Is the public hooked on celebrity memoirs?
Yes, is the fast answer. With Prince Harry’s book Spare soon to become to greatest selling memoir of all time, and celebrities like Boris Johnson saying that he is writing his memoir too (like no other!), is there still space in the market for lesser known authors?
Yet again the answer is yes, but let’s unpick why.
Have you overcome a huge obstacle in your life?
This could be health wise, as in The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, whose husband rose above severe health problems and walked, including wild camping, along coastal paths of the south-west of England.
It could be some kind of learning difficulty which you turn around to your advantage, for example Richard Branson who has dyslexia, and writes in his blog about Kate Griggs, who has her own story to tell. See This is Dyslexia, a blog by Richard Branson himself.
You could be rising above one of those traumatic moments in your life ~ bereavement, redundancy, divorce, empty nest syndrome …. Our own author Diana Jackson wrote The Healing Paths of Fife after being made redundant and relocating 400 miles away from home. Diana has raised over £700 for local charities, including The Kirkcaldy Foodbank with this book.
You could be becoming aware of your own sexuality as in Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo.
In the end, if you are thinking of writing your memoir, then question who your target audience might be:
Questions you might ask yourself?
Who would read it?
Who might be inspired by your memories?
Who could learn something from your experiences?
Does it make a gripping or/and enjoyable read?
IMPORTANT POINT: Be careful of libel though, if you are including stories of real people in your life including confessions for example, but that is really another blog post entirely.
How should you write my memoir?
A memoir does not have to be linear to have an impact. It could be a series of stories written at key times in your life. It could be in poetry form, or part thereof. It does, however, need to flow, and have an order which makes sense.
Eventispress has just taken on a new writer who has done just that. It has taken about two years of tweaking to find a format which works, weaving together several otherwise random life stories, but it now works as a whole; so beautiful and moving. Watch this space!
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