Memoirs Need More than Just the Facts

I’ve noticed quite often people come to me wanting to write an autobiography, when what they really want is a memoir. Just to clarify, a biography is the story of a life from birth to death, and an autobiography is your own life story from birth to present day. Quite frankly, nobody is interested in either of those, unless you are already famous.

A memoir, on the other hand, is the story of an interesting slice of your life, such as when you spent a year travelling the world in a sailboat, competed in the Olympics or built a successful business. Any of these have potential to be of interest to readers, if told well.

I recently spoke with someone about coaching her to write her book. She told me she has a tendency to simply state facts very succinctly, but isn’t sure how to make them interesting. That’s quite common.

Someone might say, for example, “When I was ten I dived into shallow water and broke my back. That was really traumatic for me.” Yes, I’m sure it was, but it doesn’t make much of a story if that’s all you say about it. As your book coach or ghostwriter, I would ask questions to get the whole story in detail, including your feelings and the impact of the accident. That makes it interesting to your readers.

Sometimes we don’t see the drama in our own stories until someone else pulls it out of us. That’s just one good reason to collaborate with a ghostwriter or book coach!

Need some help with the drama? Drop me a line at [email protected] and let’s have a no-obligation chat about how I might help. You CAN write your book in 2025—let me help you do it!

#executiveauthors #memoirstories #storytelling