Though I take my clients’ privacy very seriously, I do get incredibly excited about the projects I work on. So in this Stories from the Inbox series, I tell you a little bit about the amazing projects that cross my desk. This time: the memoir project I will call “the personal history project”. This book was written by an Indian author, who hired me to help with their book proposal and to edit their memoir. As a book editor, I actually love working on memoirs the most (shhht, don’t tell the other authors!). So this project was especially exciting to me, as it took the memoir genre and made it do something new!
The Personal History Project
A few months ago, a person from India found me and asked me to help them with a book proposal. They had written the story of their life (so far). But that’s not where they stopped: they explained all the world-scale events that had influenced their personal anecdotes. Their best friend moving abroad led them to discuss the abolishing of the caste system. And their first encounter with Coca-Cola led them to discuss the economic isolationism of India, especially during the Cold War.
Once we finished the proposal for this memoir, the author requested my help in editing the entire book. And this gave me the opportunity to dive deeply into this personal history, as a universally relevant life story.
What projects like these bring to life for me is both the diversity and similarities that can be found in the experiences of people all over the world. I love editing memoir and translating the author’s highly personal life into a teachable moment. Into something that resonates with the majority of readers. And for this one specifically, it fascinated me to see how in their memoir the author contextualized their own life, how they narrate their connections to the larger world.
Key Lessons about memoir projects
Every person is different. Every experience is unique. And that makes each memoir unique But in every story we can find something we can make our own. We can apply their lessons to our own life.
And the biggest lesson I learned? How lucky I am to have the opportunity to work with amazing people and learn a little more every day.
Update: The author has allowed me to share their book with you. Tarun Dev Sharma’s book Triumph Amidst Crisis is out on the 10th of October 2020 on Kindle.
Do you need help with your memoir?
If, like this author, you too would like some help with your book proposal or editing your memoir: I’m here to help! Just schedule your first free video call using the button on the bottom of your screen or by going to my scheduling page.
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