My services
Have you ever thought about wanting your life story in a book? Or have the story of your company and its journey told to boost business?
I've been hearing and telling stories all my life as a journalist and editor. Now I want to tell YOUR story. Who's this for? It could be your grandparent, a high-flying manager, a retired military person, a parent with a few anecdotes or a CEO celebrating their company's 10-year birthday.
Trust, openess, communication and listening. All key for me to help people feel comfortable revealing their stories. Delving into the past can be daunting and emotional, AND rewarding, so I don't bulldoze into people's lives.
Some clients have tried to warn me their stories are boring. Over time, they open up and love the process of sharing memories. Some have even called it therapeutic and healing. Here's what I do.......
1. Prepare for questioning!
I start by sending a questionnaire to poke memories and help steer conversations. It’s just a list of trigger questions – not a list of things that definitely need answering. Some may be irrelevant. Good subjects could be childhood, parents, hobbies, family, school, holidays, jobs, plus the fun, sad, poignant stories.
2. First impressions
A face-to-face chat is a good start to build trust. I am based In High Wycombe, BUCKS, UK. But Zoom, phone calls or WhatsApp all work. I'm happy to accommodate anybody's wishes - anything that helps people open up on their stories and memories. The aim is to explore areas they are passionate about and get a feel of the parts of their life they'd like to focus on.
3. Building the stories
A typical story structure involves subjects such as grandparents and parents, childhood, school, relationships, jobs and hobbies; plus other random stories (happy or sad) that have been inspirational and memorable. Depending on time, commitment, budget and ambition, we can focus on some or all subjects.
4. Piecing the jigsaw
After a few chats to gather stories, I write up the words (AI software speeds this up) and build the book. I will communicate with the client during all this, ensuring everyone’s happy with the words and style, what they want to omit or keep and explore other subjects not covered. A way to reduce costs (and cut down the need to speak to me!) would be recording answers as a voice note.
5. Every picture tells a story
Words are vital for any story, but you can't beat a photo to liven up a book and give it colour and personality. A picture of a baby in a bath or kid in school uniform or a grandparent surrounded by family. I cannot stress enough the importance of spending time digging out photos - old and new, digital or hard copy.
6. Final countdown
When everyone's happy with the words, photos, stories, and not forgetting a classy book title and a fabulous photo for the book cover, it's time to send to the printers. How many copies do you want? The client decides. It takes around 14 working days for the beautiful book to arrive back, and will be presented in a quality gift box and ready to share with family and friends.
7. How much will the book cost?
The major cost factor depends on how long it takes and the client deciding how much of their life they want in the book. After doing the questionnaire and having the initial chat, I will be able to ascertain how long it should take. I will form a quote at this stage.
A book with stories on most subjects would need 2 or 3 chats of around 1 to 2 hours each. Each conversation needs transcribing and editing with a final edit to compile the stories and photos. Book can be done much quicker with less subjects or if you have some stories written down already. Costs can be from £700 to £5,000, depending on the time it takes and how indepth you want to go into telling your stories. This cost includes five free books.
The books are printed with a high-quality hand-made hardback cover and silk paper designed to fully complement pages of text and photos.
Some clients may have a capped budget. No problem! I can outline the type of book I could produce working within these parameters.
8. Final thoughts
I strive for flexibility, transparency and satisfaction. Some of these processes may sound quite regimented, but I am a very flexible operator and happy to discuss all requests.
Perhaps you'd like both parents to tell their story, or you have a company wanting to tell the story for your 20th anniversary.
Message me. Call. Email. Contact me on social media. I'm based in High Wycombe and have wheels AND can talk virtually! I'd love to hear from you.
