5 Tips for Writing a Publishable Memoir

Writing a memoir can be something a writer does to pass something on to family members, to share an experience with the public, or even as a form of therapy. Memoirs are non-fiction stories written from the perspective of the author. They are different from autobiographies, which are chronological, fact-based records of ones life. Memoirs capture a specific event, topic, or perspective of the author.

If you want to get a published memoir, there are certain thing to keep in mind. Whatever your reason is for writing a memoir, here are some tips to keep in mind as you work on this project.

While it is tempting to fix all the spelling and grammatical errors as you go along, this will slow up the process. Memoirs are filled with memories that have been stored up in your brain and are ready to be down on paper. Sometimes, these memories come out in a overflowing flood of words. If you pause to use the thesaurus for a more appropriate word or fix grammar errors, you may lose that constant stream of words.

If you come to a place where you got all your thoughts out and then you want to go back to revise and edit, feel free. Just don’t disrupt your thoughts before you get them down on paper. Try to get through an entire rough draft before you make any major edits.

As hard as it may be, resist the urge to explain everything. Let the reader be curious. Remember this is a memoir, not an autobiography. Leaving out irrelevant details keeps the story on track and prevents the reader from being bored or overwhelmed by too much information. Unless, you are famous or did something amazing, people don’t need to know every detail of your life. They want a story. As the story goes on, you may need to fill in details, but only if they are necessary to keep the reader interested.

At a writing workshop I attended, the speaker told the audience that what you sacrifice in exactitude, you more than gain in reader engagement. If a reader is bored, he or she will put the book down and move on to a more interesting activity.

While you want people to get to know you and be intrigued by your story, a memoir is not a diary. You want to have some structure and not a book filled with personal ramblings that may not be interesting to readers.

Keep in mind that what you say will affect other people. If you plan on publishing your memoir, be aware of what you reveal about other people. You should discuss the memoir with the individuals. You want the story to be personal, but if something is particularly private about other individuals, it is strongly recommended to change their names in your book. Just be sure and put a disclaimer in the front of your book stating that some names and identifying details have been changed.

When you write a paper in high school or college, your teacher probably stressed to use third person point of view. A memoir is a true story from your point of view and not an objective piece of journalism. The reader expects you to tell the story from your point of view.

Also, be aware that while you should not get into boring details, a little but of background information may be necessary. Remember that the people reading your memoir won't understand any "inside jokes" so you may need to provide a bit of a back-story to illustrate the context of certain events. As long as this information helps move the story along, you may need to provide some details.

If some memoirs, there may be references to a time in history or pop culture events. If these facts are in your story, make sure they are accurate. You don’t want to undermine your credibility with your readers.

Along these lines, make sure your story is truthful and not fabricated. You may remember the book A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. If not, basically the controversy behind Frey’s book was that he portrayed it as a factual memoir, but there was a lot of fabrication in his book that created an uproar. While you may get a bunch of people buying your book, it is not recommended if you ever want to publish again.