The Memoir Formula

How I Discovered the Memoir Formula

For years I wanted to be a writer. You see, I come from a family of writers. My father was a sportswriter. My mother was a reporter. My sister is a writer and former publishing executive. My husband is a newspaper editor, columnist and public radio show host. My best friend is the best science writer there is.

But none of that made me the writer I am today. None of it allowed me to publish four mass-market books, and none of it made me one of the most sought after memoir coaches in the world.

That came from thirty years of long nights, working with talented editors, first at the New York Times and then with the four publishers who graciously published my books.

These thirty years of practice molded me into the writer I am today, and prompted literally thousands of writers to ask me to help with their books.

So I began to teach a class, where I revealed the formula successful authors use to write compelling memoir.

That class consistently sold out for roughly twenty years. But there are two problems.

1. You had to live in upstate New York to attend.
2. It no longer runs.

And for those two reasons, I’ve been forced to say no to hundreds of students who have contacted me after either reading my book on how to write memoir or who read about the course I used to teach. And saying no bothers me. Because if not for the guidance of all those editors in my life, I would still only dream of being a writer. And I love sharing what I’ve learned with people who want to embark on the noble task of writing memoir.

So, after years of requests, I’ve created an online course that teaches you, step-by-step, how to structure and write a book-length memoir.

Here are some testimonials from past students:

Marion Roach Smith isn’t just a fine teacher, generous mentor, and sharp and kind critic, she’s also a master at the form of memoir. She coaxes from you and your text what you’re really trying to communicate. She whittles away the unnecessary until all that’s left is the shining essential: your story.
— David Leite, author, Notes on a Banana: A Memoir of Food, Love and Manic Depression (Dey Street, 2017), blogger at Leite’s Culinaria

It is neither simple nor comfortable to strip yourself naked in 200-plus pages of a memoir. Even more painful is shipping said document to a stranger for a thorough review and content edit. But in hiring Marion Roach Smith to edit my manuscript, I discovered not only a caretaker but a craftsman. Marion knows the art of story: how to pull all the right pieces together, arrange them in perfect order, so the telling is both honoring and rich. She took my raw, exposed draft and helped me turn it into a masterpiece. It will not be the last time I bare my soul to such a talent.
– Michele Cushatt, writer, speaker, author of Undone, A Story of Asking Peace With An Unexpected Life, (Zondervan, 2015) and I Am, A 60-Day Journey to Knowing Who You Are Because of Who He Is (Zondervan, 2017).

The Buddhist proverb “When the student is ready, the teacher appears” has certainly proven true in my own life. After deciding to move forward with a memoir languishing on my hard drive for 5 years, I discovered that Marion, who has penned one of the best memoir writing books around, also offered one-on-one editing and manuscript critiques. Huzzah! She’s a gifted instructor whose guidance and encouragement are making me a better writer and my book, a much more viable piece for publication.
– Judith Henry, author, The Dutiful Daughter’s Guide to Caregiving. (Broadcloth Books, 2015).