By Paula Margulies As a publicist, I'm sent books of all genres by authors interested in my services, but lately I seem to be on the receiving end of a lot of memoirs. I've also spoken to a higher-than-usual number of memoir writers, who either telephone or approach me with questions at writer's conferences. The bulk of these conversations have to do with why their memoirs aren’t selling and what the authors can do to make them better. My first suggestion for all memoir writers is to take a look at their market and identify the different types of people who would want to read their book. This is tricky, for while many memoir writers have done a good job of detailing certain aspects of their personal history, a number of them have not thought about who might be interested in reading what they've written. A lot of memoirs I've seen recently are nothing more than personal recountings of an individual’s experiences – some of which are, indeed, memorable. But I
Awesome... Simply awesome.
ReplyDeleteWow, this was inspiring. I'm going to start my best seller today!
ReplyDeleteMitch Kaplan
I am trying my best to attend Meetup and writers groups. This video shows how I feel when 99% of them start speaking. Makes me friggin' crazy.
ReplyDeleteToo close to home, I have a gun in my car...click
ReplyDelete"Minus 13". hahahahaha. That needs to be the slogan for the upcoming workshop. Thanks for posting this. I'm guilty of some of the shortcomings (e.g., I don't read as much as I should), but I definitely do not harbor the mythic perspective illustrated here. And if I do, please slap it out of me!
ReplyDeleteA gem, a friggin' gem.
ReplyDeleteExcellent. This should be shown at the beginning of all writing workshops and conferences...Hysterical ....
ReplyDeleteHa ha, you got me...I'm laughing at myself.
ReplyDeleteWow! Love this!
ReplyDeleteDo many aspiring writers really think like this? I mean, all in one? I could see someone thinking they could directly approach a publisher or not being aware that so many people approach agents. But do many people think that you can just bang out a bestseller without effort and without some passion for reading, at least in that genre?
ReplyDeleteI had the same thought while watching this. All of my hesitation for trying to become a novelist is because I am acutely aware of the inherent difficulties... but then again, if you get your hands on enough self-pubbed novels... this seems like it might be hauntingly accurate.
DeleteOh...I was on a six month book tour and attended four book club salons. Torture. I was unable to repress my frustration at one of them. I "went Philly" on one woman.
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