Editor’s Note: The Personal Memoir: Keep the “Me” in your MEmoir was originally published on Bookbaby Blog and is used with the permission of the author. This piece was originally published on this blog in 20017. Comments are still being accepted. Without the “me” in your memoir – the fragile and imperfect person who lived the events in your story – you leave out the human element your readers long to connect with. You’ve retired. Now, at last, you have the time to work on that book you’ve been wanting to write all your life. Your friends and family are always (more…)

You’ve written your memoir and it has finally been readied for publication. Finally comes the day when you hold your book in hand! Now you need a launch party. This article is full of book launch tips to do just that. A rousing book launch is what’s next. Business Boy to Business Man by Robert Verreault took several years to write. Mr. Verreault, a successful businessman, decided to give himself the gift of a memoir. Unfortunately, he died before the book was published but his family decided to go ahead and launch the book in style. Business Boy to Business (more…)

Denis Ledoux: I had the pleasure of working with Susan Yerburgh for several years as she articulated her message in Shadows & Light: A Journey of Healing and Empowerment and used it to continue her own healing journey. Because of the significance of her writing and life experience, I am delighted she agreed to do the following interview (conducted in an email.) Denis: Can you tell our readers—your fellow writers—what your book is about and why you were impelled to write it? What was driving you to spend the time, energy and money to get this book out into the (more…)

Not telling the truth in a memoir is a great way to block your writing

Many writers say they suffer from writer’s block, yet few understand that they are unable to write easily because they are is not telling the truth in a memoir. Good memoir writing depends on telling the truth.

There are a number of reasons that create difficulty in writing. I don’t want to overuse the term writer’s block because I don’t believe much in it and have seen that the famous writer’s block has been made to answer to too many problems.

1. Dealing with uncomfortable material by not telling the truth in a memoir

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“What are the best tips to keep you writing?” I was asked recently. “What are the biggest barriers memoir writers face to being successful?” Three ideas came to mind right away. Below, I write about them and offer suggestions for eliminating these barriers. 1. Writers often put off writing a good memoir in favor of struggling unsuccessfully to create a perfect one. This is insidious because no one says they are putting off writing a good memoir in favor of a perfect one. Instead, they say, “I want my story to be meaningful” or “I want to be sure I (more…)

Working with a ghostwriter is ultimately a business relationship. No matter how friendly the exchanges, the outcome is that you are paying someone to tell your story. Make sure the process culminates in the book you want. In working with a ghostwriter as in all business relationships, it is always easiest to take care of business matters at the start of the process. Here are three guidelines to keep in mind when establishing how you and your ghostwriter will collaborate. 1. Is the ghostwriter working for hire or does s/he have a stake in the product? A for-hire writer is paid (more…)

In 2018, when I decided to gather the bits of information, journals, diaries, court transcripts and the letters from my life and put them into a book, I had no idea of looking for a developmental editor. I had never thought of myself as a writer, struggled to see myself as an author and had not a lot of thought about how to embark on such a project. I had a burning desire to help others to see that there is goodness in the world and that there is happiness after hardship and a light at the end of the tunnel. Telling people parts of my story seemed to elicit tears, happiness, and wonderment in equal measures.

Perhaps I should—but could I?—write a book?

I had no idea where this decision would lead. Nor did I realize how hard it would be to negotiate the personalities of the significant others in my life who thought they could govern what I could and couldn’t reveal on paper. The actual writing turned out to be the easy part of the process.

The beginning (more…)

Does your memoir need developmental editing? In this video, I discuss why developmental editing is essential, what a developmental editor does, and why you need it for your memoir. If the big New York publishing houses NEVER publish a manuscript without extensive editing, why would you as a self-publisher? A professional editor can quickly and effectively help you tweak your story so that you get to say more clearly and dynamically what you have been trying to say. Editors come in many stripes: some are copy editors, others are content editors while still another kind is a developmental editor. In (more…)

Many people want to know how to be a better storyteller. Some people come to memoir writing with a natural facility for storytelling. If that is you—great! But… Don’t despair if you aren’t one of these natural storytellers. To a great extent, storytelling is a facility which can be learned—you can acquire this facility. It’s a matter of developing both technical skills to shape a story and a belief in yourself as capable of growth and of assuming your rightful role as storyteller. In this YouTube video, “How to be a Better Storyteller”, I share with you how you can (more…)

The Personal Memoir: Keep the “Me” in your MEmoir

By Viga Boland

Book Launch Tips: Business Boy to Business Man, by Robert Verreault

By Denis Ledoux

The book launch party was a lovely experience—one that brought to those of us who were involved in creating the book a strong sense of (forgive the overused term!) closure. Writing a memoir is a long haul and it is refreshing to have an event as one might a wedding or a funeral to gather […]