Writing your book
Practical guides on writing a memoir, a biography, a family history, a business book, or a book of your own, drawn from a working method that takes a book from interviews to a finished manuscript.
How to write a memoir: a working method
Find the thread, gather your material, write in scenes, hold one voice, and finish.
GenreWhat genre is your book, and why it matters
How naming your genre shapes the structure, the voice and the research.
DecisionWrite your own book, or hire a ghostwriter?
What a ghostwriter does, what it costs, and when to do it yourself.
CostHow much does a ghostwriter cost?
What it costs, what moves the price, and the cheaper ways to a good book.
BusinessHow to write a business or founder's book
Find the one idea, structure it, and get it written when you have no time.
ResearchWhy source material makes or breaks a true book
Why a true book lives on its sources, and how to gather and map them.
Family historyHow to interview a parent before it is too late
The questions to ask, and how to capture the answers while you can.
Family historyHow to write your family history
Turn records, photos and memories into a history someone will actually read.
MemoirHow to write about family without hurting them
Telling the truth on the page while keeping the peace at home.
CraftHow to keep one voice across a whole book
The hardest technical task in a long book, and how to hold it.
VoiceWhy writing in the voice of an author you admire helps
How a tone-of-voice model gives your book a register to write toward.
ToolsThe best software for writing a book
What to look for, and how the main options compare for a long project.
Coming next
How to start a memoir
Where to begin when the whole life feels like too much.
Memoir structure: chronological or braided
The two main shapes a memoir takes, and how to choose.
What does a ghostwriter actually do?
Inside the process, from the first interview to the final manuscript.