Author Alex Haley once famously wrote, “Every time an old person dies, it’s like a library burning down.”
For many, writing a memoir is a way to document our personal histories, to reflect on our lives, and leave something of ourselves behind. But why should older people—or anyone--write their memoirs? By which do we mean regular, everyday people, rather than Mick Jagger, a politician or a renowned scientist, or the like?
As we age, we become increasingly aware of the value of our life stories. Whether we have lived through significant historical events, or experienced great personal triumphs and challenges, our stories are an opportunity to leave a legacy for our children, grandchildren, and other family members. Crafting a memoir can provide an invaluable record of our lives that can be passed down for generations to come.
Writing a memoir can also help us to make sense of our lives, to better understand our experiences, and to make peace with our past. It can help us to appreciate our own resilience and courage, and to celebrate our successes. Looking back on our lives can also give us a sense of closure and a renewed appreciation of the here and now.
In addition to the value of our life stories, crafting a memoir can also provide a creative outlet. Writing can be an immensely satisfying experience and it can help us to explore our lives in a different way. Writing about our experiences can also be a great source of comfort, enabling us to find strength and solace in our memories.
Finally, writing a memoir can be a wonderful way to bridge the generational gap. Through our stories, we can share our life experiences with our children, grandchildren, and other family members, enabling them to gain a better understanding of our lives and the world in which we lived.
In short, writing a memoir is one of the most meaningful and rewarding experiences we can have. So, if you’re an older person, why not consider writing your memoirs while you still can? Through our stories, we can pass down our wisdom, courage, and resilience to our children, grandchildren, and other family members, ensuring that our legacy will live on for many years to come.
If you have a memoir sitting in that closet, that desk drawer, hidden underneath the desk—isn’t it time that you bit the bullet and brought it out into the daylight? We’ve done many memoirs and we can help!
Hey, guys!
You may be thinking that my title for this article seems a bit...well, harsh. At the KDP forums, (where I've been donating time for the last 11-12 years, to help DIYers), I have in fact been called harsh, lately. Why? Because I'm losing my mind with the endless parade of would-be kids' book authors, that just can't seem to find anything better to do than to screw up their books, particularly in print. If you want to write a successful book for old Albert, over there, with his ice cream cone, let's talk about it, right?
"But, but...what do you mean, that it will cost THAT MUCH?!"
Thus begins a discussion that I get to have, repeatedly, with new-to-it self-publishers that have come to us, with a manuscript that they've tended lovingly, worked on, slaved over for months--and have chosen just the perfect image--in color--for some element or the other. A frontispiece, let's say, or just a small graphic detail for the title page. (You remember the icon-ish graphics for The Hunger Games books, right?)
What is Full Bleed, and How Does it Affect Self-Publishers?
It Goes Around, It Goes Aroouuuunnnnd the book...
Once your print book is in production with us for layout, it's time to think about the creation of your full cover--front, back, and spine. You can't just take three pieces to Createspace and hope that they'll get your cover right. Instead, you or your cover designer will go here: Createspace Cover Template Maker.
Here at Booknook.Biz, we've been doing this for quite a while now. One thing I can't help but notice is that the same questions get asked at the KDP Publisher's forums, over and over again. To help prospective publishers, I'm going to answer them here.
What Is The Purpose of An ISBN?
Every single day, I'm asked about ISBNs. Yup--every single day. I get self-publishers who have purchased one ISBN; I get self-publishers who have purchased a pack of ten. I receive book files with a metadata sheet showing one ISBN per "format," a format being print, ePUB, or MOBI. I'm constantly asked if self-pubs need an ISBN "for their copyright." It's obvious to me that people don't really understand the purpose of an ISBN, so let's dig in, and once and for all, set out the facts.
