.
I'm sure some of you wonder what made them love it. Here are some comments I heard,
"It's a beautiful work of art . . ." We heard this more than once. The editors talked about the voice, and how it sounded true and clear. Several people said the book read as if I were there, telling the story. "I would think anyone could write a story the way they'd tell it to you," I said. One editor laughed and said, "if you believe that, I have a huge slush pile you can sift through to find one . . "
"It's a story of inspiration and hope . . " Editors said the book made them feel good. That's rare, they said.
"It's a loving portrait . . " I had worried that my book does not contain any sex or shocking events. Apparently that's OK. When I raised that issue I was told my book could appeal to any reader. True feelings meant more than graphic description.
"When I read your words I can see my autistic nephew as a grownup . . " I was most moved by comments like that, because I was that nephew as a child. That really meant a lot to me.
"Your book will give hope to families everywhere . . ." That too was very moving, and it was indeed a goal of my book. The unanimous impression was that I accomplished that. I wanted to tell a story that would let a person with Asperger's see that there can be a good and happy life as an adult.
By Tuesday afternoon it was apparent that they all wanted the book. We decided to go with the team that loved it best, and that was a very hard thing to decide, given the reception we received at all the houses we visited.
As I move through the process I will keep all of you up to date on how it works - editing, developing the marketing, etc. At this moment, we are waiting as the contracts are written and I get placed in the publisher's work schedule. We'll be going back to work in 2-3 weeks, they tell me.
Meanwhile, my next step is to get a web site up. I hope to do that next week.
I will try and distill all the things I heard for you soon. This is a great community and although I am not a prolific poster I will contribute what I can. Meeting all those publishers and having my book received as it was was surely one of the finest moments of my life.
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Congratulations!
Congratulations!!!!!!!!
Please keep us posted. By the way, what is the title of your book? Or you think it will change in the process?
Your story proves that memoires are saleable. It's great. It gives us all hope!
Congratulations!!!!!!!!
Please keep us posted. By the way, what is the title of your book? Or you think it will change in the process?
Your story proves that memoires are saleable. It's great. It gives us all hope!
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My book is called Look Me In The Eye, and it's stories of my life with Asperger's
As to the title changing . . . the first editor to read the story suggested adopting that title. The original name and the current name were both chapter names in my original manuscript.
The first editor also suggested cutting the first two chapters and rewriting the beginning, which got the book off to a better start.
I brought the publishers a complete work, not a draft or proposal. The book will of course need editing for publication but it was basically all there when I began showing it to them.
As to the title changing . . . the first editor to read the story suggested adopting that title. The original name and the current name were both chapter names in my original manuscript.
The first editor also suggested cutting the first two chapters and rewriting the beginning, which got the book off to a better start.
I brought the publishers a complete work, not a draft or proposal. The book will of course need editing for publication but it was basically all there when I began showing it to them.
John,
Congrats! What great news! With so many kids now diagnosed with various forms of autism, it's a topic that will touch a great many potential readers.
I know I'll buy a copy when it's out. Keep us posted!
Congrats again!
Lauren
Congrats! What great news! With so many kids now diagnosed with various forms of autism, it's a topic that will touch a great many potential readers.
I know I'll buy a copy when it's out. Keep us posted!
Congrats again!
Lauren
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Lauren, it has amazed me how much interest there is in this topic. There is so much interest that Crown has actually moved the book onto a fast track, to get it into stores this September. There is a feeling that autism and Asperger's is a big issue in our culture, and my book is for a variety of reasons unlike any of the ones written to date.
I am scrambling to get all the other pieces in place. My editor will be sending the book back to me tomorrow, to begin the final round of editing.
It's moving faster than I ever imagined. The book was announced in the Post today, and they are holding the fall catalog to fit my book into it. I should start appearing in Crown and Random House's author index any day now.
I am scrambling to get all the other pieces in place. My editor will be sending the book back to me tomorrow, to begin the final round of editing.
It's moving faster than I ever imagined. The book was announced in the Post today, and they are holding the fall catalog to fit my book into it. I should start appearing in Crown and Random House's author index any day now.
Fantastic - I'll recommend your book when it comes out. My cousin's eldest son (my second cousin) has Asperger's and it's very different to what I think a lot of people imagine. That is why, if your book brings out a new take, a new view and a powerful personal one at that, it will be living proof that one's life story needn't just be saleable just because you're a 'celebrity.'
Well done you.
Well done you.
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I would like to address that comment - my book being saleable even though I am not a celebrity.
While there is no denying the appeal of a major sports figure's life story, or the behind-the-scenes story of a rock star, those are not the only sorts of memoir that one can sell.
One of the appealing things about my book is that my accomplishments are all "normal." That is, I did things many kids dream of doing, and some actually do.
I joined dropped out of school and joined a band, and within a few years I was on the road with KISS. Most kids that get into music don't make it into the big time, but some do, and my story is one anyone can identify with.
Later on, I became an engineer with a toy company, which is again a fun job, and of course hundreds of thousands of young people grow up to be engineers, so again that's an "anyone" sort of story.
And finally, I quit to start a small business, which is again a common dream.
A large part of the appeal of my book is the very attainability of the goals.
One of the things you hear about in selling non-fiction is your "platform" or, "why are you qualified to write this story?" In my case, I grew up with Asperger's and the story is my own experience, which I am certainly qualified to write. With memoir, you'll need something compelling in your story if you are not famous, but there are countless possibilities.
First of all- Debbie, you are wise to look at it from the "So this happened to me. Why would anyone care?" angle.
Though not all stories end with the proverbial happy ending, they do end with some sort of finality, some lesson learned, some change in character. It sounds like you just need to put words to that.
The memoir I am working on is a good example of that. While it would have been wonderful if my father could have been reunited with the parents of his buddy who died in his arms during WWII, it didn't happen. And now it's too late. So, now we look for a peace we can come to without the picture book ending, without the Hollywood, everyone lives peacefully ever after.
You are not wasting your time. Have you thought of writing an essay about some aspect of your life? This could help you to encapsule a part of it. And if you then take it to magazine publishers and get it published, you can put in the bio that you are currently working on a book by the title of XYZ. Depending on where it is published, it is possible to get some pretty good exposure that way. Good luck with it and don't be discouraged. You may well need to rewrite the whole thing. Sometimes we get so close to it, that it's hard to see it at all. You may just need to take a break from it to write something entirely diffferent.
John- Congratulations! I've read some of your other posts. I was a special education teacher. I've met many children with Autism and Aspergers. The best book (Can't remember for sure if it was There's a Boy in Here or not) I ever read was by a mother and son. The mother wrote about an incident and then the son wrote about it from his understanding and point of view. It was fascinating and changed the way I worked with the little guys I was teaching. Reading is powerful and reading that particular book made me ask myself of a non-verbal child "What is he thinking? What is he trying to communicate?" Through that, he made tremendous progress as we worked to create a communication system for him. Your book will have that same impact. Someone (lots of someones) will read it and it will change their life and the life of their child, their student, their sibling.
Anyway- I will definitely buy your book. There is a lot of publicity on Autism right now. It was all over the news just last week, the number children being diagnosed on the rise and all. That works well for your book. Also, I love the title. Eye contact is taken for granted in typically developing children. But with many children with special needs, and especially those within the Autism/Aspergers spectrum it is not a natural thing. Thus phrases like, "Look me in the eye." become a way to teach eye contact. Anyway- so excited for you. Congrats!
Sorry I went on and on. I had to resign from my job due to two back surgeries. I miss it so much. It's so hard to be in a position like that, in which you give and receive so much and then suddenly it's gone. I think I'm still grieving for it.
Lavinia
Though not all stories end with the proverbial happy ending, they do end with some sort of finality, some lesson learned, some change in character. It sounds like you just need to put words to that.
The memoir I am working on is a good example of that. While it would have been wonderful if my father could have been reunited with the parents of his buddy who died in his arms during WWII, it didn't happen. And now it's too late. So, now we look for a peace we can come to without the picture book ending, without the Hollywood, everyone lives peacefully ever after.
You are not wasting your time. Have you thought of writing an essay about some aspect of your life? This could help you to encapsule a part of it. And if you then take it to magazine publishers and get it published, you can put in the bio that you are currently working on a book by the title of XYZ. Depending on where it is published, it is possible to get some pretty good exposure that way. Good luck with it and don't be discouraged. You may well need to rewrite the whole thing. Sometimes we get so close to it, that it's hard to see it at all. You may just need to take a break from it to write something entirely diffferent.
John- Congratulations! I've read some of your other posts. I was a special education teacher. I've met many children with Autism and Aspergers. The best book (Can't remember for sure if it was There's a Boy in Here or not) I ever read was by a mother and son. The mother wrote about an incident and then the son wrote about it from his understanding and point of view. It was fascinating and changed the way I worked with the little guys I was teaching. Reading is powerful and reading that particular book made me ask myself of a non-verbal child "What is he thinking? What is he trying to communicate?" Through that, he made tremendous progress as we worked to create a communication system for him. Your book will have that same impact. Someone (lots of someones) will read it and it will change their life and the life of their child, their student, their sibling.
Anyway- I will definitely buy your book. There is a lot of publicity on Autism right now. It was all over the news just last week, the number children being diagnosed on the rise and all. That works well for your book. Also, I love the title. Eye contact is taken for granted in typically developing children. But with many children with special needs, and especially those within the Autism/Aspergers spectrum it is not a natural thing. Thus phrases like, "Look me in the eye." become a way to teach eye contact. Anyway- so excited for you. Congrats!
Sorry I went on and on. I had to resign from my job due to two back surgeries. I miss it so much. It's so hard to be in a position like that, in which you give and receive so much and then suddenly it's gone. I think I'm still grieving for it.
Lavinia
Memoir-Will it hurt others?
Hi all and a pleasant afternoon,
I have a story to tell but I don't want it to hurt others, even those who hurt me, but I want to know if I can use a pseudonym (is that correct?).
Also, would my story be interesting. Some of you have had some pretty horrific lives. My story is a little different, a little strange maybe, but perhaps that will sell. If you all don't mind I'll give you a little spin on my memoir. Things couldn't certainly be worse in life but here goes. I was about 4 when I was dropped off by my mother in a parking lot, picked up by my father (after she called him to tell him I was there), moved in with dad and stepmom. During that time frame I endured physical pain by my stepmother, (including having to put my mouth on my urine soaked bed), made to sleep in the yard, made to kneel in the yard when I was older, in front of all the neighbors (with my thumb in my mouth...I guess to get me to quit...I never did until I was 19), watched as my pedophile father raped my stepsister over the years, was raped by my stepgrandfather then told I should never bring it up again, I was raped by a Catholic Theology/Psychology teacher...yes...I know, beaten with the belt, pulled out of bed in the middle of the night because a dish wasn't cleaned properly, made to stay up all night long doing all the dishes in the whole house (probably why I suffer from severe insomnia), finally, got the heck out of there to marry my first husband, had a baby boy, had severe depression and post traumatic stress along with severe post partum depression, ending up leaving my son as I didn't want to hurt him, so I left, married again, had a baby girl, life seemed okay until he left me for someone younger, then married a third time. Things were okay. I finally had my dad arrested for rape (he tried to rape my nephew) and then suffered more after his death (he became a homeless man and was hit by a truck driver), if that wasn't bad enough, I lost my brother a month before my real mother (we finally got back together when I was much older and had somewhat of a relationship, although it was probably more unhealthy than anything else...I just wanted my mother..so did my brother...but he never got her to say she wanted him), he died of an accidental overdose of methadone and sleeping pills in her house a month before she succummed to brain cancer. Once I got over that hump in my life I took a call from my first husband about my son. He was arrested for raping his little brother and he himself was only 17 at the time. We talk but it is a little upsetting knowing that he is this way..still we talk...he is on the sexual offenders list and has 20 years probation...he can't go anywhere. The guilt I had because I left him those many years ago with his father have somewhat diminished, my life seems to be getting a little better but there is always that thought in the back of my mind that something else in the darkness lurks to take the happiness away.
So, I hope I didn't bore you with this but what do you think. Quite a long synopsis and I'm sure I could do much better but I think it would be a good memoir, I just wouldn't want to hurt my stepmother or my half brothers and half sister and stepsister. Could I use a pseudonym?
Thanks for your time...Take care and God Bless..
MaryBeth
Hi all and a pleasant afternoon,
I have a story to tell but I don't want it to hurt others, even those who hurt me, but I want to know if I can use a pseudonym (is that correct?).
Also, would my story be interesting. Some of you have had some pretty horrific lives. My story is a little different, a little strange maybe, but perhaps that will sell. If you all don't mind I'll give you a little spin on my memoir. Things couldn't certainly be worse in life but here goes. I was about 4 when I was dropped off by my mother in a parking lot, picked up by my father (after she called him to tell him I was there), moved in with dad and stepmom. During that time frame I endured physical pain by my stepmother, (including having to put my mouth on my urine soaked bed), made to sleep in the yard, made to kneel in the yard when I was older, in front of all the neighbors (with my thumb in my mouth...I guess to get me to quit...I never did until I was 19), watched as my pedophile father raped my stepsister over the years, was raped by my stepgrandfather then told I should never bring it up again, I was raped by a Catholic Theology/Psychology teacher...yes...I know, beaten with the belt, pulled out of bed in the middle of the night because a dish wasn't cleaned properly, made to stay up all night long doing all the dishes in the whole house (probably why I suffer from severe insomnia), finally, got the heck out of there to marry my first husband, had a baby boy, had severe depression and post traumatic stress along with severe post partum depression, ending up leaving my son as I didn't want to hurt him, so I left, married again, had a baby girl, life seemed okay until he left me for someone younger, then married a third time. Things were okay. I finally had my dad arrested for rape (he tried to rape my nephew) and then suffered more after his death (he became a homeless man and was hit by a truck driver), if that wasn't bad enough, I lost my brother a month before my real mother (we finally got back together when I was much older and had somewhat of a relationship, although it was probably more unhealthy than anything else...I just wanted my mother..so did my brother...but he never got her to say she wanted him), he died of an accidental overdose of methadone and sleeping pills in her house a month before she succummed to brain cancer. Once I got over that hump in my life I took a call from my first husband about my son. He was arrested for raping his little brother and he himself was only 17 at the time. We talk but it is a little upsetting knowing that he is this way..still we talk...he is on the sexual offenders list and has 20 years probation...he can't go anywhere. The guilt I had because I left him those many years ago with his father have somewhat diminished, my life seems to be getting a little better but there is always that thought in the back of my mind that something else in the darkness lurks to take the happiness away.
So, I hope I didn't bore you with this but what do you think. Quite a long synopsis and I'm sure I could do much better but I think it would be a good memoir, I just wouldn't want to hurt my stepmother or my half brothers and half sister and stepsister. Could I use a pseudonym?
Thanks for your time...Take care and God Bless..
MaryBeth
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Well, MaryBeth, that's quite a story.
I cannot imagine how you could write the story with your own name and expect to make the other players anonyomous. Perhaps you'd consider writing the book under a pen name?
If you did that and changed the names of the other people I think that would work in terms of protecting the other people.
I would also suggest you think about what's new or different in that story. Horrific as it sounds, there have been a number of books about similar situations. What sets yours apart? That's an answer you'll need to discover to have a publishable story. Publishers are looking for something new or fresh. The events in human life don't change - stories like yours have played out since time immemorial - but our interpretation of them continues to evolve. So where is the lesson or the message in all that? I don't know, but that's an important thing to figure out.
I cannot imagine how you could write the story with your own name and expect to make the other players anonyomous. Perhaps you'd consider writing the book under a pen name?
If you did that and changed the names of the other people I think that would work in terms of protecting the other people.
I would also suggest you think about what's new or different in that story. Horrific as it sounds, there have been a number of books about similar situations. What sets yours apart? That's an answer you'll need to discover to have a publishable story. Publishers are looking for something new or fresh. The events in human life don't change - stories like yours have played out since time immemorial - but our interpretation of them continues to evolve. So where is the lesson or the message in all that? I don't know, but that's an important thing to figure out.
Memoir
Thank you JohnRobinson,
You've got me thinking...and that is a good thing! Well, hmmm...new...fresh...I can tell you the thing that I've learned
through my many experiences is forgiveness. I don't think society
today embraces that line of thinking very much, although I may
be surprised. I don't see much of it though. Forgiveness is a difficult
thing to master and although I wouldn't say I've mastered it...I'd
say I've come pretty close to it. I figure, who am I not to. I've caused pain in others lives, perhaps not pain like I've had, but pain is pain and
we all are capable of great harm to those we love or those we don't love, either way there could be a message like such that I could use. I appreciate your encouragement and your advice. If it's one thing I love..it is advice and constructive criticism. I've learned a lot just listening. I thank you very much.
Thank you JohnRobinson,
You've got me thinking...and that is a good thing! Well, hmmm...new...fresh...I can tell you the thing that I've learned
through my many experiences is forgiveness. I don't think society
today embraces that line of thinking very much, although I may
be surprised. I don't see much of it though. Forgiveness is a difficult
thing to master and although I wouldn't say I've mastered it...I'd
say I've come pretty close to it. I figure, who am I not to. I've caused pain in others lives, perhaps not pain like I've had, but pain is pain and
we all are capable of great harm to those we love or those we don't love, either way there could be a message like such that I could use. I appreciate your encouragement and your advice. If it's one thing I love..it is advice and constructive criticism. I've learned a lot just listening. I thank you very much.
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OK, so think about how you arrived at forgiveness. Is there a lesson or message there?
Did it lead to something else?
Why don't you think society embraces that?
Just some more ideas for you to ponder
Did it lead to something else?
Why don't you think society embraces that?
Just some more ideas for you to ponder
Memoir
Thank you JohnRobinson,
You've got my wheels turning now! I love this forum and all the helpful people on it. It really helps to have your input...I'm writing it in my notebook. I will let you know what I have when I finish some of the first chapter. I'm actually working on 3 manuscripts at once. This one, the memoir, is really just for me but my fear is that a publisher would like it and so that is why I wouldn't want to hurt anyone so I might just use a different pen name. Thanks again!
Thank you JohnRobinson,
You've got my wheels turning now! I love this forum and all the helpful people on it. It really helps to have your input...I'm writing it in my notebook. I will let you know what I have when I finish some of the first chapter. I'm actually working on 3 manuscripts at once. This one, the memoir, is really just for me but my fear is that a publisher would like it and so that is why I wouldn't want to hurt anyone so I might just use a different pen name. Thanks again!
Yikes, this is my first trip back to the water cooler in well over a year. I'd finnished the most recent draft of my novel and it's sat for a while as I've been searching for ambition to write and a voice. I don't know why it just ended, but it did.
Regardless, I like this topic as I was recently in Lake Tahoe and while skiing, decided to hike off-trail (but in-bounds) to the top of a peak that wasn't lift-served. Being my third attempt of the week, I recall the anxiety and fear that had kept me from completing the climb and sought to overcome it, which I did.
So when I got home to Maine, I started work on a forward/prologue centered around this event and how all the emotions involved (and indeed the mountain itself) were like a metaphor for overcoming adversity.
That said, I had thought about writing a memoir about overcoming anxiety, depression, and alcoholosim at an early age, but was really turned off in the past year by the people who have used the medium to lie and sell fiction as truth. Obviously I'm talking about James Frey for the most part, but there are others.
I want to continue, but I have this feeling that those three topics are probably the most widely written about. My hope would be to help guys and girls in their 20s and 30s who may be in a tough spot with one of these, or like myself, all three. I wouldn't write a tell-all because I don't see the point. I would talk about some things I haven't shared with folks before and I'm worried that could get me in trouble with my employer.
I also don't think I would want to try and make it a peice of literature. That's not to say I wouldn't use metaphors or tell stories, but one fo the biggest things that has bothered me about memoirs about my topic has been I sometimes have difficulty understand what the writer is trying to convey as they get close to the lien that seperates fiction and non-fiction.
Does anyone have any thoughts?
Also, what is a typical word count for a book-length memoir? If I recall, it is less than fiction.
Thanks all,
Jerry
Regardless, I like this topic as I was recently in Lake Tahoe and while skiing, decided to hike off-trail (but in-bounds) to the top of a peak that wasn't lift-served. Being my third attempt of the week, I recall the anxiety and fear that had kept me from completing the climb and sought to overcome it, which I did.
So when I got home to Maine, I started work on a forward/prologue centered around this event and how all the emotions involved (and indeed the mountain itself) were like a metaphor for overcoming adversity.
That said, I had thought about writing a memoir about overcoming anxiety, depression, and alcoholosim at an early age, but was really turned off in the past year by the people who have used the medium to lie and sell fiction as truth. Obviously I'm talking about James Frey for the most part, but there are others.
I want to continue, but I have this feeling that those three topics are probably the most widely written about. My hope would be to help guys and girls in their 20s and 30s who may be in a tough spot with one of these, or like myself, all three. I wouldn't write a tell-all because I don't see the point. I would talk about some things I haven't shared with folks before and I'm worried that could get me in trouble with my employer.
I also don't think I would want to try and make it a peice of literature. That's not to say I wouldn't use metaphors or tell stories, but one fo the biggest things that has bothered me about memoirs about my topic has been I sometimes have difficulty understand what the writer is trying to convey as they get close to the lien that seperates fiction and non-fiction.
Does anyone have any thoughts?
Also, what is a typical word count for a book-length memoir? If I recall, it is less than fiction.
Thanks all,
Jerry
Memoirs
One of the reason memoirs from non-famous people are so hard to sell is simple. . .at any given time, about a billion people are writing them. They flood the slush piles, and flood agent's offices, on a daily basis.
It's possible to sell any type of book, if it was a story that touches enough readers, and if it's written well enough to stand out, and if it's better than anything else a publisher sees that could take its place, but strictly as a numbers game, nothing is tougher to sell than a memoir from a person who isn't famous.
One of the reason memoirs from non-famous people are so hard to sell is simple. . .at any given time, about a billion people are writing them. They flood the slush piles, and flood agent's offices, on a daily basis.
It's possible to sell any type of book, if it was a story that touches enough readers, and if it's written well enough to stand out, and if it's better than anything else a publisher sees that could take its place, but strictly as a numbers game, nothing is tougher to sell than a memoir from a person who isn't famous.