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HOW TO BEGIN? FIRST: e-mail me  I can only handle three memoirs at any one time. If I am available immediately, you will hear from me by the following morning and we can schedule our first interview. If there is a waiting list, I will email you an advisory and give you an approximate date when we can begin. If this memoir is to be a gift for someone, you can pre-schedule before you create your own gift-certificate. SECOND: Download SKYPE (Click the blue SKYPE to go to download site.) SKYPE is a really REALLY free software program that will allow us to have face-to-face conversations even if we are thousands of miles apart. SKYPE is designed to allow us to see each other as we talk, but if you do not have a "web cam" we can still converse, and the conversation is really REALLY free. Having a web cam helps because this will allow you to show me pictures, hand gestures, or memorabilia that will help me understand the story that you are telling me. We can even use this method to select the photos that you may want to include in your memoir. HOW DOES THE PROCESS WORK? A typical memoir requires about 8 - 12 hours of interviewing time conducted over a series of days. I will ask questions and as you answer, I will be typing what you are saying. I am generally able to keep up with any adult conversation because I am a very fast typist. I am also very good at asking questions that will evoke fun memoiries that you thought you had forgotten. This process is designed to elicit the most fun and interesting memories, many of which you may not have thought about for many, many years. When the first interview is finished, I will begin to design the pages of your memoir and begin the process of laying out your manuscript in book style. This process will occur after each interview. When all interviews are completed and the initial draft of the book is completed, I will create your memoir as a PDF proof that preserves the page layout. You can read it or print it using the really REALLY free Adobe Reader or any other PDF reader. You have the final say on what is included or not, as well as how the memoir is worded. We will talk via SKYPE or communicate via email as often as is necessary to complete the project. When your memoir is completed, you may download your memoir along with instructions I will give you on how to bind your new book in a beautiful but really REALLY free way. You will also receive a word processing document that is readable by most word processing programs. (It will be created in Open Office - which is really REALLY free open-sourced software). Keep this file carefully protected. I will also give you a way to safeguard your precious digital document. I suggest that you upload it to a really REALLY free site (Dropbox) that protects your doucument from natural disasters, house fires, or other loss. With this file, you or your heirs will be able to make as many copies of your memoir as are wanted. By accepting this arrangment, you stipulate that you understand that your memoir is an open source document (is not and will not be copyrighted), and that you will not sell your memoir or make any profit what-so-ever from it. This is in keeping with the really REALLY free market vision. I only ask that you find some way to pay it forward in a way that serves your own unique talents and abilities. Even the most senior or disabled among us has something to share. Whether you can write a letter to someone who is housebound, or better yet, pick up the phone and offer a hand of friendship, please join the movement that is connecting us with one another in an effort to stop the dehumanizing devaluation of humanity that is occurring around the world because money has become more important than people. WHO AM I? I have been a professional memoirst since 2003. You may see some of my "samples" by clicking on this link. Review my samples (actual memoirs) and decide for yourself whether you want to continue or not. I will allow my work to speak for itself. I love helping people create memoirs. It is a talent of mine that I share with the world in a way that reflects the workings of the world that I want to live in - a world where each and every one of us are honored and appreciated for who we are. WHAT WILL YOUR MEMOIR LOOK LIKE? Your memoir is designed to be read by as large an audience as possible. This means that your finished book will be something that a reading grandchild will be able to pick up and enjoy. This occurs naturally, because as you talk about your childhood, you have a tendency to use words the way you did as a child. I will use YOUR words and YOUR idioms as I transcribe the words that you speak, while I edit out gross gramatical errors and extraneous material. That being said: Some people unknowingly begin every sentence with the word "And" or end almost every sentence with "You know". Unnecessary and distracting words like "and" or "you know" are deleted unless you specifically request that your words are transcribed verbatim. Also, as you occasionally struggle for the right word, I will help you find the word or phrase that you are looking for and the final product will reflect that. In other words, I will make every effort to ensure that you are presented in the most favorble light possible while retaining the essence of who you are as an individual. Generally, the words you will read in your fnished book are words that you told me in your own voice and in your own speaking style. This means that when someone reads your memoir, they will get the sense that you are right there beside them, telling your story in person - even if the reader lives 200 or more years into the future. WHAT KINDS OF STORIES WILL BE IN YOUR BOOK? YOUR stories from your earliest memories and knowledge of family history until the time that you marry or your children come into the world. In my experience as a professional memoirist, I have found that stories from before the time children are born are the easiest and most fun to talk about. This is supposed to be a FUN time of reminiscence. You will get to relive your favorite memoiries. Stories from "the olden days" are always interesting. This being the case, "The olden days" will be the primary focus of your memoir. If you have questions, please feel free to email me, I will do my best to answer them. Gail (The Memoirist) |
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