The First Step to Writing a Nonfiction Book

Want to know the super-important, often-overlooked first step to writing a nonfiction book? (We consider skipping this to be at the top of our imaginary “nonfiction mistakes” list.) If you want to write your memoir, a self-help/personal growth book, a spirituality book, or any kind of transformational nonfiction, this first step will save you a … Read more

Everything You Need to Know About Writing a Memoir

writing a memoir

Table of Contents Introduction What Types of Memoirs Are There? Preparing to Write a Memoir How to Choose a Theme for Your Memoir How to Create a Memoir Outline Publishing Your Memoir Introduction Today I’m talking about a captivating, life-changing, beautiful story. Yours.  It’s a story about the most meaningful parts of your life. The … Read more

Journaling Ideas That Will Make You a Better Writer

I was scrolling through my feed on Instagram when I came across a picture of a pile of journals by bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert. In the caption she wrote: “The journals of 2019. My companions, my teachers. Each book is a handprint in time that says: ‘I was here. And I took notes.’ I had … Read more

How to Write a Book: 12 Tips For Aspiring Authors

It’s a new year and a good time to reflect and create a new path, using writing as a tool. As writers everywhere are frantically pressing toward finishing their works in progress and fretting over whether their book babies will ever get to the book shelves and reader hands they envision them in, it’s always … Read more

How to Choose a Theme for Your Memoir

If you’re anything like me, you can while away an entire weekend with a bottomless cup o’ tea and an amazing memoir. And for us personal transformation junkies, memoir is a double hit of goodness. How so? The best memoirs center on the author’s biggest, most important process of transformation. That transformation may be positive … Read more

Author Spotlight: Writing a Memoir with Lisa Marie

writing a memoir

Lisa Marie Runfola is a world traveler, a mother of five, and the author of A Limitless Life in a Powerless World: A Memoir, released in February 2019. We first met her in the Fall of 2017, when she scheduled a call to talk with one of our Publishing Consultants. From our first phone call, … Read more

How to Tell Your Story (Even If Mom Won’t Like It)

What if Mom gets mad about your book

This weekend, we in North America are celebrating Mother’s Day. I think it’s a fairly normal thing to have complicated feels toward our mamas. We love them with all we have, but they are human, too. It’s a part of life. But the mother-child relationship can be especially flummoxing for those of us who write memoir. Because many of … Read more

3 Roadbumps You’ll (Probably) Encounter When Writing a Book About Your Life

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. If you have a book in you—if you hear the call to write—it’s because Life is asking for your story. Unfortunately, my many years of working with authors has taught me this lesson: You’re gonna hit some bumps on the road when you’re writing … Read more

Three Types of Memoirs that Sell

types of memoirs

“Do you think my memoir can get published?” A client recently posed this question at the top of the hour we had scheduled for a book consultation. If I’m honest, it’s a question I sort of dread. It asks for a black-or-white answer to a question that’s decidedly gray. When this kind of question lands on … Read more