Forever Young Autobiographies

Case study: Daughter helps retired Brisbane dad write his autobiography

Retiree editor uses surefire way to record father’s life story

First published June 14, 2018: This article has been updated and improved.

Beginning a life-story project is often about timing.

Certainly this was the case for former editor Jan and her father when they sat down to compile his autobiography in Brisbane, Queensland.

Indeed both were retired and considered the idea unbeknown to each other!

“I had been thinking about some sort of record of his life story for a while but hadn’t got any further than thinking about it,” Jan said.

“Once dad retired it seemed the time was right.

“While he now has spare time he seems to be really enjoying being retired but he enjoyed his life-story project and put a lot of effort into it.”

Jan started the life story with help from the Your Family Stories System and today gives us the lowdown on how the project unfolded plus what she found most rewarding …

Best online writing tools: Story writing apps and writing programs to try and love

How to write a life story using best writing software (online dictionary, Grammarly, Rev + more!)

First published July 26, 2018: This article has been updated and improved.

Hands up if you or your spouse are bad at reading maps?

Indeed the experience can be stressful, frustrating … and perhaps a tad funny!

Thankfully bad map readers are a dying breed given new tools like in-car navigation systems and smartphone map apps.

But technology is not just for the car.

Certainly it can help us pull into the fast lane to fix spelling and grammar during the writing process.

Therefore, here are my best online writing tools to keep you on track when you sit down to write an autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project.

So rev the engine and let’s get started …

Good writing: Writing tips on how to become a better writer (plus writing prompts free training)

4 amazing ways to overcome ‘bad writer’ fears and build writing confidence

First published July 12, 2018: This article has been updated and improved.

I hear many people say they need to be a ‘good writer’ to start an autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project.

Or folks say they couldn’t possibly put pen to paper because they didn’t do well at school.

Indeed, for years I told myself this too when time and again my school work came back riddled with red-pen corrections.

However, I was lucky others encouraged and supported me to keep sitting down to write.

Now, as a long-time print editor and life-story coach, I’m here to do the same for you!

So keep reading for my top good writing tips (and free writing prompts training!) to help you start and continue recording life stories …

Editing: Don’t try self editing before reading this!

A copy editor’s 4 quick and easy tips for revising and editing your own work

First published May 31, 2018: This article has been updated and improved.

I’ve panelbeaten countless stories into shape working as a newspaper subeditor in Australia and England.

Indeed, reading and correcting acres of copy is all part of the job!

But pruning and tightening is also an essential step for those who have written a first draft of an autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project.

A small amount of time spent ‘polishing’ a manuscript is a wonderful investment.

Firstly, it will help you become a better writer and secondly, you will be a reader crowd-pleaser.

So here are my top editing suggestions to make your writing shine so it is ‘all killer and no filler’!

Case study: Life coach pens powerful memoir Point Me to the Skies to help others

Jessica Lynn Jacquez on writing and growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area

New writer Jessica Lynn Jacquez’s mem o ir Point Me to the Skies is full of resilience, courage and faith.

The certified life coach was born in Oakland, California, and grew up trying to survive tumult and violence.

Firstly Jacquez says her relationship with her mother was defined by “deep-rooted brokenness and drug and alcohol abuse” but with hints of unconditional love.

Meanwhile her father was destructive and troublesome.

However, Jacquez was forced to escape after developing a relationship with a man who mirrored her turbulent past.

Indeed she made a powerful comeback “proving that anything is possible”.

Jacquez now lives with her husband David on America’s East Coast.

And this week she gives us a behind-the-scenes look at why and how she wrote the powerful life story plus valuable tips for new writers …

Ask Nicola Q&A: What you should know about Forever Young Autobiographies publishing services

Forever Young Autobiographies publishing services. Open book sits on a beach with pages curved into a heart shape. Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Everything you need to know about my new life-story publishing services

Hello and welcome to Forever Young Autobiographies – Ask Nicola.

As a life-story writing coach I’m asked questions about planning, writing, polishing and publishing life stories for family and friends.

And in this series I reveal how I help new writers just like you!

So this edition of Ask Nicola answers the following question:

What are the new Forever Young Autobiographies publishing services? Can you tell me more?

Thanks for this top question!

I’m super excited to now be able to offer Forever Young Autobiographies publishing services (plus a special readers’ deal below!) in addition to writer coaching calls.

Perhaps you don’t want to sit down to write, are time poor or worried about technical hurdles to publish an autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project?

That’s were I can help as a professional life-story coach and experienced daily newspaper print editor.

Chapters: 3 questions answered about book chapters

How to make chapters + master chapter length

During quarantine periods many of my friends and family have been doing puzzles.

This has included small puzzles and huge ‘take-over-the-kitchen-table’ style jigsaws.

Indeed, for some, puzzles have become a source of daily addiction!

When we write an autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project we ‘piece together’ a story just like doing a puzzle.

Certainly, as we move through the planning, writing, polishing and publishing phases chapters become the puzzle pieces that connect to reveal our greater life story.

So before you sit down to write again discover the importance of chapters for you and your reader …

Book launch: A toast to 8 book party tips to try

Super book launch ideas + book launch party suggestions

What’s the next best thing after finishing your autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project?

Holding a book launch party to celebrate!

Certainly finishing a book is a momentous achievement and definitely deserves to be shared and enjoyed.

Coronavirus has put a dampener on parties, as I recently found out firsthand with my grandmother’s book.

But a celebration of some description (while observing health restrictions) should definitely be entertained after all the time spent sitting down to write and navigating the planning, writing, polishing and planning phases.

So let’s get this party started with eight top book launch tips …

Edit: The ultimate guide to polishing your writing

What every life-story writer ought to know about revising and editing

I like gardening, specifically pruning.

Hacking into overgrown trees and shrubs with a pair of loppers is just so satisfying!

However, when these ‘flowery’ limbs are paragraphs in your life-story project it gets a bit more difficult.

Indeed, often we are attached to our writing or are confused about what parts need work or culling.

But just like a wildly overgrown garden, a first draft definitely needs taming.

Therefore, in this ultimate guide I show you how to sit down to edit and come up with a final draft of which you will be proud.

This guide is part three in the ‘ultimate series’, which includes the ultimate guide about planning to write life stories, the ultimate guide of life-story tips for new writers and the ultimate guide to publishing a life story.

Okay, roll up your sleeves and let’s get pruning!

Book review: Working Class Man by Cold Chisel’s Jimmy Barnes

The quick way to find out what Barnesy’s second memoir by Harper Collins is all about

In his youth Jimmy Barnes reckons he was here for a good time not a long time.

And you definitely get that feeling from the start of the Australian rock-and-roll legend’s second memoirWorking Class Man released by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Ltd in 2017.

This fast-paced book is a follow up to Barnesy’s award-winning bestseller Working Class Boy (see my review here), which detailed moving to Australia and growing up in Adelaide.

While the first book is about running away, Working Class Man is about running out of time and trying to put things right.

The two books have reportedly sold over 500,000 copies making them the most successful biographical series in local publishing history.

And hot on the heels of these two is Killing Time: Short Stories From the Long Road Home, due out in October.

But first, let’s find out more about Working Class Man and what it can teach us as life-story writers …