Book Process - Memoir | Kevin Gault

BOOK PROCESS-MEMOIR

Telling Your Story in Your Unique Voice

“My life would make a great book.”

Have you ever had that thought? Maybe it was after you told a friend about one occurrence after another that couldn’t possibly happen to anyone else—only you.

Or when you reflected on a deeply personal and difficult time in your life that you’ve kept locked inside for ages.

It might have been thoughts of your own success, and the long succession of daunting obstacles you overcame to get there.

Or something you learned that changed your life for the better, and you need to share it with the world.

If you think your life would make a great book, but you don’t have the time, the writing skill or the desire to write it yourself—creating high-level, engaging prose is hard!—you’ve come to the right place.

Contact me. We’ll have conversations about your story—kept strictly confidential—and how I’ll turn it into a compelling, meaningful memoir that will convey your real-life experiences and keep readers turning the pages.

After all, even the most interesting life story won’t interest readers if it doesn't move briskly and have scenes in which the characters interact through action, dialogue and conflict. Introspection and reflection are essential as you try to fully understand how—and why—that part of your life shaped you as a person.

Did you grow and improve? What did you learn? How did you change? What impact did you have on the people around you? How did that time play an important role in your future?

If you choose me to write your story, I’ll do the heavy lifting, but we’ll take the journey together. When we’re finished, you’ll have a well-told, accurate tale that sheds light on an important part of your life.

Visit the Contact page and tell me a bit about your story. It might be your first step on an interesting, meaningful and enjoyable journey.

The Process

Months 1 and 2

At we begin the project, I’ll gather the information I need to write a detailed outline, which will serve as the roadmap for writing your book.

We’ll discuss your story in depth—preferably for five to eight hours every week on the phone—and I’ll record our conversations. (Later, I’ll use a professional transcribing service to create a transcript that I’ll refer to when I’m writing.)

I’ll ask a lot of questions and gently encourage you to express yourself freely—I’ll need to know exactly what you’re thinking and feeling as we explore your past.

We’ll identify the main characters and clearly define the “engines” of any engaging story—powerful scenes. In every chapter, those characters will interact through action, dialogue and conflict. At the end of each scene, It’s important to leave something unresolved so the reader needs to find out what happens next.

During our conversations, I’ll ask you to reflect on the deeper meaning of that time in your life, how it affected you, maybe in ways you didn’t realize until much later.

We’ll also step back from the action and discuss character arcs and story arcs, which chart the overall shape of your story and define key moments of change and personal growth.

As we continue our discussions, I’ll gain a feel for your voice, your style of speaking, words and phrases that you like to use. This is critically important because the story must be told in your voice, not mine.

Month 3

In Month 3, I’ll use the transcripts of our conversations to create an outline for your story. I’ll present the outline to you for your review and revisions.

We’ll spend a considerable amount of time discussing the outline, sharpening the focus, adding important information and shaping scenes. We'll strive to have an outline that you approve by the end of Month 3.

Months 4, 5 and 6

At this point, I’ll move on to the writing phase. We’ll continue to communicate regularly by phone and e-mail. After I complete each chapter, I’ll send it to you for your review and revisions. I won’t move on to the next chapter until you’re satisfied with the one I’ve written. We’ll stick to a consistent schedule and by the end of Month 6, your book manuscript will be completed.

Months 7 and 8

After you’ve approved the manuscript, I’ll review it twice—once for line editing (polishing the writing and removing excess) and once for proofreading (reading closely for spelling and punctuation errors).

When I’ve completed those reviews, the manuscript should be error-free, but it’s important to have “fresh eyes” take an objective look at a finished piece of writing. I’ll send the manuscript to two experienced editorial professionals for their review:

A developmental editor who will provide suggestions on how to execute your story even better

A proofreader who will take one last look to catch small errors

After these experts provide their feedback, I’ll make revisions and present the manuscript to you for your final review.

When you give your approval, your finished book manuscript will be ready for publishing. After our long, productive journey together, it will be time to share your story with the world!