Have you heard? "Memoir is dead"...

Or is it? Let's find out!

Hi lovelies,

I'm jumping in quickly to respond to various discussions I've seen this week regarding memoirs from

Katherine May

and

Nicola Washington

, among others. The ‘memoir is dead’ conversation, which originated with publishers and is now leaking into the mainstream debate, is a frustrating one.

It’s true that memoir as a genre hasn’t been selling well — any industry person can see that reflected in the sales figures. There have been very few debut memoirs topping the charts in the past few years. I'm not going to share sales figures here but even memoirs that have had media coverage and ones that you might have seen ‘everywhere’, haven't sold huge numbers on Nielsen BookScan¹. Clearly the fact we're talking about them doesn't mean people are buying the books.

In a recent article in the Bookseller, The summer Non-Fiction market 2024 — Factual books begin to feel the Pinch, Alex Call breaks down the non-fiction market. Non-Fiction has declined by close to 8% compared with 2023. The article goes on to say, “One category that is suffering inside the Top 50 this year is Biography & Autobiography, which has 50% fewer titles featured on the list this year, with just nine titles interesting customers enough to break into the top of the ranking”.

But before making hasty decisions and dumping the whole genre, perhaps we should look at some of the reasons as to why sales have been declining — and whether there's anything we can do about it. My immediate thought is that the right books aren't finding the right readers, rather than the idea that people don't care about other people's lives anymore.

I have to say, I’m really happy that people outside of the industry are bringing this up, because I find the conversation infuriating as an agent who represents memoir (mostly by marginalised writers). Here's my breakdown of where I think the issues lie:

Celebrity memoirs

Celebrity memoirs aren't doing as well as they used to. Unfortunately, the cash cow of years past seems to finally be in decline. We’re seeing a societal shift when it comes to celebrity culture. We have access to celebrities’ lives 24/7 online and can get updates from them directly in their (non-ghostwritten!) own words. Is a £25 book offering anything new that you can't see/find out online for free?

Taylor Swift's recent move to release her first book outside of trade publishing channels² has hopefully given the big corporate publishers a bit of a shock. Maybe they'll think twice about spending gazillions on celebrity memoirs that are essentially a PR exercise, and invest that money towards (real) writers.

Pricing and format

I think the biggest issue we are facing is in terms of sales is pricing. Non-fiction tends to be priced higher than fiction, and memoir hardbacks these days can be priced up to £20 which, in a time of economic crisis, is tough for people. You may think that producing a hardback edition for a non-celebrity debut memoir, with no guaranteed audience, is a financial risk. And it is, but the alternative (publishing in paperback directly) isn't ideal either. This is down to publicity. Paperback originals (books that are released only in paperback) just do not get the same level of attention in the press as their hardback counterparts. In fact, they're often ignored completely — there are very few publications that review books that haven't been released in hardback. With a paperback original, you also miss out on a second bite of the cherry — another window of possible publicity — that you get with a hardback followed by a paperback a year later.

As an industry, we need to talk about the idea that a book has to be released in hardback for it to “matter” to the publisher and for it to be worthy of readers’ attention. Hardbacks are more costly to produce and come at a higher price point — following rising costs of paper, printing and shipping. Perhaps we could think about trade paperbacks or B formats with French flaps³ instead of automatically going to hardback. Could newspapers maybe stop making the pointless hardback/paperback distinction in this day and age? (Please for the love of all pastry.)

Sensitive issues

When it comes to memoirs about sensitive topics, publishers have certain considerations that affect their acquisition decisions. What if we get sued? What if the legal read is long/costly? Is it worth all the hassle/possible backlash? And what if we don't have the experience/resources to support an author writing about a really tough topic? The popularity of memoir in recent years means that a lot of publishers will have inevitably experienced costly or difficult publications, making them more cautious.

In these… how to put it… really really shit times, it can also be hard for readers to voluntarily engage with upsetting topics. And it’s true that escapist, feel-good books have been having more success lately. But there are ways to talk about important topics without traumatising both the author and the readers⁴. Books about trauma or upsetting topics are often presented in a voyeuristic and sensationalised way, which may not, in these times, be the most effective way to get them in readers’ hands. (Plus it is really inappropriate sometimes.)

Long-form journalism

The surge in popularity of long-form essays and journalism⁵ means that there is a lot of writing out there available for free. How do memoirs stand out in book form? Many memoir writers come from long-form journalism and vice versa so it can be a great way to get a book deal, but it may not translate to sales.

It's worth noting that the boom in personal stories being shared online and in long-form journalism means that there is a HUGE market for it! Literally ten minutes on Substack will show you that! For writers, the challenge is how to bring your online audience with you and convince them it's worth paying for a book. For example, you may not want to write about the same topics in the same way. For publishers, it is about engaging with long-form journalism audiences a bit more (it isn't lost on me there aren't a lot of book publishing people here).

Underrepresented writers

“If X memoir didn't sell, then Y memoir about the same topic but by a marginalised writer will sell even less.” The excuse of “there is no market/readership” appears in a lot of the passes in my inbox for non-fiction from underrepresented writers, and it’s — pardon my French — bullshit.

Publishers need to invest in readership and do their research. I know we're all overworked and functioning on autopilot a lot of the time, but if I hear one more publishing person say there is no market for books on disability I will scream. 1 in 5 people in the UK have a disability and close to a third of the whole population have a chronic condition. (By comparison, only 1% of the population has graduated from Oxford or Cambridge, just saying.⁶)

Let's not beat around the bush, the reason so-called minorities are not buying books is because publishers aren't producing the type of books they would like to buy, or editing and marketing them in a way that would appeal to them. I know, it's a lot easier to copy paste the marketing plan of a cishet middle-class white author to the same outlets than to (gasp) think outside the box.

In the long run, people will continue switching to podcasts, online platforms, or film and TV, if we don't, as an industry, become more in tune with potential readers.

Look at me talking about long-term investment in a business obsessed with short-term gains. How very brat of me.

Have I missed an obvious reason why memoir is struggling at the moment? Let me know in the comments!

---

If you’ve enjoyed reading this post and found it useful, please do consider supporting me in two ways:

* By donating to a cause that’s important to me:

I have set up a monthly donation with Medical Aid for Palestinians in their appeal for donations for Palestine and Lebanon and encourage you to do the same. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) works for the health and dignity of Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees. They provide immediate medical aid to those in great need, while also developing local capacity and skills to ensure the long-term development of the Palestinian healthcare system. 

* Here are some brilliant memoirs my clients have written which you should read:

Some of Us Just Fall: On Nature and Not Getting Better by Polly Atkin

The Ghost Lake: A Memoir of Grief, Nature and Ancestry in Rural Yorkshire by Wendy Pratt

Until next time, keep reading!

Caro

1. In the UK, sales figures for print books sold at the till of high street and internet book shops, supermarkets, museums, specialist shops and independent bookshops are tracked on BookScan's Total Consumer Market (TCM). This is different to books distributed by publishers to retailers as there may be returns on these quantities. Not all books sold in the UK are tracked on BookScan as it’s not a free reporting system and can be too costly for some (this means the sales figures aren't as accurate for books that are very popular in independent bookshops and small settings but is very accurate for commercial books). This is what the Sunday Times bestseller list is derived from, as well as the Bookseller charts for print books.

2. A debate for another time, but you go girl!

3. French flaps are a personal favourite and quintessentially chic.

4. I think one of the most amazing writers discussing both the challenge and responsibility about writing and publishing trauma is Roxane Gay. See a fascinating interview of her by Monica Lewinsky in Vanity Fair.

5. Lolz at me writing this on Substack!

6. Ooooooooh shots fired!!