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autobiography

Fellow Blogger Challenges People to Read Memoirs This Year

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Reading other people’s memoirs is a great way to get acquainted with the autobiography genre. Frequently here on our blog, I encourage all of you considering, or already in the process of, writing your memoirs to pick up autobiographies written both recently and long ago. Now another blogger has set forth a challenge to read at least four memoirs in 2010. She writes for her own site, The Betty and Boo Chronicles.

To participate, all you have to do is sign up with the site and list the book(s) you’re reading. You can start by going either to the first link above or click here to access a follow-up entry. The blogger, Melissa, says she purposely set the bar low—four memoirs is not burdensome—so that people could easily join the challenge.

Melissa writes: “I’m so thrilled by all the enthusiasm for The Memorable Memoir Reading Challenge! Thank you all for joining. I had no idea what to expect from my first hosted challenge, and I have to say, this is a lot of fun. I’m adding so many great-sounding memoirs to my want-to-read list and discovering a bunch of new (to me) blogs. Hopefully you’re doing the same and liking what you’re finding here.???

Use the WriteMyMemoirs Site in a Classroom or Other Group Setting

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Across the United States and probably the world, courses are offered regularly to help people write memoirs. High school and college English classes also sometimes assign a project that involves autobiography writing. Less formally, groups get together to encourage each other in this endeavor and read the work aloud for a critique from group members.

To get students/participants started, some of these classes and groups use WriteMyMemoirs for online assistance. It helps to keep everyone focused and, of course, the work never gets lost and everyone can access it from any Internet-connected computer. There are no excuses like, “My dog ate my homework???! With so many ideas on the site, the writers stay motivated and easily come up with topics for their chapters.

If you’re participating in a group of this type or taking a writing class, we’d love for you to suggest WriteMyMemoirs as a group sign-up activity. The assignment doesn’t even have to be memoirs, really, since our site is just as handy for writing novels, short stories, essays and journalistic pieces. If your class or group does sign up with us, please drop us a line! We’d enjoy knowing how you’re progressing and perhaps here on the blog we could share your thoughts on the process.

Amazon Offer Makes Self-Publishing Even More Attractive

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Although the Kindle ebook reader has become quite popular on its own, Amazon is giving it a further boost by offering authors a great self-publishing deal if they will publish digitally. After you finish writing your memoirs, consider this option for publishing your autobiography: bypass traditional book publishers and go directly to digital, and Amazon will give you 70 percent of all sales of your book.

“Today, authors often receive royalties in the range of 7 to 15 percent of the list price that publishers set for their physical books,??? said Russ Grandinetti, Amazon’s vice president of Kindle content, as part of a statement released with last month’s announcement. “We’re excited that the new 70 percent royalty option for the Kindle Digital Text Platform will help us pay authors higher royalties when readers choose their books.???

To qualify for this option, you must price your book at between $2.99 and $9.99, and you must grant Amazon some digital rights in case the company needs to adapt the text to new versions of the Kindle, such as a future text-to-speech option. You would retain the rights to any print versions you might publish. Members often ask us how to publish their memoirs when it’s so difficult today get an agent and then attract a publisher. This offer from Amazon is a very workable alternative.

English is an Ever-Changing Language

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Since I teach grammar and writing, a lot of people email me questions about the “rules.??? They remember learning something in school about whether you can split an infinitive and when to use “who??? rather “whom,??? but they’re sketchy on the details. If you have similar issues as you write your memoirs, you might take some comfort from a new book by Jack Lynch, The Lexicographer’s Dilemma: The Evolution of “Proper??? English, From Shakespeare to “South Park.???

In reviewing the book for The New York Times, Neil Genzlinger calls it “an entertaining tour of the English language??? that “shows that many of the rules that editors and other grammatical zealots wave about like cudgels are arbitrary and destined to be swept aside as words and usage evolve.??? In other words, the rule that’s stumping today you will likely not even matter tomorrow.

Genzlinger quotes Lynch: “Too often, the mavens and pundits are talking through their hats. They’re guilty of turning superstitions into rules, and often their proclamations are nothing more than prejudice representing itself as principle.??? So if you’re holding yourself back by second-guessing every sentence, try not to be so hard on yourself. Write your autobiography with passion and purpose, and you’ll probably do fine.


Start Your Autobiography with a Powerful First Line

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“I was born in [name your year] in [name your town].??? Sure, you can begin your autobiography with that sentence. But, really, why would you? Be creative, and make the first line of your memoirs drive the reader to want to learn more about you.

How? You can throw a little intrigue into your first sentence—make it mysterious in some way. An example comes from singer Janis Ian’s 2009 work, Society’s Child: My Autobiography, which reads, “I was born into the crack that split America.??? A sentence like that leads the reader to wonder what it means exactly and, thus, encourages further reading. Or, you can make a statement that, while deceivingly simple, also startles: “I was born in a house my father built??? is the first sentence of Richard Nixon’s memoirs. A third example, a multiple-sentence lead written by artist Salvador Dali, speaks for itself in giving the reader a good idea of the author’s personality: “At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.???

You might want to wait until you have several chapters of your memoirs written before you tackle your opening line. Or, start from the beginning and write your first line, but keep an open mind that you might want to change it as you get a feel for your own story and style of writing.

Take Your Memoirs on the Road

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If you travel, that week away from the computer can wreak havoc with your memoir writing momentum. Perhaps you sit down to write at the same time each day, or you find that you write best when you’re in your own environment. Put you in a hotel room with a schedule of sightseeing, or in the guest room of your daughter’s home with grandchildren to entertain you, and the memoir writing goes right out the window. When you do return home, you may find that you’re out of the habit. This can be so disrupting that you may not return to writing your autobiography.

It doesn’t have to be that way. The best way to ensure that you don’t derail your efforts is to take a laptop with you when you travel. I’m not here to promote any particular technology, but I will say that since I bought a 10-inch, 2.8-pound laptop that fits into a large purse, I can easily transport my Word files as well as my wi-fi internet compatibility wherever I go. It makes the decision of whether to take work with me an easy one.

Traveling can actually inspire your memoir writing. Sometimes when you’re away from home, you can more intensely tap into your creativity. Or if you’re visiting your old hometown or other familiar spot, you may remember things that happened that you’d otherwise overlook. So the next trip you take, don’t leave your memoirs at home!

Cold? Cozy Up to Your Memoir Writing Desk

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blog22We know that we have members on WriteMyMemoirs from all over the world, so maybe you’re in the southern hemisphere—Australia, perhaps?—enjoying summer right now. However, since most of our members live in North America or Europe, as I do, I’m guessing it’s pretty cold where you are. I know it is here in the Midwest!

January and February can be “character-building??? months. My windows are frosty, and it’s in the single digits out there. But that’s why, if you made a new year’s resolution to write your autobiography, this weather presents your best shot of honoring your promise to yourself. This is hunker-down weather, folks! Nothing is distracting you from the task at hand. The birds aren’t singing out there, flowers aren’t blooming, kids aren’t flying kites. No warm breezes beckon you to leave your writing room; if you stop to smell the roses you’ll likely end up with a frostbitten face.

So turn up the heat and be grateful that nature supplies us with a respite from all of those busy outdoor activities. Grab a cup of hot tea or cocoa and sit down for some serious memoir writing. If you ski or love to be out in the snow, you’ll have to find other motivation. But, for me, January is a very productive month!

Photo: © Lori Walter courtesy of Dreamstime

Seasonal Gifts Can Add Up to a Memoir

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blog19The older you are, the harder it is to choose an appropriate holiday gift for you. You probably already have everything you need. Another bangle, necktie or bottle of cologne? Unnecessary. Something for the house? Not when you’re trying to downsize. Your children may resort to coupons for “one garage clean-up,??? while your grandchildren will color yet another picture for you to stick on your refrigerator.

Since you’re here writing your memoirs, I have an idea for you. Ask your loved ones to write out a story they remember from their lives that involves you in some way. Maybe your son fondly recalls the first time you took him to the ballpark, or your daughter remembers details about the family vacation at the seashore. Your best friend may have a recollection of time you spent together that you’d forgotten all about! If you have parents, they can write or record tales from your childhood that may have happened when you were so young that you don’t remember.

When the holidays are over and you sit down in earnest to resume writing your autobiography, these stories will be helpful to you. Like a reporter, you can quote them directly, or you even can devote a whole chapter to them and include them exactly as they’re written. It will make your memoirs richer to get an outside perspective, and the contributors will know that they’ve given you a gift you truly appreciate and will use.

New Book Traces the History of Memoir Writing

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blog16The urge to write memoirs has long been part of the human psyche, according to a new book, Memoir: A History, in which author Ben Yagoda connects the dots through 2,000 years of memoirs. In tackling the question of whether an autobiography must be 100 percent true and accurate, Yagoda concludes that telling your story in good faith is more important than getting every fact perfectly straight, according to the New York Times review of the book.

The aspect of memoirs that interests me more, however, is the widespread desire to write one. Why put so much energy into this task? I don’t believe that a hope to get rich from publishing their story is what drives people to write about themselves. The Times reviewer, Judith Shulevitz, theorizes that it’s a universal need to tell our side of things—to explain why we’ve done what we’ve done. Shulevitz quotes philosopher Hilary Putnam: “We are, most of us, interested in justifying at least some features of our own style of life, in the sense of giving a defense of them that would appeal to others.???

This strikes a chord with me; most of us want to be liked or, at least, understood. The latest big-deal autobiography to hit the bookstores, Going Rogue, would not have been written if author Sarah Palin hadn’t felt the need to tell her side of what went on during last year’s presidential campaign. As you write your memoirs, you may experience some of that “justification satisfaction??? yourself.

Retirement Years Too Busy for Writing Memoirs?

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blog13Last time I mentioned Moon River and Me, a new memoir by Andy Williams. This leads me to an intriguing quote that Williams gave to Parade a couple of weeks ago. He told the reporter that this is the busiest time of his life. He’s 81 years old!

Giving interviews about his autobiography is probably one reason Andy has been so busy lately. But he also performs at his theater in Branson, Missouri, makes guest appearances and perhaps is catching up on the family time he says he missed when his children were growing up. But I doubt that he’s the only 81-year-old who doesn’t sit in the rocking chair. Today’s octogenarians have plenty on their plate. Some are raising grandchildren or at least highly active in the lives of their families, many continue to work and lots of seniors make a second career out of hobbies or volunteering for causes close to their hearts.

If you’re busy doing a gazillion things, and unlike Andy Williams you don’t have a book deal deadline and an editor breathing down your neck for motivation, you might find that days and weeks pass without adding a word to your memoirs. The best way to stay on task is to set aside specific times to work on your autobiography. Otherwise, you get so busy living that you neglect to fulfill your goal of recording your life’s events!

Photo: © Rosanne Ullman

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Then just set up a chapter and start writing your memoir. Don’t worry about rules. There are no rules to writing your memoir; there are only trends. These trends are based on techniques and features identified in current top-selling memoirs. At best, they’re the flavor of the month. If you’re capturing your life in print for your family, for your own gratification or to inspire readers, rather than aiming to set off Hollywood screenplay bidding wars, these trends don’t even apply to you. You’ll write the memoir that suits you best, and it will be timeless, not trend-driven.There are no rules, but there are four steps:

1. Theme/framework
2. Writing
3. Editing/polishing
4. Self-publishing

You’ve researched this, too, and you’ve been shocked at the price for getting help with any one of those steps, much less all four. That’s because most memoir sites promise to commercialize your work. They’ll follow a formula based on current memoir trends, because they want to convince you that they can turn your memoir into a best-seller. These sites overwhelm you with unnecessary information not to help you, the memoir author, but to address Search Engine Optimization (SEO) algorithms so they can sell more.

That’s not what we do at Write My Memoirs. Our small community of coaches, writers and editors are every bit as skilled as any you’ll find, and we charge appropriately for their expertise and the time they’ll spend helping you craft a compelling, enjoyable read. But you won’t pay an upcharge for other websites’ commercialization, the marketing that follows, and the pages of intimidating “advice.” You can sell your book if you like—we have ISBNs available for you—but our organic process of capturing your story takes a noncommercial path.

If you want help with any or all of the four steps above, choose from our services or save money by selecting one of our packages. If you’d like to talk about what’s right for you, schedule a call. One year from now, you can be holding your published memoir in your hand. And at that point, it will be a big deal!

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