“I have a memoir.” An excited conferee said sitting across from an acquisitions editor.
An awkward silence seeped across the table. The editor tinkered with the manuscript. “We aren’t looking for memoirs.”
“But your site says you publish them.”
“We publish memoirs if you’re Brad Pitt, or George Clooney or you have a platform of millions.”
“But we have a story about how my mother overcame cancer.”
The editor smiled. “Thousands overcome cancer. It’s an over done topic.”
Why are memoirs so hard to sell? I can answer that but please don’t shoot the messenger. It’s important to know the facts and remember exceptions always exist. Being in the right place, at the right time, with the perfect manuscript does happen for some, but for most, the work doesn’t supersede the obstacles.
A popular phrase at writing conferences is, “Everyone has a story.” And that is true. If you want to be a writer, you probably have a story twirling around in your head about a conspiracy theory, or a romance. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have a personal story – aka memoir.
Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times, it best described in his 2011 article, why memoirs are not successful for most authors.
You can write a successful memoir, but it is important to understand that without the proper platform, selling the manuscript is difficult. The story must be unique, digging deep into the overall life of the person, stear hard away from author sympathy. There are successful memoirs by unknown authors, but it’s their construction and twists that set them apart.
Here’s why:
The memoir becomes a cry for sympathy for the author – Be it true or not, this is how the public takes note. We live in a world of “it’s all about me.” Readers are not interested in feeling sorry for someone when they have their own issues. Writing a compelling memoir pushes the author to the side and tells the real story without constant author interruption.
Readers don’t want to suffer – Many times a memoir focuses on the pain and agony of an issue forgetting the good things in the lives of those who have lived the story. Often the author wants the reader to feel their pain – and if feeling the pain once isn’t enough, they relentlessly beat the reader over the head thinking that incessant reminders will help it “sink in.” Readers are not dumb. They get the pain and suffering without having it stuffed down their throat every other paragraph. Learning to show the incident with balance and control allows a reader to become sympathetic and interested, rather than put off.
There is no real meaning – Often writers tell the story of a hardship they’ve experienced and it ends
leaving the reader with no real meaning. No sense of accomplishment. Readers feel unfulfilled and cheated – it was simply a story about overcoming a disease. Remember the movies in the 8os that started out as good, but when they ended, there was nothing. No resolution, no joy, nothing. The movie just ended leaving you hanging in a lurch. When a memoir ends, there should be resolution and an end, that even if it’s tough, shows some sort of hope or determination to persevere.
If you want to write a memoir, remember these things:
If you choose to write a memoir, research, practice. Look for your unique twist. Seek guidance from someone who is accomplished in writing a memoir. Their guidance will be valuable. A good memoir doesn’t just talk about an accomplishment, it helps to change lives.
Photo 1 courtesy of www.morgefile.com & mensatic
Photo 2 courtesy of pixabay.com & bogitw
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