Ready to hire a ghostwriter? Here’s what to ask. 1. Will the ghostwriter “work for hire” or will s/he want a stake in the product? A for-hire writer is paid either by the hour or by the project and has no legal authorship rights. The rights to such a book are entirely yours. This is the most usual arrangement for a memoir of a person who has no public presence—no fame. A writer who works with a financial investment in a project does have legal rights, as do the inheritors of that writer on his/her death. While sharing the rights (more…)

I wrote a lengthy reply to Gayle to her question concerning my recent post, “Another Memoir Finished: What Was the Writing Process?” She asked a legitimate question about whether A Sugary Frosting is really a memoir: “Can you call it a memoir when you embellish the writings of your wife and even added stories that she told but never wrote?” If you haven’t read her question in its entirety (much longer than I provide here) and my response, I hope you will as it addresses an important consideration in memoir writing. Read the entire stream (the original post and the (more…)

Writing a vision statement about teaching memoir writing can be stimulating for you as a Memoir Professional. Your memoir writing company’s vision statement is a personal reminder you make to yourself about how the work you are planning will sustain you emotionally and make you into a better person. A vision statement is usually about the person writing it. (The mission statement, on the other hand, is about what you will give to the public.)

Here are some ideas for writing a great vision statement. (No venture should be without one!)

**1. In your vision statement, your eros needs to be written large.**

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Should you write your memoir? This is such a basic question that perhaps everyone who contemplates writing a memoir will be—or should be—asking him/herself that question. Below is a great response to “should you write your memoir?” When I found Paul LaRosa’s answer to this question on the Huffington Post, I immediately wanted to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it. What answer have you come up with? For Paul LaRosa’s book, Leaving Story Avenue, click here. (more…)

Exploring the past Writing a memoir is like opening a window into your life. It can also help clear the fog on windows of the past. Writing my own story in my memoir Nothing Like Normal (published by Black Opal Press on November 14) caused me to wonder about the tales of my parents and ancestors and what they could tell me about my own life. My maternal line While my father’s genealogy had been thoroughly researched by his brother and sister, I knew there was very little recorded about my maternal family line and actual history. This changed when I (more…)

This post is part of the “Beyond Writing Prompts” series to help you to access memories that may not have made it to your Memory List. Walking through the nearby Bates College campus recently, I walked towards five young women who were heading in the direction of the college dining hall. I could imagine them having gathered each other in a dormitory hallway for the hike to the cafeteria. “Hey you want to go out for supper with us?” “It’s time to go eat!” “Why don’t we go to the dining hall together?” With this seeming sense of friendship and (more…)

DL: In this excerpt, Martha demonstrates the ambivalence of her relationship with her mother. On the one hand, she charges her with not being a good mother, and on the other hand, she praises her for her mothering skills. ___ Although I loved being at the house on the hill, I was sometimes lonely for other children to play with. As there were no neighbors at the house’s level, the isolation was real. One day, perhaps remembering my friends in Worcester and my birthday party with Gordie and Louise and Billy, I demanded that my mother find me a playmate. (more…)

My book, Raising My Family Around the World ~ The Adventures of a CIA Wife and Mom in Stories, Snapshots and Letters, was self-published in the summer of 2015. Two hundred and thirteen pages and two hundred and thirteen photographs make up my hard-bound book. This was actually a surprising coincidence and not planned! Several months later, I did a re-print—this time in paperback, a much cheaper alternative than the costly, but beautiful, hard-bound version. I gave the hard-bound copies to family members. I am selling the paperback copies and doing well with this effort. My intention in writing my story is (more…)

DL— This is an excerpt from A Sugary Frosting, memoir of Martha Blowen, my lifemate and business partner who died in 2008 of metastatic intraductal breast cancer. The previous posts covered Martha’s life in Worcester where she was born. While I believe my father did well as minister in Hadwin Park, he was by nature a small-town minister. Coming from the working class, he was familiar and comfortable with working men and women. Or, I might say, he was comfortable being the educated man among uneducated people. His talent was working in a small, self-contained communities. Worcester is the second (more…)

Ready to hire a ghostwriter? Here’s what to ask.

By Denis Ledoux

Is this really a memoir? You tell me…

By Denis Ledoux

Teaching Memoir Writing – 3 Tips For Making Your Vision Real

By Denis Ledoux

Teaching Memoir Writing – Your Vision Can Become Real Writing a vision statement can be stimulating for you as a teacher. Your memoir writing company’s vision statement is a personal reminder you make to yourself about how the work you are planning will sustain you emotionally and make you into a better person. A vision […]

Why Should You Write Your Memoir?

By Denis Ledoux

Should you write your memoir? This is such a basic question that perhaps everyone who contemplates writing will be—or should be—asking him/herself that question. (more…)

Memoir Leads to Exploring the Past

By Martha Graham-Waldon

Writing a memoir is like opening a window into your life. It can also help clear the fog on windows of the past. Writing my own story in my memoir Nothing Like Normal (to be published by Black Opal Press November 14) caused me to wonder about the tales of my parents and ancestors and […]

Cell phones: A fine way to avoid intimacy

By Denis Ledoux

My Good Mother Organizes a Kindergarten for Me

By Denis Ledoux

Raising My Family Around the World ~ The Adventures of a CIA Wife and Mom

By Lin Joyce

I have been married to a man who worked for the CIA for thirty-two years and we spent many years living outside of the USA. I tell my story from the context of being a wife and mother making all those moves — 18 in 21 years. (more…)

We Move to Athol

By Martha Blowen

While I believe my father did well as minister in Hadwin Park, he was by nature a small-town minister. Coming from the working class, he was familiar and comfortable with working men and women. Or, I might say, he was comfortable being the educated man among uneducated people. His talent was working in a small, […]