INSIGHTFUL TIPS

This post could also be called: What I Wish I Knew Before I Started Writing My Memoir. This is part two of a three-part series (previously posted on Writers in the Storm on June 14th, 2021). Today I’m sharing Part 2, where we discuss with the same authors I wrote about, the positive things and surprises that came out of their memoir projects—the unintended consequences memoir writing can have in our lives. When I work with memoir writers as their editor or writing coach, ther

This post could also be called: What I Wish I Knew Before I Started Writing My Memoir. This is part one of a three-part series (previously posted on Writers in the Storm on April 14th, 2021). As a nonfiction editor and writing coach, I often work with first-time memoir writers who have a story to tell and need help shaping it. These writer-editor relationships may last from six months to three years until what really needs to be said makes its way to the surface of a page. Me

When did you first decide to write about your grandfather’s story? I decided to write about my grandparents after coming across an original land real estate transaction document from 1907. It was the deed for the first and only farm my grandparent’s owned. That place was Grandpa Charly’s farm. When I met you and read your story, you had a very different book than the one we have today. How do you feel the manuscript evolved? I recall you telling me there was a story worth tel

(previously posted on Writers in the Storm on July 26th, 2020). A few months ago, my editor and translator colleague Luis Pelayo asked me, “Why aren’t more US authors publishing in Spanish?” He shared a 2019 report titled "El Español: Una Lengua Viva" (Spanish: A Living Language) from the respected Instituto Cervantes, a non-profit organization devoted to the study and teaching of Spanish language and culture. The study states that Spanish is a first language for 483 million

The Amateur vs the Prepared Writer In the first three pages of an unpublished manuscript, an editor, a publisher, or an agent can tell the difference between a novice writer and someone who is actively working at their craft. Google Docs, or Grammarly will underline problematic words, pointing them out loudly. Those are the initial “oversights” you should fix before submitting your work to an agent, editor, or publisher, aka your first serious readers. But, other words on the

There are many reasons why you should write a historical memoir. Let me share with you one story. My neighbor-turned-friend, Ed Kuehn, was born and raised in Ripon, Wisconsin. When we met, Ed was retired, enjoying his free time, and doing family research. He’d come across his grandfather’s house deed, from the early 1900s, and was investigating some names and landholdings. I was a California transplant and had moved to rural Wisconsin because of my husband’s work. Once we set