As you get older, you think of the many accomplishments you’ve had in your lifetime. Perhaps they are little significant things you want to remember, or something big.
Did you sail around the world? Did you recover from a health issue? Did you write a series of books?
Maybe you just want to record your life story before you die. Maybe you want to record your history for the next generation.
Stories are often lost after a person passes away.
I think of my own mother who passed away a few years ago. She had a story. It was never told. Her struggles of being a single mother of four will never get written, at least not by her.
She’s got other books she’s written, but they are fiction stories. She intertwined her life experiences into those stories, and I’m so proud to have them as her legacy.
But I’m talking about a memoir specifically.
What exactly is that?
A memoir, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is a narrative composed from personal experience.
It’s kind of like how I’m talking to you right now. It’s a non-fiction narrative in the first person, just as if I was having a cup of coffee with you. Personal experience is shared between the author and the audience: You.
It’s an amazing way to keep your legacy alive long after you pass away. Even little antidotal stories about your life are considered memoirs. I have plenty of those.
I’ll post links to my books and my mother’s books at the end of this article. For now, I just wanted to point out that I’ve been writing for years and know the industry quite well.
If my information can help you get your memoir done before you walk through those pearly gates, my job is done.
Now let’s begin.
STEP 1 – START WRITING
The obvious is to start writing, but how? How do you get from a blank sheet of paper to a completed memoir?
Most people find the task daunting.
Many want to write their memoir but they don’t know how to do it. I was once asked to write a memoir for a couple but turned down the offer. I wasn’t able to do if for them but hopefully, they still managed to tell their story.
In retrospect, I’m glad I didn’t write it for them because the best person to write a memoir, is the person who experienced it. There is only one perspective when it comes to writing a memoir: Yours!
Nobody else can write your story quite the way you do. Nobody!
So, what’s left? The boring stuff like spelling, grammar, and editing. Anyone can do that for you. Heck, you can hire a college student if you want. There are plenty of people who would even edit your draft for free.
But you must write it first.
Honestly, all you have to do is get your thoughts out on paper. Write the first draft and then work with it. That’s all.
Some writers like to start with an outline. For a memoir, I’d highly suggest doing that. Write a title, then add about 10 subheadings. They will become your chapters later.
Write one section at a time as if you are writing 10 mini-essays. Trust me, your memoir will be done in no time if you follow this plan.
You might be apprehensive because you aren’t the best at typing. That’s okay. I don’t suggest you use your fingers anyway. It’s okay if you want to, but the best way for a beginner to write a memoir is with speech recognition software.
Talk to the screen.
I can get 6000 plus words done a day by using speech to text on my Mac computer. Actually, nowadays, computers, tablets, and smartphones all come with free speech-to-text software, so there is no excuse.
If you really want to be professional, you can buy speech recognition software like Dragon Software. Check out the following Amazon affiliate link, Dragon Software, if you’re interested in buying it.
I purchased Dragon software when I first started writing, but free speech recognition software will work equally well for you. It really helps with your productivity.
The main thing to remember is to just get writing. Get your story told. As soon as you have a rough draft, you will have something to work with.
When you have something to work with, suddenly you will have a memoir.
The only thing that is stopping you is the action of doing it. Use writing software like Microsoft Word. I do, but I don’t have a subscription. I purchased a one-time student package even though I’m not a student. I didn’t know you could do that until I found it online one day.
The reason I purchased the one-time license, is because I don’t want to pay something every month just to write. I’ll show you what I mean. Click on the following Amazon affiliate link, Microsoft Word for the student version. It’s a one-time lifetime license.
You can also use free writing software. I have an iPad and I sometimes use the Pages app when I write with it. It came with the iPad and it’s awesome and just as good, though my preference is Microsoft Word.
There are other free writing software programs out there like Google Docs. Actually, Google Docs has a great free speech-to-text feature available.
So, start writing.
It doesn’t have to cost you a dime.
STEP 2 – EDIT
Once you have something to work with, the editing process goes a lot quicker than you might think. You can edit on the couch while watching your favorite show.
Sometimes people don’t write their memoir because they say they don’t have enough time in the day to write. But that is all in how you look at it.
As I’m typing this article, I am getting ready to go to my full-time job. I woke up early so I can write this. Actually, I wrote all my books that way.
I find that I am most creative in the morning before work. I have the most energy then, and I can get a lot of work done.
By the time I get home, creativity wanes and I am less productive. I am tired from my day job and only capable of editing on the couch as I watch my favorite show.
You can do both. You can wake up early to write, and then edit when you are tired.
The editing process takes less brainpower. All you have to do is fix spelling mistakes and re-do some of your poorly written sentences. It’s easy and can be done a little at a time.
If editing isn’t your thing, then hire someone to do it for you. There are plenty of professionals you can hire.
You can even recruit a relative or friend to do it for. Just ask. Sometimes people are more than willing to help, especially with a memoir.
Once your memoir is fully edited, you can begin to format it for publication. That will be dependent upon what route you choose to go with.
Do you want to traditionally publish it? Do you want to self-publish it?
I am an advocate for self-publishing, so I highly recommend self-publishing. But if you want to go the traditional route, you will have to solicit book publishers and get them interested in your work.
Let me just say, I have zero experience with traditional publishers other than receiving rejection letters from them. They can be quite blunt, and if your work isn’t what they are looking for, or less than perfect, they will tell you point-blank.
That can rattle your cage and make you give up.
Don’t give up!
Traditional publishers are not for everyone, so choose wisely.
I have always gone the self-publishing route and it has served me well over the years. I am in full control of my work and that’s important to me. I recommend self-publishing, especially for a memoir.
There are several self-publishing platforms to choose from. Amazon is the largest in the world, and I highly recommend them.
In step 3, we will go over publishing in-depth. For now, just focus on editing your work to get it ready for publication.
Some people get stuck here but you don’t have to. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You can pick at your writing forever, but sooner or later you have to decide that it’s good enough.
It’s good enough.
STEP 3 – PUBLISH
Once you’ve gotten your memoir to the place where you feel it’s ready for publication, you need to choose where to get it published.
As I stated above, self-publishing your memoir is the best way in my opinion. I have an abundance of experience with that, so I can help you.
The two main contenders in the industry are Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) and Smashwords.
Let me briefly explain what they both are and how they work.
Smashwords is a company that publishes your book for free. It then submits the finished product to smaller eBook companies like Kobo, Apple, and Barnes & Noble.
I used Smashwords to publish my very first novel. I have fond memories of them. I recommend using them if you want to make your memoir permanently free. They give you that option but Amazon does not.
It’s a good platform to get your work out there. For a memoir, you may want it free anyway. It’s nice to be able to offer it free to friends and relatives especially.
If you want to make a living from your memoir, or even a little bit of money, you may want to reconsider Smashwords though.
Many authors have made it big through Smashwords, but the majority do not. I know that’s harsh to say, but they are lesser-known than Amazon and that makes a difference in sales.
If you want to make something from your memoir, you may want to choose Amazon KDP.
You can’t offer your memoir free permanently through Amazon, but you can put it up for free with their 5-day promo program.
Amazon is the largest bookseller in the world so that is why I eventually switched from Smashwords to Amazon. I’m glad I did because I now make money from my book sales.
To get started, you will have to format your book properly. That’s different from the editing process you just finished doing.
Formatting your book means changing settings and parameters within Microsoft Word or whatever writing software you choose so your book will look good on any device.
Smashwords has this thing called the meatgrinder, where your book is put through a checker to see if the perimeters are correct. To get it ready for the meatgrinder you can download a free tutorial from the Smashwords website for free.
I have done it so many times, it really isn’t that hard. A lot of people say it’s grueling work but it’s all in how you look at it. Just follow the guidelines step-by-step and you’ll be fine.
Amazon has a similar qualification process you can download for free from Kindle Direct Publishing just like Smashwords. Follow it exactly and you will be able to publish your memoir in no time.
If you want your book to be published in paperback form, that option is available free through Amazon. You will find the guide to format a paper version through KDP on their site as well.
Once you finish the formatting process, your book will go live. You will have a published memoir and you will be ready to market it, or give it away for free. It’s your choice.
If you don’t want to market it you don’t have to. Amazon actually pushes the book for you if you sign up to their KDP select program. That’s what I do. I put my books up for free for 5 days and that helps with visibility.
If you want to make a living from your memoir, you will want to get an author website. That is a must-have for a memoir’s success.
STEP 4 – GET A WEBSITE
When I published my first novel in 2012 I didn’t’ know what I was doing. I had been a published author for years before that, but I just had newspaper articles under my belt.
Writing a novel is different. I needed to get my name out there but I didn’t know how to do it. At that time, the internet wasn’t like it is today.
A website was a website, at least for me. I didn’t want to spend any money creating an author website so I went to the next best thing: Free blog platforms.
I also set up a free website through Wix, which isn’t bad in itself if you are looking for an easy way to get yourself out there.
But little did I know that even though I had a website, nobody was finding me. You see, the thing about free websites is that there is no search engine attached. Google can’t find you. My website URL was too long and clunky because it included someone else’s domain name.
That means, I had the name of my website, then the Wix portion of my URL. It was very long and confusing.
Google stays away from long URL’s especially if they’re from a free website builder and contain their name as well as your own.
It took me a long time to understand that. It’s called SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Basically that means that Google has little robots called spiders that crawl the internet looking for pertinent content.
For example, if someone searches for books about magical realism, like my mother’s book, Aopato. Google’s spiders will crawl around looking for that particular thing.
When the spiders find it, they’ll bring it up on the front page of Google for you. The front page of Google is prime real estate because people rarely search beyond the first page for things they are looking for.
Fast forward to today, and I have figured out how to get a ‘real’ website. I took a course that taught me how to set it up and I’m glad I did.
The first step is to buy a domain name. As an author, you can use your own name, or you can create something that represents what you are doing. For me, I wanted something different. I chose, StorytellerKat.com and it’s perfect for me because it tells people I’m a storyteller.
I bought the dot com domain even though I live in Canada. That’s basically because the geographic location doesn’t matter. No, not unless you have a business like a doctor’s office and have actual leg traffic to that location.
I learned in my course that the United States gets more website traffic than anywhere else in the world, and I wanted to get some of that. So, choose a dot com domain.
I went to HostGator to buy my domain. You can head on over to check it out in the following link. It’s an affiliate link. That means if you end up buying a domain name from my link, I get a commission. Check out the link, HostGator.com.
Now, HostGator is a veteran in the industry, but there are many other website hosting providers. The only reason I was directed to HostGator was that I took a course that led me to it. I wouldn’t have found it any other way.
But as I said, there are many other web hosting providers such as Bluehost. Many reputable courses suggest Bluehost, but the same company also owns HostGator so it’s a moot point. They are both veterans in the industry and equally as good.
You can also check out the Bluehost website right now. I have an affiliate link for that one as well. The same thing applies. I get a commission if you end up buying a domain name from them. Click on the following link, Bluehost.com if you are interested.
Once you choose whatever web host provider you decide upon, check it out thoroughly. Read the information about how it all works. There is a lot to learn, but trust me, it will be worth it in the end.
By the way, I chose the HostGator Baby Plan, but that’s just me. I’ll let you investigate what that means. For now, I will continue on with what you need to do to set up a website.
Once you buy your domain, you will have to pay for it once a year. That is your registration license. It’s kind of like a license for a car. You pay for the right to use your domain name on the internet even though you own the name.
The Baby Plan I chose through HostGator costs me a monthly subscription. When I started, I think it was only $11 a month. That’s nothing. I was very happy with that price.
What it led me to was a platform called WordPress in which to host my website. That is where you use the domain name you just purchased. I know, it’s kind of confusing but you’ll get the hang of it.
Once you purchase a domain name, HostGator takes you through the next step and that is to downloadWordPress.org. Not to be confused with the (free) version called WordPress.com.
Many people have become confused with the two versions of WordPress. They are both owned by the same company are very different platforms.
If you have accidentally set up a website through WordPress.com, you will have to delete it and go to WordPress.org immediately. Sorry. The dot org version is what they call self-hosted. It’s what you need if you want to make money. And you want to make money.
Self-hosted means you own your content, not WordPress.
If you want to sell your books or related product and actually make a living from your website, you will have to get on the right platform from the start. If you ever want to sell your website, you can only do that if it is a self-hosted site.
HostGator directs you to WordPress.org right after you purchase your domain name. However, it can be confusing so understand ahead of time that the one you’re looking for is called WordPress.org, (not) WordPress.com just in case something goes wrong.
Once you get there, you can begin setting up your website however you want. You can pick a free theme or a paid one. I personally use the free version of the Astra theme and absolutely love it.
The rest is up to you.
You pay a monthly subscription to run your website through whatever web hosting provider you choose (like the provider you use for your cell phone) and then you also pay yearly to maintain the domain name you purchased. You own it so don’t forget to pay the license.
If you forget to pay your license, you will lose your entire website and all its content. There is a grace period in which to get it back, but please make sure you remember. Always make a backup copy of your website just in case.
Once you’re up and running, post your books on your new website. I do, but I also write about blogging and the writing industry in general. My author website is a diversified site meaning I do other things on it besides writing.
I have many websites now like this one you’re reading called, Crunchy Menopause. I love writing and I am so glad I chose to start a website the right way. You actually have to pay for it and not cheap out with a free version.
It took me a long time to figure that one out.
Your next step is to market your memoir through your website. Let’s find out how.
STEP 5 – MARKET IT
Not every author wants to market their work. I didn’t want to when I first started, but I realized how important it was.
As I mentioned before about Amazon, they market your book for you. Amazon is a great big search engine like Google, so people can find you when they search for specific content.
You want to choose a platform with a search engine. Some don’t have search engines, like social media for example. If you rely on just social media, you will waste your time. Social media is helpful, but Google, YouTube, and Amazon are the real search engines.
Get on them!
If you don’t want to leave book marketing solely up to Amazon, you will want to get your work in front of other search engines like YouTube.
YouTube is one of the best free search engines around. You can start a channel and post videos about your memoir. You can also create a book trailer. It’s free advertising and a perfect way to get traffic to your book.
Because it’s a search engine, when people search for memoir videos, yours will come up. How cool is that!
Also, because you have a website now, or at least know the basics of how to set one up properly, you can start posting content about your memoir, or other writing you have done.
That’s what I did on StorytellerKat. I wrote articles about my books to advertise them. Once I publish them, Google’s spiders crawl the page and market my work for me, converting into pageviews.
The spiders do all the work.
When people search for memoirs on Google, the spiders can match my content to what they’re looking for, and before you know it, my work shows up on their Google search.
Guess what, that means they will click on my link and possibly buy my book.
Just so you know, because Amazon is a search engine, when people search through Google for a particular topic, my book on Amazon comes up there too. Isn’t that amazing?
Think of it this way, it’s like Google and YouTube are married, and Amazon is their first-born child. I know it’s a crazy analogy, but it puts things into perspective for me.
When people search for things on the internet, spiders search through the whole entire family.
You want that. You want people to find your book.
The more content you put on your website pertaining to your book, or whatever you do, the more page views you will get.
Think of a website that has 100,000 page views a month. That means 100,000 potential sales for your memoir. That high volume of traffic will help you sell your book.
That’s marketing wisely.
Of course, there is always the traditional route. You can do book signings all over the country but that gets costly and tiring. It’s probably the fast route but not many do it that way anymore unless they are traditionally published and are forced to do it.
Some people do Facebook Ads but that hasn’t proven to be effective for everyone because it doesn’t have a search engine that scours the entire internet like Google does.
You will see Facebook Ads once and then they go away. Besides, not everyone is on Facebook. I would hold off from doing that unless you are sure that the money you invest will have a good return.
That said, there many forms of social media that work for marketing like Pinterest and Instagram. Being on every social site you can think of is a good way to promote your memoir.
Social shares play a huge part in marketing and can be recorded on your website. It always looks good when a blog post says, shared 5.6k times.
Depending on what your memoir is about, you can also do speaking engagements. If you have a powerful life-altering story to tell, you may want to speak at schools or conferences to promote your book.
You can use traditional media as well. Getting a spot on the 6 O’clock news always boosts sales.
In the end, you have to determine what you really want for your memoir. Did you create it to replace your current income? Is it just a historical record you intend to give away for free?
Some people write memoirs to give away. They don’t want any money and that is perfectly fine. Your life story doesn’t have to make the bestseller list unless you want it to.
The main thing is to just tell the story.
So, get writing!
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Author Kathleen Morris
Kathleen Morris is a successful published author, blogger, and Youtuber. She enjoys writing about things she’s passionate about and making a difference in the world.