I’ve been a journalist for 20 years and I find that everyone has a story to share. It’s a precious thing, to capture these memories, and share them while you’re still around. If you’d like to preserve your story, for people around you to enjoy, I’d love to help by writing your memoir or biography.
How it works
First I would email or post you some basic questions so that I can get a feel for what you need from a memoir – how long you’d like it to be, key life events etc.
Next, we would meet for a series of interviews, either in person, online or on the phone, and I would ask you questions about your about your life, or a period in your life, that you’d like to capture in writing. I would record the interviews on my trusty iPhone. The interviews would be relaxed and easy, I’d help with leading questions.
Once I’ve interviewed you I would retreat to my computer to transcribe the interviews and write your story. I’m very fast from years of interviewing and writing articles. Next I would run the story by you (and possibly your loved ones, if they need to see the draft) to make sure you’re ok with what I’ve written. We could tweak it and get it just right so that you all feel comfortable with the words. You might also want to include some photos with your story, we could talk about this too. Then your memoir would get put into a booklet format and printed.
Included in the packages
- Your memoir books or booklets
- The original audio interviews.
- Copies – both online and on a memory stick – of the memoir, so that you can update it or change it in the future if you need to
What I charge
I charge .50 c per word. Some memoir writers charge more than twice that, but right now, here in New Zealand I’m happy with this amount. This includes the services of a proof reader (for 5000 word and above memoirs).
So – typically I’m writing 10,000 memoirs, which cost $5000. And this can vary. Once printed, and with photos added, a 10,000 word memoir is a slim book.
The process of pulling a memoir together
It’s a complex process, writing a memoir, but it doesn’t seem so at the time as I’m too busy completing each stage! First there’s the information gathering, then the transcribing (which can take a long time, depending on how fast people talk!), then the writing and shaping of the piece, then the feedback happens (which can take some time, depending on how long it takes for people to comment). Then there’s the editing and proof reading stage. Then there’s layout and printing. And finally – you have a living, finished product that will serve you and future generations.
Also available
Once your memoir becomes a manuscript it can be bound into many different kinds of books – from a very basic soft cover black and white booklet – to a beautiful hard cover book featuring glossy colour photos. You can print as many as you want. Note: this is an additional cost to my packages.
An honour
The writing of a memoir or life story is a touching, sometimes healing process. I’d be honoured to share that process with you.
Contact me – Charlotte Squire – for a chat – 027 525 7455 or charlottesquirecoms@gmail.com
