Writing Memoir: Author, Narrator, Protagonist Memoir has become nearly as popular a genre as fiction. It’s the stuff of which movies are made. Almost everyone I meet thinks they have a story worth telling.  And today nearly everyone thinks they can publish their memoir. Brooke Warner, publisher of She Writes Press, recently suggested in The Huffington Post the pursuit of publication is a birthright. Finding a traditional publisher, however, is not. If you write a poem it does not make you a poet. This is not to suggest the only value found in writing poetry is in getting paid for it. The same is true for memoir. There are many reasons to write. Publishing is only one of them. A memoir intended to be sold as a book requires a writer collapse three roles into one: author, narrator, and protagonist. As an author, you write for an audience, for your readers. It means going public. Your personal life goes under review and readers judge you. Writing your story and publishing your story are two very different things. You need to write first before you can publish. But writing your story for the public may involve rewriting when you consider the ramifications of your words on those you write about and the effect it has on readers. As the narrator of the story, you write from your first-person point-of-view. The readers, however, judge a narrator on a variety of qualities, including how reliable you are.  The narrator’s style and voice may…

Social media marketing of books is an extension of the tried and true method of word-of-mouth advertising. Reviews and personal recommendations have historically  played a more fundamental role in a reader’s decision of what book to read than traditional advertising. Today friends and family share what they are reading on Facebook, GoodReads, Twitter. What technology adds to the mix is a way for authors and readers to find each another and communicate. Publishers rely on authors to market their books by making direct one-to-one connections to readers. This means the success of your book requires your strategic use of social media for social purposes. You don’t have to “do it all,” rather do it wisely. Be There Give up your fantasy that someone else can ‘do this’ for you. Or that you can program your status updates and blog posts like a robot. Your presence is required to respond to live engagement with readers. It’s tempting to use an automated tweet scheduler to take some of the effort out of your social media strategy. However small your amount of time online per day is, you open a window to your readers. You want to be able to respond. Don’t leave a potential reader who tries to engage with you hanging. Be present. Be Shareable Are your blog posts simply personal journal entries, or are they something that goes beyond yourself? If you are writing just about you, the circle of friends and family might constrict rather than expand your network.…

You’ve polished your manuscript. Encouraged by friends and family who read earlier versions, you incorporated their feedback and suggestions into your final draft. Following a style guide, you also checked spelling and grammar. You’ve taken your work to the best of your abilities and are proud of your efforts. Then, you deliver the document to an editor for professional review. And that’s when self-doubt kicks in. What if the editor doesn’t like it? Does the organization of the chapters really work? Have I made some embarrassing mistake inadvertently? Is there a strong narrative arc? Will I have to rewrite it again? A writer takes an enormous personal risk when they give their work to a professional editor. For many, the personal experience of writing is therapeutic. Sharing with others what they have written is simply too risky. And that is okay. Not everything one writes needs to be read by others. But if your intention is to be read, then take the risk. The accomplishment of completing a book length manuscript is significant and worthy of celebration. For every 100 people I meet who tell me they have been thinking about writing a book, only one actually does it. So you’re already ahead of the pack with your sheer persistence. Learning how to seek and receive editorial assistance is the next step toward publication of the manuscript. Writing is largely a solitary task, yet publishing is a social practice involving editors, authors, and readers. An editor’s objective is to make your…