What Type Of Writing Is A Biography

Heidi Thorne is a self-publishing advocate and author of nonfiction books, eBooks, and audiobooks. She is a former trade newspaper editor.

Your legacy book may have more personal value than market value

Heidi Thorne (author) via Canva

The Legacy Book

I get a lot of questions from first-time authors who are interested in self publishing what I would call a "legacy" book. This is usually their autobiography or memoir, or the biography of family members. They've never published anything before, yet seem ready to attempt an epic work, often in a short time frame. Usually, too, there's a phrase somewhere in the email similar to, "If I could make a few book sales (or a little money), that would be great."

Then I throw a bucket of cold water reality on their dreams. Why?

Personal Value Versus Market Value

There's really nothing wrong with wanting to memorialize one's personal or family history through the written word and pictures. In fact, I'd encourage it as a gift to your future generations. I want to emphasize "your" future generations.

Here's where these authors get mixed up. Due to their inexperience with publishing, they equate the personal value of their stories with market value. Since these first-time authors often don't have an author platform, or fan base, they have no pool of prospects who are anxious to buy and read their books. They don't realize that the market value of the stories of random, non-celebrity people like themselves is very low. No one will be searching for their books or stories on Amazon or Google. And even if there were people looking for legacy books like these, there are thousands of other choices available. It's very competitive.

My First and Only Book

Legacy authors often tell me that this work is their "first and maybe only/last book." Immediately I know I'm working with someone who has no idea of the scope of the project they are attempting.

As always, the media liability issues of libel, slander, privacy rights, and more apply to their "true" stories. Just add that to the list of things they don't know they don't know when they decide to publish in the real world.

I also know I'm dealing with a newbie because they often inform me that their books are long, like I'll be impressed. I critiqued one such book manuscript that was 175,000 words. Another said his family's book was 500 pages. That's a long book that could be up to 125,000 to 150,000 words. These newbies err in equating words per pound of printed book with value. While there are plenty of popular books with heavy word counts, those that are lighter are more aligned with the publishing marketplace. A traditionally published novel could be in the range of 40,000 to 70,000 words, with about 100,000 words being extraordinarily long.

These authors also don't know they might need serious editing to make it market worthy. When I've read manuscripts of this type, the level of detail can be excruciating to read. These manuscripts can also be play-by-play accounts of mundane or insignificant events. This is often what makes them so long.

And they don't know how to develop a relevant story line derived from real events, which is an advanced writing skill. So they just put in everything because they may have a grandma who will read it and be upset if that one special Christmas dinner held decades ago, and a description of the whole menu, wasn't included. This points to the real problem.

These authors don't care if their books don't make the grade because they're not writing for readers in the general public. They're writing for themselves and their own inner circle, and they've mixed up the personal and market value.

Selling a Few Copies

I love that these legacy authors almost always tell me that they don't care if they make any money with it, but it would be great if they could sell a few copies. Then I confirm that a "few" copies, as in count on one hand, is probably right. Because they are not writing for any market other than themselves, they might sell a copy or two to grandpa and grandma, parents, aunts, uncles, kids, and friends.

Really I think these authors, if you can legitimately call them authors, just want a nice presentation of their own or their family's story in a printed book, usually with photos. So I encourage them to use self publishing platforms like Lulu which offer high quality book printing on coated paper stock which is great for photo printing. They can sell it direct to family and friends through Lulu's print on demand ordering. If they want it sell it on Amazon to satisfy their egos, Lulu can do that for them, too.

Sometimes I even suggest that they use a service like Shutterfly which helps people create a print on demand hard cover photo book. They can also include text to accompany their precious photos. I've even done this myself with beautiful results. These make great gifts for their family and friends, who are the real market for these books.

For others, I've even suggested that they hire a videographer to put together a video of them telling their story. Talented videographers can ask great questions to help guide the subject in telling their story and focusing on the most important things. This is a much richer experience than any book for both the storyteller and viewers. And if they truly aren't interested in making money, they could post it on YouTube to share with the world.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

Heidi Thorne (author) from Chicago Area on September 08, 2020:

Adrienne, that's exactly why memoirs and biographies are not on my TBR (to be read) list. I can't remember the last time I read one, other than as an editor.

I think people see seemingly random people getting book deals with publishers for ordinary stories and think, "Hmm, I could do that, too." What they don't understand is that these random ordinary people may have extraordinary connections to the publishing world.

Thanks for chiming in! Have a wonderful day!

Adrienne Farricelli on September 05, 2020:

Hi Heidi, I can sense why many readers wouldn't be interested in books where the writer writes for the sole purpose of benefiting themselves. Unless it's somebody I know, or someone who has undergone some unique experience or a person I am curious about (such as a celebrity) I would pass reading a biography.

Heidi Thorne (author) from Chicago Area on August 04, 2020:

Thanks, Denise! I know, a lot of people do want to do this. Appreciate you stopping by. Take care!

Denise McGill from Fresno CA on August 04, 2020:

This is really good information and good to keep in mind as so many are thinking of their memoirs.

Blessings,

Denise