Description

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Even if you don't happen to be a celebrity, this book will teach you methods for striking publishing gold—conceptualizing, selling, and marketing a memoir—while dealing with the complicated emotions that arise during the creation of your work.

If you've ever been told that "You should really write a book" and you've decided to give it a try, this book is for you. It hones in on the three key measures necessary for aspiring authors to conceptualize, sell, and market their memoirs. Written especially for those who don't happen to be celebrities You Should Really Write a Book reveals why and how so many relatively unknown memoirists are making a name for themselves.

With references to more than four hundred books and six memoir categories, this is essential reading for anyone wanting to write a commercially viable memoir in today's vastly changing publishing industry. The days are long gone when editors and agents were willing to take on a manuscript simply because it was based on a "good" idea or even because it was well written. With eyes focused on the bottom line, they now look for skilled and creative authors with an established audience, too.

Brooks and Richardson use the latest social networking, marketing, and promotional trends and explain how to conceptualize and strategize campaigns that cause buzz, dramatically fueling word-of-mouth and attracting attention in the publishing world and beyond. Full of current examples and in-depth analysis, this guide explains what sells and why, teaches writers to think like publishers, and offers guidance on dealing with complicated emotions—essential tools for maximizing memoir success.

About the Author

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Regina Brooks is a literary agent and member of the AAR, and an author, editor, publisher, and member of the guest faculty for MFA programs around the country. Well known on the writer’s conference circuit she is also a faculty member of the Harvard Writers Course. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Brenda Lane Richardson, MSW, is the author of ten books, a recipient of the PEN-Oakland Literary Award, a journalist, and a New York University–trained social worker. She lives in Berkley, California, where she uses memoir writing as a therapeutic tool.

Praise For…

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“This is a terrific guide that clearly explains how to take your own story and turn it into a book that readers can't put down.” —Julie Silver, MD, hief Editor of Books at Harvard Health Publications and author of You Can Heal Yourself

“Whether for a personal memoir, femoir, or himoir, this is the best resource on writing and getting published today for anyone who woulda, coulda, shoulda written a book....Regina Brooks offers the most up-to-the-minute intel on writing the modern memoir.” —Katharine Sands, agent provocateur for Making the Perfect Pitch?

“This book will empower you to write and finish your first book and all your 'next' books.” —Jeff Herman, The Jeff Herman Agency