by Leo Wiles
15 November 2017
I have recently returned to Australia after living abroad for more than a decade and was wondering if I could seek your advice on something. As a writer, I’m particularly interested in memoir writing. Does Australia have the equivalent of a company called Story Terrace? I have undertaken hours of internet-based research but have yet to discover such an entity in Australia. I am wondering where all the biographers are hiding in Australia! Any advice would be much appreciated. Toni
Hi Toni. Thanks for your enquiry. Everyone thinks their life story is fascinating; after all, I don’t know a writer who hasn’t been asked, point-blank, to pen someone’s biography. (For many, such a request might be the point at which you excuse yourself to go and neck a stiff drink in the corner, but at least it shows there’s definitely a demand for this type of writing.)
That demand seems to be currently fed by a multitude of writers’ centres and publishing houses like Allen & Unwin offering to teach people how to write their own life story. There are a small number of talented Australian writers (like this guy) offering life story services – and there’s the National Centre of Biography at the ANU which might have some info for you. But I wasn’t able to find a dedicated memoir-writing agency like Story Terrace either.
I double-checked with a couple of publishing contacts/literary agents, and the general consensus is that there isn’t a similar Australian agency connecting writers with those wanting vanity publishing. That said, many of them – including Curtis Brown – offer ghostwriting services to their clients and are happy to look at new writers’ work.
I also found several desperate people on a Quora thread called, ‘How can I find an author interested in writing my biography with me?’, so it might well be an area where you can create your own memoir writing service, have a gorgeous website designed, and start drumming up your own clients using Facebook ads and word of mouth.
Why not hang out your shingle and see how you go? It could be a fantastic new income stream for you.
Does anyone out there specialise in memoir writing? Can you provide Toni with a few words of wisdom?
Hi, Toni might want to get in touch with Christine Norton of Forget Me Not Stories. She runs a New Zealand-based personal history business and trains writers to work with her. http://www.forget-me-notlifestories.co.nz/
Toni may also be interested in The Life Story Coach Podcast, https://thelifestorycoach.com/blog-podcast/, for ideas on how to start her own life story writing business.
Patti Miller seems to be the memoir writing guru. She offers loads of courses and I think has written books so she might be worth checking out (if you haven’t already).