Non-celebrity, total nobody, non-journalist, underrepresented writer coming out with a debut memoir in 2025 and all the discourse about memoir being dead makes me nervous 😬
Love French flaps - but find B format p/bs ugly and awkward. The smaller publishers seem to be good at creating attractive books within scale; (although, an elegant hardback, of a book one wants to read, is always a pleasure)...
Very enjoyable read. I've actually gotten more into memoir this past year and enjoy it a lot. I find reading people that live elsewhere, have different lives and aren't cookie cutter (not celebrities) way more interesting. Currently I'm diving into Wendy Pratt's book and it's perfect to read in snatches. To then ponder on a walk and come back to.
Exactly, I'm the same! I don't read celebrity memoirs but love any other kind of memoirs, the level of fame doesn't interest me but rather the experience the person has had. Ooooh enjoy Wendy's book, it is truly one of a kind! I would also recommend Polly Atkin's Some of Us Just Fall!
Really interesting, thanks Caro. And yes I agree that publishers really do need to get with the programme and think of ways to get those readers on side. I’d noticed the process of hardbacks creeping up and it does no favours to us writers. I’ll return to this again later, as I’m so glad you’re writing this stuff. As we discussed before, transparency is sooooo important
Non-celebrity, total nobody, non-journalist, underrepresented writer (stealing Deepa’s words!) whose memoir is out on submission and has just received its first round of rejections…YAY ME 😵
The feedback I’m getting is HOOK. Make it more HOOKY. We need a HOOK. Do you play basketball/love wild swimming/are you an alcoholic? It’s like thoughts and feelings and truth isn’t enough - we MUST add another circle to the Venn diagram of potential readers!
Could it be that the memoirs people actually want to read aren’t from celebrities?
Aren’t some of the best films from memoir - I went to see The Outrun last week - quite wonderful and moving and I might now also read the book.
I wrote and self published a memoir about my cancer experience 2 years ago - only read my friends and acquaintances essentially. That’s ok as I did it more for myself. But I often wonder why we think the cancer journey of someone well known is more compelling than anyone else? Especially knowing as many people as I do now who have or had cancer and have wonderful insights and stories to share.
My current book project is non-fiction but grounded in my experience so there will be stories in there. It’s also about a marginalised group (trans youth) so I’m failing in all measures now I’ve read this.
I shall continue though - someone somewhere needs to read it however I get it out into the world.
Hi Jacqui, I'm So happy this was helpful! And I genuinely believe that the issue doesn't lie with memoirs but with how they're being published. Writing and publishing are two different things and I can see with your memoir on your cancer experience that you needed written more than published.
Please don't think after reading my post that you shouldn't be writing your next book! Many people are still publishing memoir, they're just being cautious. We need every experience in the world reflected in publishing so don't give up!
This is fascinating and revealing. My book Ashes & Stones is part memoir and the book endured many of the issues you deal with here. When I came of age as a writer in the 90s, memoir was huge. Memoirs by writers--usually sordid tell alls--were all the rage. Writers in my community changed novels based on life experiences into memoirs in order to sell their books, and they were successful. I was asked to write Ashes & Stones as memoir in order for it to sell, even perhaps when the publishing/promotional zeal for memoir had already begun to wane.
I do feel that so many writers (and let's not kid ourselves, women and AFAB people) have been pushed into making narrative non-fiction memoir for sales a few years back and now publishers are going the other way... Let books be themselves, I say!
Great post. I've written a memoir and have been encouraged to change it to fiction to get around the difficulty of publishing memoir. I'm going to give it some time before trying that.
Oh that's interesting! Turning memoir into fiction is usually something I would suggest if what you are writing about is based in trauma / matters which could be actionable by law (in the case of abuse etc) if you're unable to write fully about your experience for legal reasons. Though recently a non-fiction writer published a memoir about being groomed by a teacher and published under a pseudonym as well as removed all recognisable features so he could write about the topic a bit more freely (Seventeen by Joe Gibson). Is that why you were encouraged to turn your memoir in fiction? Or is it just to get it published?
If hardback is more expensive, just curious, why print hardback at all? I've never quite understood why there needs to be two different versions and why they get released at different times.
I love memoirs written by every day people/writers. There are phenomenal stories everywhere and rather than read ghostwritten celebrity memoirs, I do try to find memoirs written by real writers.
I consider myself a memoir junkie and plan to keep it reading them for the foreseeable future. This was insightful, thanks Caro!
They print hardback because they can't get publicity on a paperback only - we would need the media to change the way they publicise a book so it would be possible. You publish the hardback first for coverage mostly (though great if sales follow!) and between 6 months (usually for commercial fiction) and a year (most other books) you get a paperback format to be the main edition thereafter (so the hardback goes out of print). Having two formats also enables publishers to publicise the book twice.
I'm also a memoir lover so totally get you!! I don't think they're going anywhere!
Thank you for that explanation. I once asked a published novelist and they didn’t know, seems like it’s driven by sales (surprise!). I subscribed to your stack and happy to read your work.
This is really enlightening - thanks so much Caro. I especially hadn't considered the point about celeb memoir being affected by the access to celebs we now 'enjoy'.
I agree with everything here. I've lost count of the number of editors who have turned down a book this year because an author doesn't have a 'profile', despite them seemingly loving the actual book. There seems to be an increasing onus on authors to find their readership, and while I agree that this is an important part of their job, publishers also need to play their role in this
Non-celebrity, total nobody, non-journalist, underrepresented writer coming out with a debut memoir in 2025 and all the discourse about memoir being dead makes me nervous 😬
Don't be! Most of us think the discourse is rubbish! We'll be supporting your debut, congratulations!
Thank you Caro, and thank you for sharing such an insightful analysis!
Never opened a substack email so fast... really enjoyed this, especially as someone currently struggling to put together a memoir-ish proposal!
Oh Nina!! I have a proposal template I can email you! Also will be running a 'how to write a proposal course' on Substack from January!
Oh that sounds ace!!! How do we sign up 🧐
Coming in January, will announce soon!
Perfect timing for me as I prepare to put a proposal together, thank you! I will look out for the announcement. Sophie
Oh I would be very interested in this
Coming in January, will announce soon!
Love French flaps - but find B format p/bs ugly and awkward. The smaller publishers seem to be good at creating attractive books within scale; (although, an elegant hardback, of a book one wants to read, is always a pleasure)...
Very enjoyable read. I've actually gotten more into memoir this past year and enjoy it a lot. I find reading people that live elsewhere, have different lives and aren't cookie cutter (not celebrities) way more interesting. Currently I'm diving into Wendy Pratt's book and it's perfect to read in snatches. To then ponder on a walk and come back to.
Exactly, I'm the same! I don't read celebrity memoirs but love any other kind of memoirs, the level of fame doesn't interest me but rather the experience the person has had. Ooooh enjoy Wendy's book, it is truly one of a kind! I would also recommend Polly Atkin's Some of Us Just Fall!
I was just thinking about getting In The Company of Owls by her,maybe be a two-fer purchase!
Portobello Bookshop ships worldwide so you can definitely have a go at several!!
Definitely! I have links to buy both on my profile!
Always fun to get books shipped over to here (I’m in the US) , makes it worth it in my brain to get several at the same time
Really interesting, thanks Caro. And yes I agree that publishers really do need to get with the programme and think of ways to get those readers on side. I’d noticed the process of hardbacks creeping up and it does no favours to us writers. I’ll return to this again later, as I’m so glad you’re writing this stuff. As we discussed before, transparency is sooooo important
Thank you so much, Lily!
Non-celebrity, total nobody, non-journalist, underrepresented writer (stealing Deepa’s words!) whose memoir is out on submission and has just received its first round of rejections…YAY ME 😵
The feedback I’m getting is HOOK. Make it more HOOKY. We need a HOOK. Do you play basketball/love wild swimming/are you an alcoholic? It’s like thoughts and feelings and truth isn’t enough - we MUST add another circle to the Venn diagram of potential readers!
So glad I’ve read this.
Could it be that the memoirs people actually want to read aren’t from celebrities?
Aren’t some of the best films from memoir - I went to see The Outrun last week - quite wonderful and moving and I might now also read the book.
I wrote and self published a memoir about my cancer experience 2 years ago - only read my friends and acquaintances essentially. That’s ok as I did it more for myself. But I often wonder why we think the cancer journey of someone well known is more compelling than anyone else? Especially knowing as many people as I do now who have or had cancer and have wonderful insights and stories to share.
My current book project is non-fiction but grounded in my experience so there will be stories in there. It’s also about a marginalised group (trans youth) so I’m failing in all measures now I’ve read this.
I shall continue though - someone somewhere needs to read it however I get it out into the world.
I appreciate you and your insights 🙏🏻
Hi Jacqui, I'm So happy this was helpful! And I genuinely believe that the issue doesn't lie with memoirs but with how they're being published. Writing and publishing are two different things and I can see with your memoir on your cancer experience that you needed written more than published.
Please don't think after reading my post that you shouldn't be writing your next book! Many people are still publishing memoir, they're just being cautious. We need every experience in the world reflected in publishing so don't give up!
Oh I’m not. Thank you.
I’m a parent of a trans child (17 now) and this voice needs to be heard 😊
It does!! Keep going and let me know if you have any questions 💖
I may well do that 🙏🏻
This is fascinating and revealing. My book Ashes & Stones is part memoir and the book endured many of the issues you deal with here. When I came of age as a writer in the 90s, memoir was huge. Memoirs by writers--usually sordid tell alls--were all the rage. Writers in my community changed novels based on life experiences into memoirs in order to sell their books, and they were successful. I was asked to write Ashes & Stones as memoir in order for it to sell, even perhaps when the publishing/promotional zeal for memoir had already begun to wane.
I do feel that so many writers (and let's not kid ourselves, women and AFAB people) have been pushed into making narrative non-fiction memoir for sales a few years back and now publishers are going the other way... Let books be themselves, I say!
Great post. I've written a memoir and have been encouraged to change it to fiction to get around the difficulty of publishing memoir. I'm going to give it some time before trying that.
Oh that's interesting! Turning memoir into fiction is usually something I would suggest if what you are writing about is based in trauma / matters which could be actionable by law (in the case of abuse etc) if you're unable to write fully about your experience for legal reasons. Though recently a non-fiction writer published a memoir about being groomed by a teacher and published under a pseudonym as well as removed all recognisable features so he could write about the topic a bit more freely (Seventeen by Joe Gibson). Is that why you were encouraged to turn your memoir in fiction? Or is it just to get it published?
If hardback is more expensive, just curious, why print hardback at all? I've never quite understood why there needs to be two different versions and why they get released at different times.
I love memoirs written by every day people/writers. There are phenomenal stories everywhere and rather than read ghostwritten celebrity memoirs, I do try to find memoirs written by real writers.
I consider myself a memoir junkie and plan to keep it reading them for the foreseeable future. This was insightful, thanks Caro!
They print hardback because they can't get publicity on a paperback only - we would need the media to change the way they publicise a book so it would be possible. You publish the hardback first for coverage mostly (though great if sales follow!) and between 6 months (usually for commercial fiction) and a year (most other books) you get a paperback format to be the main edition thereafter (so the hardback goes out of print). Having two formats also enables publishers to publicise the book twice.
I'm also a memoir lover so totally get you!! I don't think they're going anywhere!
Thank you for that explanation. I once asked a published novelist and they didn’t know, seems like it’s driven by sales (surprise!). I subscribed to your stack and happy to read your work.
Thank you so much! And feel free to send any questions if you’d like me to cover any questions you have!
Thanks for sharing this Caro.
My pleasure, Margaret!
Interesting analysis, thank you, Caro.
Thanks, Wendy!
This is really enlightening - thanks so much Caro. I especially hadn't considered the point about celeb memoir being affected by the access to celebs we now 'enjoy'.
Thanks, Nicola! I know, we do share a lot of our lives online so books need to 'stand out' so to speak.
I have heard this so much, and mostly in a kind of hopeless way, but this take feels both practical and hopeful - and galvanising!
Thank you so much, Bonnie! That means a lot!
I agree with everything here. I've lost count of the number of editors who have turned down a book this year because an author doesn't have a 'profile', despite them seemingly loving the actual book. There seems to be an increasing onus on authors to find their readership, and while I agree that this is an important part of their job, publishers also need to play their role in this
Excellent read, Caro!