- Joined
- Oct 7, 2007
- Messages
- 240
- Reaction score
- 12
Hi all: I know "calling my memoir a memoir" question has been asked over and over and I've read through many threads (thank you all for your contribution.)
I originally thought of writing my book as "based on a true story" fiction. It happened between 1975 and 1977 and the main characters have all passed (except me of course) but the story I want to tell is one that those who were there, and are still alive, don't know anything about.
They thought of me an entirely different way than they will think of me after this is published. When I spoke briefly to the sister of the person who will be the main character, she said, "I need some time with this (information.)" and I never heard from her again. She had been so anxious to talk to me until I said, "This happened...." (and it was just a very small inkling of the story) and then she went poof!
The story, long since frozen inside me, came pouring out of me last year after learning of the death of one of the main characters. I think that as long as he was alive, I was never going to acknowledge this other thing that happened.
It's not a pretty story, but it just poured out. As it was pouring out, I had the timeline pretty screwed up which is when I thought, "I'll just write it as fiction 'based on a true story.'" But I have letters and journals and other things that I either didn't know I had or didn't want to read. So extra "memories" came through and they were pretty well documented at the time of when all this occurred.
There are not a lot of surviving family members of the main character but they had no idea. It's not anything horrible, but it's news. Most of the story is about me and the three people who are deceased.
So I'm rethinking it as memoir. I don't think the family would be thrilled with the book but I don't see anything actionable about it. The men in the family had the absolute worst reputations around and I don't talk about the women (the family members who have survived) except as minor characters with very glowing reputations.
My agent is retiring and doesn't rep fiction or memoir anyway, so I need to query new agents and want to get it right as to what it is. I'm leaping from self-help non-fiction to this and then I have another book in the works which is a bit memoir/non-fiction/self-help. My query letter will focus on one but I don't know if my previous publishing experience will help or hurt so I want to get the genre right
Thoughts? Thank you!
Susan
I originally thought of writing my book as "based on a true story" fiction. It happened between 1975 and 1977 and the main characters have all passed (except me of course) but the story I want to tell is one that those who were there, and are still alive, don't know anything about.
They thought of me an entirely different way than they will think of me after this is published. When I spoke briefly to the sister of the person who will be the main character, she said, "I need some time with this (information.)" and I never heard from her again. She had been so anxious to talk to me until I said, "This happened...." (and it was just a very small inkling of the story) and then she went poof!
The story, long since frozen inside me, came pouring out of me last year after learning of the death of one of the main characters. I think that as long as he was alive, I was never going to acknowledge this other thing that happened.
It's not a pretty story, but it just poured out. As it was pouring out, I had the timeline pretty screwed up which is when I thought, "I'll just write it as fiction 'based on a true story.'" But I have letters and journals and other things that I either didn't know I had or didn't want to read. So extra "memories" came through and they were pretty well documented at the time of when all this occurred.
There are not a lot of surviving family members of the main character but they had no idea. It's not anything horrible, but it's news. Most of the story is about me and the three people who are deceased.
So I'm rethinking it as memoir. I don't think the family would be thrilled with the book but I don't see anything actionable about it. The men in the family had the absolute worst reputations around and I don't talk about the women (the family members who have survived) except as minor characters with very glowing reputations.
My agent is retiring and doesn't rep fiction or memoir anyway, so I need to query new agents and want to get it right as to what it is. I'm leaping from self-help non-fiction to this and then I have another book in the works which is a bit memoir/non-fiction/self-help. My query letter will focus on one but I don't know if my previous publishing experience will help or hurt so I want to get the genre right
Thoughts? Thank you!
Susan
Last edited: