Who is the Target Audience for My Memoir?

“Have faith. There’s someone out there who has waited their whole life to read your story.“ Chris Baty, founder of NaNoWriMo in his closing speech, The Drive to Write, at the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference in NYC, January, 2012. The above words struck me so deeply as I sat in the closing session of the conference that tears welled up in my eyes. For that moment I was spellbound by the vision of someone, a reader holding my book in his or her hands. It made me question, Who exactly am I writing for? I needed to define my “target audience”, the people who will be interested in and moved by my message and story. Otherwise why would they go to the trouble of buying  my book or downloading it on their e-readers and why would they...

Posted by on May 15, 2012 in Author Platform, Finding Your Target Audience, Lifewriting Craft, Marketing, memoir-writing, Social Media presence | 32 comments

Writing Raw~Letting it Rip

“Life, he realized, was much like a song. In the beginning there is mystery, in the end there is confirmation,but it’s in the middle where all the emotion  resides to make the whole thing worthwhile.” Nicholas Sparks,The Last Song.     In this week’s NAMW Memoir Writing workshop, the group,sensing I was holding back on my feelings in the story I had submitted, challenged me to “let it rip, be more open, let out more emotions.” The readers wanted more. And they were right. In retrospect,I have to admit, I was holding back, glossing over parts about the person who had a significant impact on my life. Apparently, Rosalulu, my inner critic convinced me that I needed to protect the image of this person. I was getting in my...

Posted by on Oct 4, 2011 in Finding Your Voice, Inner Critic, Letting Go, Lifewriting Craft, memoir-writing, Storytelling, The Writing Life, Truth in Memoir | 18 comments

Guest Post with Sharon Lippincott: Writing Fans the Flames of Hope

 ”What is true of the individual will be tomorrow true of the whole nation if individuals will but refuse to lose heart and hope.” Mohandas Gandhi I am very pleased to have Sharon Lippincott as my guest today. Sharon is one of my memoir writing mentors. I  hope this stunning essay on finding hope through writing will inspire you as much as it did me:   Writing Fans the Flames of Hope  In the life of my dreams, I’m always calm, compassionate, non-judgmental, and patient. My heart is filled with love, joy, and peace. I still fall short of that mark. Irritation and annoyance can swarm my head like fruit flies around an over-ripe peach. Judgmental thoughts like How can she think a thing like that? or Doesn’t he know …? may bounce through my...

Posted by on Jul 22, 2011 in Hope Matters, Lifewriting Craft, memoir-writing, The Writing Life | 10 comments

Have”Blogs” ,Will Travel

‘LIFE IS UNCHARTED TERRITORY. IT REVEALS ITS STORY ONE MOMENT AT A TIME.” Leo Buscalgia in Executive Health Report Sharon Lippincott posed this question on the Yahoo Lifewriters Forum “Is any story too trivial?”. That led me to a special memory about my father . I’ll let you be the judge as to whether this bit of trivia lends itself to a story that would be of interest: Over the past few years as Dad grew more frail,it became important for him to have just the right shoes to support his frail and wobbly legs. When my husband ,Wayne and I came to town, Wayne would take him on little adventures around town:  the hardware store to find a fixture for the bathroom, Wegman’s to buy lottery tickets and have a cup of coffee or his...

Posted by on Jan 13, 2011 in elements of story, Lifewriting Craft, memoir-writing | 16 comments

Finding My Gold

” AUTUMN CARRIES MORE GOLD IN ITS HAND THAN ALL THE OTHER SEASONS.” - Jim Bishop My writing space in an upstairs office faces the woods that surround our home. As I look out at the poplars, red leaf  maples and pine trees, I see a chorus of  barely tinted leaves shimmering  and swaying to the  gentle, cool September breezes as the sun streaks through them. It reminds me of why I love living in the Northeast - the change of seasons.   Each season has its own beauty but for me, Autumn captures  the essence of golden opportunities. It is not surprising that Autumn was the time  of my wedding and the birth of my two children. Although it seems to be the shortest of the seasons, it seems packed with activities that spark my favorite...

Posted by on Sep 4, 2010 in life cycle, Lifewriting Craft, memoir-writing, Uncategorized | 14 comments