Memoir Writing For Dummies

by Ryan G. Van Cleave

The fast and easy way to write your memoir Memoir writing is a growing phenomenon, and not just by celebrities and politicians. Everyone has a story to tell, and Memoir Writing For Dummies provides hopeful writers with the tools they need to share their life stories with the world and become published authors. With easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions―along with helpful tips and advice on how to get published― Memoir Writing For Dummies shows you how to put pen to paper and hone the craft of writing a truly compelling memoir. You'll get advice on how to explore your memories, map out your story, perfect your plot, setting, character, and dialogue, and so much more. Packed with proven tips and writing tricks of the trade, Memoir Writing For Dummies gives you everything you need to ensure your life story is never forgotten.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Memoir, Reference, Self Help

384 pages, Paperback

First published February 4, 2013

Reviews

[Abby Hargreaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Ryan G. Van Cleave offers his tips and insights to memoir writing and publication in this standard For Dummies book.

I used this as a sort of syllabus for a limited memoir writing class I taught in my capacity as a librarian. Van Cleave breaks memoir writing into smart sections, covering everything from basic writing standards to more specific advice around navigating dissenting memories as you craft your memoir. Great for either reading straight through or using as a reference, the organization of the book makes a lot of sense and allows for skipping lessons when the reader is well-versed in a topic. The book provides both in-text and referred-to examples with details on why a given example illustrates a given point. Though Van Cleave's personal experience with memoir writing is iffy (his website lists Unplugged: My Journey into the Dark World of Video Game Addiction as his only direct experience with memoir, a title seemingly familiar to few given the number of ratings available), his practical and straightforward advice with specifics is undeniably useful and applicable. Memoir Writing for Dummies, like many of the titles of the series, is a great choice for readers looking for more clinical instruction and useful for educators seeking a guiding light or outline for instructional design.

[Hannah Wolfram · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across Memoir Writing For Dummies while searching for a book that discusses traditional publishing versus self-publishing for nonfiction works. I’ve thought about writing a memoir for a little while now, but have never actually taken any actionable steps toward this goal… until now. In picking up this book, I have found not only the discussion I was hoping to read, but also a renewed interest in telling my own story.

This book is broken down into five major sections, each of which has several chapters nestled under it. Part One discusses what your first steps towards writing your memoir could be, and includes investigating what readers look for in a story, and how you can begin to research and remember enough information to craft one. Part Two goes into many of the “nuts and bolts” of writing a good narrative, from character to dialogue to setting and scene. Part Three reveals how editing and revising can make your story better, including by figuring out what to include (and what to exclude.) Part Four is the portion I was particularly interested in: it discusses how to find a literary agent, submit to traditional publishers or self-publish, and marketing. We’re going to come back to this section later. Part Five is called the “Part of Tens,” and includes three lists of ten things about memoirs and writing your first book. While it may seem to be the least important, it actually has some good information in such a short form.

While the entirety of the book contains a lot of valuable information, I primarily want to focus on Part Four, which I spent the most time studying. The chapter on getting a literary agent taught me a couple things I didn’t know, including the standard cost of literary agents (did you know it’s gone up?) and some strategies to attempt to “woo” one. The chapter on traditional publishing discussed ways in which to submit your manuscript to a publisher and increase your chances of getting noticed. However, it also discussed something that is heavily contested in the author community: vanity presses. The book actually looks upon them slightly positively, which was a surprise considering how often they are dismissed by aspiring authors.

The chapter on self- and e-publishing, though, did not really impress me. It discussed some e-book distributors that I have never heard of (is Diesel still a thing?) as well as some of the big names (think Amazon KDP and Barnes and Noble). However, they did not discuss any of the fees associated with any of these distributors, although it mentioned that there were fees. I would have appreciated an idea, even a dated one, of the prices charged by these organizations.

The marketing chapter was also particularly relevant to me, and I found it particularly interesting when the book discussed the differences between publicity and marketing. They discuss what you can do with email lists and social media, but I would have appreciated some more details on how to build an email list or following (although I know these things can be highly variable.)

Overall, Ryan Van Cleave included some valuable insights in his book, but I would have appreciated some more details in the chapters on self-publishing and marketing.

[Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very lengthy, very thorough kind of look at memoir writing by this American author. Be warned, the memoir style in question is a distinctive and distinctly American one - all scenes, very creative, very literary in terms of language and style - but once you come to terms with this, this is an excellent book. As with all DUMMIES books, and I've liked most of the ones I've come across, it's laid out very clearly with good text boxes, asides, short chapters and plenty of practical advice. This and WRITING THE MEMOIR have both been invaluable for me.

[Cait · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic. If you are looking for a guide that is easy to read, insightful, actionable and covers all the bases, this is your guide. Ryan Van Cleave did an exceptional job detailing the daunting task of memoir writing in clear, practical steps, with tangible, clever examples and anecdotes along the way.

[Mary Foxe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skimmed.

[David Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read to research this post was Memoir Writing For Dummies by Ryan Van Cleave which is a very good book which I bought from kindle. Your main motivation in writing your memoirs shouldn't be to have a bestseller as that is unlikely as there is too much competition but should be to leave a legacy for your family. One lady told the author that when her grandmother died the whole family realised their knowledge of her life was only sketchy even though she had undoubted led an interesting life & for that reason she wanted to write her own autobiography for that reason. Obviously it helps in getting a publishing deal to do your memoirs if you are a celebrity or have done something outstanding like joined the marines and fought in a war but it's not essential and success especially if only a poorly written autobiography isn't guaranteed. A publishing deal will often only get you an advance of around $5,0000 which when you consider how long it takes to write a book isn't anything like being wealthy and you'll probably make more in a job paying minimum wage. An advance comes from what the publisher expects to make on a book and of course is recouped from the sales. Being really good at punctuation and spelling isn't essential as someone will proof read it anyway but it must be a good story and written in an interesting way. It doesn't hurt to open the story with an exciting scene which can be mid way through your life and which you can come back to later in the book. Many publishers are going the e-book route with sites like kindle and smashwords and they often get better sales than with a conventional book and don't need any stock. Also the e-book never needs to go out of print as it is in digital form. A cardinal rule is you can dress the story up a little bit but it should be truthful and if you lie it will impact on your sales in the long term. There are lots of biographies that broke this rule and are beseiged with 1 star ratings and narkey reviews as a result. I enjoyed reading this book and will mention the author has done his own memoir called Unplugged.

[Peggy Best · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reference for. Memoiists

This book contains everything a beginning memoir writer needs to read in order to begin her memoir. it includes all that is needed including publication but not much is said about how to sell.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A basic guide to writing memoirs that covered writing technique and publishing.

[Poppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent advise: planning, writing, publishing, and handling the tough issues that are unique to memoir writing. I will refer to this book repeatedly as I complete my memoir.

[L.A. Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent not only for memoir, but for writing in general. Great exercises that you could use for yourself or your characters. A definite keeper. Better than "Writing Fiction for Dummies."

[Kathy Sheldon Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keep coming back to this book for review as I craft my memoir. It's so helpful.

[Todd Smith]

It has some good ideas. I bought it to use as a reference since I will probably write another one. If you want to learn how to write one I would recommend it to read.