So, you’ve written your memoir (or your life story) and you are ready to find a publisher. Or do you only need a printer?
There is a difference – and there are many factors you will want to consider as you think about getting your manuscript into a book.
Did you write your memoir because you think your story has commercial potential? Would someone buy your book because it’s such an incredible and unusual story even if the buyer does not know who you are?
Generally, a publisher will not only print and produce books for you but also make the book available for sale and distribution. Publishing also involves graphic design of the cover and interior pages as well as layout – all to certain printing specifications. Publishers also provide an ISBN and barcode – and some also provide marketing.
(If you are planning to self-publish, you will be responsible for all the design and layout, ISBN, barcode, marketing, and determining distribution to retailers so they can make the book available for sale.)
There also are different types of publishers, including traditional publishers (who cover all the costs of publishing your book) and hybrid or cooperative publishers in which the author shares in the costs of publishing the book. (Legacies & Memories LLC provides traditional publishing for select manuscripts, but the firm is primarily a cooperative publisher.) Royalties paid to authors also vary greatly based on whether a traditional or cooperative publisher publishes your book.
If you wrote your manuscript primarily to preserve your story in a book for your family and not to have it distributed to sell, a printing company may be able to print and bind books for you. Of course, not all printing companies provide book binding, but most can print in various formats.
Some might provide publishing services, but most printers are not in the book publishing business. (Legacies & Memories LLC provides book production and printing of memoir and life story manuscripts even if the person doesn’t want to publish the book.)
When choosing a memoir publisher, it’s a good idea to ask whether the company has experience publishing memoirs or autobiographies or biographies. These books are much different than novels or other types of books.
Memoir or Life Story
Many people use the term memoir (or memoirs) to refer to their life story, but there is a difference between memoir and life story.
A memoir usually covers a specific time-period of your life, or it’s based on, or about, a specific theme. For example, you might write a memoir focused only on your time in the military without delving into childhood and family stories.
If you are writing about your entire life, you would be writing a life story, which could be written as an autobiography (in first person) or a biography (in third person). It would be autobiography, your words, if you are doing the writing. An author or writer or biographer could write your life
story as a biography, which is generally more objective.
Whether a memoir, autobiography or biography, a book about your life is important even if it is not published and made available for sale. So, believe your story is valuable for your family and get it into a book.
