Writer’s Digest - Write a Memoir to Remember!

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An interesting life and excellent writing are key to a compelling memoir.

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Learn the elements that will help make your story stand out from the
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Everyone has a story to tell, be it your own life story or that of a family member
or friend. Memoir writing is a popular trend; no doubt another byproduct of the
Need a baby boom, many people in their 40s, 50s and 60s feel compelled to commit
Publishing their life stories to paper, whether it be to honor someone who's made a
Agent? difference in their lives, to heal wounds, to record their family histories, or to
Let Us Find a leave a legacy to future generations.
Publisher For
You. Easy 3 Step When judging the life stories category for the Writer's Digest National Self-
Process. Start Published Book Awards and teaching memoir writing for the
Now! WritersOnlineWorkshops.com, I see a variety of memoirs. A few could be the
www.FindYourPublisher.co.uk next Angela's Ashes or The Color of Water or Rocket Boys or the real-life-
turned-fiction family history memoir Cane River—that is, the best sellers of
memoir writing. Others may not hit the best-seller list, but will still attract the
attention of commercial publishers. Most are destined for self-publication, which
likely means they will reach far fewer readers. Most Recent Most Popular
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How can you write your memoir so that it has the best chance of attracting an How to Write Intriguing Male and Female
agent or publisher? Characters
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Jillian Manus, agent for Lalita Tademy's Cane River, says a commercially
Ask the Pro: Literary Agent Rachelle
publishable memoir needs four crucial elements: wonderful writing; appeal for a
Gardner
large audience; at least one sympathetic character; and an inspirational,
Ask the Pro: Literary Agent Chris Richman
thought-provoking story.
Ask the Pro: Assistant Agent Suzie
Celina Spiegel, co-editorial director at Riverhead Books and editor for James Townsend
McBride's The Color of Water, agrees. "No matter how appealing your story, if Ask the Pro: Literary Agent Ted Weinstein
you're going to write it down, you have to be able to write," she says. "Many Get the Inside Track to Agents
people have wonderfully interesting lives that they will never be able to The 90 Day Novel
communicate on the page, while others with less dramatic lives, but who are
talented as writers and as observers of their lives, will be able to make
otherwise ordinary events seem riveting and meaningful.
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"Part of the gift of the memoirist is to be able to find the extraordinary in the
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Beyond being an excellent writer and having a fascinating life, other elements See all available back issues of Writers Digest
can help your memoir stand out. Save up to 70% on writing books!

Universality Do you know the 179 Ways to Save a Novel?

Some common themes for memoirs include
dealing with the Vietnam experience; losing a
child to a terminal illness or suicide; coping
with a physical handicap; leaving one's
husband or family in midlife to start over in
an exotic location; finding God; and
recovering from a drug or alcohol addiction.
Many people can relate to one of these
experiences, but what twist does your story
have to set it apart from other memoirs that
cover the same general ground?
One common memoir theme is the diagnosis,
On the Shelf
These books may be helpful as
you write your memoir:
Inventing the Truth: The Art
and Craft of Memoir edited by
William Zinsser (Mariner)
Memoirs of the Soul: Writing
Your Spiritual Autobiography by
Nan Merrick Phifer (Walking Stick
Press)
Take an Advanced Memoir Writing Workshop
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Best Selling Books for Writers
1. 2011 Writer's Market Deluxe Edition
2. Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript
3. 102 Ways to Earn Money Writing 1500 Words
or Less
4. Showing & Telling

http://www.writersdigest.com/article/Write_a_Memoir_to_Remember/ Page 1 of 4
Writer’s Digest - Write a Memoir to Remember! 14/09/2010 16:44

treatment and survival of cancer. Susan Rust, You Can Write a Memoir by
5. 2011 Guide to Literary Agents
who is writing her memoir based on her Susan Carol Hauser (Writer's
breast cancer experiences, has a unique story Digest Books)
in several ways. Besides coping with the
Writing the Memoir by Judith
traditional circumstances revolving around
Barrington (Eighth Mountain
mastectomy (a double one, at that) and
Press)
chemotherapy, she is a divorced mom who
dates. How does a woman in her mid-40s tell Write From Life by Meg Files
a man she's dating that she has no breasts? (Writer's Digest Books)
And when should she tell him? Rust's talent
for humor writing adds another element that the average breast cancer survivor
story lacks.

The hook

It's the rare writer who can open a story with the day someone was born, grab
the reader's attention and, more importantly, keep it. Many successful
memoirists choose instead to use fiction writing's flashback technique. They start
in the middle of the story, then use flashbacks to fill in the gaps.

Edward Ball, author of the award-winning Slaves in the Family, initially thought
he'd write his family history memoir in chronological order, but his editor
suggested he use a "flash back/flash forward structure—one chapter in the past,
one chapter in the present," which worked very well to connect the story and the
reader with both living and past generations.

Consider opening your life story narrative with one of the happiest, most
memorable, unusual or exciting events, or a turning point. Create an air of
mystery so the reader will want more. This is how Rust begins her breast cancer
memoir:

I am afraid of chemo. I picture being strapped into an electric chair and hooked
up to an assortment of machines that will do weird things to me. I'll be
radioactive, glow in the dark. My hair will fall out instantly, my skin will turn
gray. I'll look like the walking dead. Or maybe I'll be too weak to walk at all. The
treatment will take days. It will hurt. My outwardly healthy-looking body will
deflate like a balloon with each hit to my system, until I'm a shadow of my
former self. My clothes will hang on skin and bones. There will be dark rings
around my eyes, a shadowy pallor, a gaunt look about me. My kids won't
recognize me. I won't recognize myself. I won't be able to concentrate. Life will
become a blur, one medical moment after another.

Rather than beginning with the day she was diagnosed, she plunges us into
chemotherapy—the most terrifying part of the whole ordeal, perhaps even
scarier than her own mortality or losing a breast. Everyone is afraid of chemo,
and Rust becomes our voice for those unspeakable fears. Though the opening
portrait is grim, we continue to read because we want to see—and believe—that
it will be better than this, that there is hope.

The story

All good stories—whether fiction, nonfiction or memoir—have these basic

elements:

Conflicts. Things, places or people who

Memoir Markets
get in the main character's way, preventing
him or her from achieving goals or desires.
The story shows how the character
Here's a sampling of publishers who
overcomes these obstacles—or doesn't. Do
indicated interest in memoirs in
wrap things up by the story's end;
2002 Writer's Market. For more
unresolved conflicts only frustrate readers.
information or other markets, consult
A beginning, middle and end. "If you, Writer's Market or
the writer, are not certain what your story www.writersmarket.com.)
is, you'll quickly lose your readers," says
Chicago Review Press,
Homer H. Hickam Jr., author of Rocket
Acquisitions: Cynthia Sherry,
Boys: A Memoir. He advises "choosing only
executive editor (general nonfiction),
those episodes in your life that keep the
814 N. Franklin, Chicago IL 60610;
story on track." While you may have a
Tel: (312)337-0747; Fax: (312)337-
main plot and a couple of subplots, ask
5985; e-mail: csherry@ipgbook.com;
yourself whether each scene is relevant to
www.ipgbook.com. Publishes
those plots. If you cut that scene, will the
hardcover and trade paperback
story stand fine without it? If so, then it's
originals. Publishes 30-35 titles/year.
not relevant to your memoir.
Receives 200 queries and 600
Believable, sympathetic characters. mss/year. 50% of books from first-

You're writing about real-life people, who time authors; 50% from unagented

by their very nature of existence should be
believable. But some writers tend to
portray those they love through rose-
colored glasses or those they despise too
harshly.
Character evolution. As in fiction writing,
characters in a memoir must grow and
writers. Pays 7-12% royalty. Offers
$1,500-5,000 average advance.
Publishes mss 18 months after
acceptance. Accepts simultaneous
submissions. Responds in 3 months.
Guidelines for #10 SASE. Query with
outline, table of contents, and 1-2
sample chapters.

http://www.writersdigest.com/article/Write_a_Memoir_to_Remember/ Page 2 of 4
Writer’s Digest - Write a Memoir to Remember!
change, usually as a result of conflicts and
resolutions. Tell the reader why you made
certain life decisions. Include details that
led to resolutions. Reflect on your past;
don't just record it.
Research and context
When my online students are asked what
sources they will use to write their
memoirs, those writing about their own
lives and the recent past respond with "my
memories." That is what a memoir is
drawn from—your memories—but there are
still considerations to keep in mind
regarding context.
You may be writing about an event in the
1950s, or as recently as the 1990s, and
not realize you still need to explain things.
For example, suppose you're writing about
your time in the Navy during the Korean
War. You are describing the training you
went through and mention wearing a Mae
West. Will your readers understand this
term? Along with explaining what a Mae
West was—a life jacket—you may also
need to do some background research to
help your reader understand why a life
jacket was named for this actress. Indeed,
will readers in their 20s today know who
Mae West was? That could require further
explanation. In general, don't assume that
your readers will understand slang terms
or pop culture references.
While your memoir begins with your
memories, you should also look to others
for additional details and background
information. When James McBride was
writing The Color of Water: A Black Man's
Tribute to His White Mother, he
interviewed "probably a hundred people,"
even though his story was based on his
own memories. "I sat down and talked to
people, and I got information from them
that I didn't necessarily remember that
clearly. So I interviewed all sorts of people
who could give me details."
And don't worry if another person's
memories conflict with what you remember
—you will never convince the other person
that it really happened another way. Tell
the story as you remember it, then you
could always add, "My sister remembers
another version, however. ..."
The details
While writing your memoir, probe as
deeply as you can to fill out a scene or an
event. Use photographs, letters, diaries,
interviews or background research to
explain, reflect and fill out your narrative.
In the details, you will begin to make
sense of your life experiences. Some
budding memoirists rush through a scene
without stopping to smell the rain on the
pavement. Granted, you don't want to
overwhelm your readers with details; you
have to keep the story moving along. If
the scene or event is crucial, slow down
and describe it so that the reader can
experience it with you.
Keep the faith
Agent Jillian Manus advises that if your memoir doesn't attract someone's
attention right away, go the self-publishing route. She, along with other agents
and editors, keep an eye on self-published books. It also can help to enter
competitions. One inspirational memoir that won the Writer's Digest National
Self-Published Book Awards, Kenny Kemp's Dad Was a Carpenter: Blueprints for
a Meaningful Life, was picked up by HarperCollins San Francisco in a six-figure
http://www.writersdigest.com/article/Write_a_Memoir_to_Remember/
14/09/2010 16:44
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Paperbacks, Acquisitions: Elisabeth
Dyssegaard, executive editor, 19
Union Square West, New York NY
10003; Tel: (212)741-6900; Fax:
(212)633-9385. Publishes trade
paperback originals and reprints.
Publishes 70 titles/year. Receives
1,500-2,000 queries/mss per year.
Pays 6% royalty on retail price.
Advance varies. Accepts
simultaneous submissions. Responds
in 2 months to queries and
proposals. Book catalog and mss
guidelines free. Query with outline,
2-3 sample chapters, cover letter
describing project and SASE. No
unsolicited mss. Only accepts
agented submissions.
Loft Press, Acquisitions: Ann A.
Hunter, editor-in-chief, P.O. Box
126, Fort Valley VA 22652; Tel:
(540)933-6210;
www.loftpress.com. Publishes
hardcover and trade paperback
originals and reprints. Publishes 12-
20 titles/year. Receives 200
queries/year and 150 mss/year. 50%
of books from first-time authors;
100% of books from unagented
writers. Pays royalty on net receipts.
Publishes mss 6 months after
acceptance. Query with outline and 1
sample chapter.
Encounter Books, Acquisitions:
Peter Collier, publisher, 116 New
Montgomery St., Suite 206, San
Francisco CA 94105; Tel: (415)538-
1460; Fax: (415)538-1461;
www.encounterbooks.com.
Publishes hardcover originals and
trade paperback reprints. Publishes
12-20 titles/year. Receives 500
queries/year and 200 mss/year. 40%
of books from first-time authors;
60% of books from unagented
writers. Pays 7-10% royalty on retail
price. Offers $2,000-25,000
advance. Publishes mss 22 months
after acceptance. Accepts
simultaneous submissions. Responds
in 3 months. Query with outline and
1 sample chapter.
The Narrative Press, Acquisitions:
William Urschel, publisher (true first-
person adventure and exploration),
P.O. Box 2487, Santa Barbara CA
93101; Tel: (805)884-0160; Fax:
(805)884-6127; e-mail:
customerservice@narrativepress.com;
www.narrativepress.com. Terms:
Publishes trade paperback originals
and reprints, and electronic originals
and reprints. Publishes 50 titles/year.
Receives 100 queries/year and 20
submissions/year. 10% of books
from first-time authors; 50% of
books from unagented writers.
Publishes mss 2 months after
acceptance. Accepts simultaneous
submissions. Responds in 1 month.
Query with SASE.
Page 3 of 4
Writer’s Digest - Write a Memoir to Remember! 14/09/2010 16:44

deal. So get that memoir written and in print!

This article appeared in the July 2002 issue of Writer's Digest.

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