Working together
Help writing your life story.
Everything you need to do this yourself is in the book, and I mean that literally — nothing is held back for a paid tier. But some people would rather not do it alone, and that is what this page is for.
What I do
I interview people about their lives, turn recordings into finished writing that still sounds like them, and get the result printed and into the hands of the family. Most of the work is the interviewing. The writing is the easier half.
Guided sessions
You do the writing; I keep you moving. Four hour-long sessions, prompts chosen for your material, and honest feedback on what you produce between them. Best if you like writing and want structure and a deadline.
$600–900Four sessions
Recorded interviews
I interview you — or a parent or grandparent — across six to eight recorded sessions, then deliver clean, organized transcripts along with the original audio. You own everything and can write from it yourself, or stop there. The audio alone is often what a family treasures most.
$1,800–2,800Six to eight sessions
A story collection
The interviews above, shaped into ten to twelve finished pieces in your own voice, then designed as a real book: typeset interior, cover, and print-ready files you can take to any printer. This is what most families actually want.
$4,500–7,500Finished book
A full memoir
A complete manuscript. Fifteen to twenty-five hours of interviews, research where a story needs it, a structure that carries a reader from beginning to end, and full production. Four to eight months, depending on scope.
$9,000–15,000Complete manuscript
Additions
Publishing setup on Amazon, from $500. Recording you reading the finished pieces as audio, from $400. Extra printed copies at cost. Rush work by arrangement.
from $400
Every project is a flat fee agreed before we start, paid in four parts: on signing, at transcripts, at first draft, and on delivery. The scope — interview hours, revision rounds, length — is written down at the beginning so neither of us is guessing.
Before you write to me
Two honest notes, so nobody wastes their time.
If your question is about craft, the answer is probably in the book. Stuck because everything reads flat? That is nearly always summary where a scene belongs, and Chapter 4 covers it. Can’t remember enough? Chapter 3. Started and stalled? You have likely taken on a scope you can’t finish, which is Chapter 2. I am glad to point you to the right chapter, and I do read every message.
If someone in your family is old or unwell, do not wait for me. Put your phone on the table this week and ask them one question. An imperfect recording made now is worth more than a perfect project that starts too late. That advice is free and it is the most important thing on this page.
Get in touch
Tell me who the book is for, roughly how much material exists already, and when you would like to have it in hand. I will tell you which of the above fits, or if none of them do.