How to Write an Autobiography in a Few Easy Steps

What better way to celebrate your life, than by recording the events, happenings, and celebrations of it by writing an autobiography. Telling your story in first person allows for creative liberties to be taken by the author, while enjoying a purely cathartic process that indulges your senses, while freely recording your life's journey. In order to begin, there are several steps to help one begin the process of writing an autobiography from start to finish. 

Step One: Consider Your Goals

Your life is more than a list of events, it is a message. When determining how to write an autobiography, consider the tone you would like to resonate with your readers. Outlining your autobiography should start with who will be reading it, and what events in your life formed who you are as a person. You are the only one who can write your autobiography so relax, and outline the natural flow of your life's story. Not to worry, you can change the outline at any time, for any reason. 

Step Two: Set Deadlines

Although writing your autobiography may seem daunting at first, especially for first time writers, establishing deadlines will help keep you on track. Set a timeline for when you would like each portion of the outline completed. If that is not enough to keep the writing discipline underway, establish reading events with others to add outside pressure to aid in the completion of key steps. 

Step Three: Start Writing

Once you start the writing process, do not let the end result of completing the entire autobiography overwhelm you. Write as much as you can, whenever you can, and do not beat yourself up if you hit a dry spell. Veterans of the writing world know exactly what it is like to experience writer's block, so relax and know that if it does happen, it happens to the best too. You know your story, so tell it. Just keep going, and know you can edit it later. 

Step Four: Complete Your Autobiography

Congratulations on your work! What a gigantic accomplishment to write an autobiography! Once you are finished giving yourself a well deserved pat on the back, determine what you are going to do with your manuscript. Whether it was meant for one family member, or an entire generation, just friends, or for the entire world, self publishing will provide you with the quickest way to completion. Self publishing your autobiography will allow you to retain the resale rights, but not without incurring costs to produce it. These charges will vary from each self-publishing company, so take the time to research your options. Locating a self- publisher with a respectable reputation online will assist in identifying the best genre to represent your autobiography, and how to market it accordingly.

If self-publishing is not for you, contact an agent to feed your autobiography to publishers. Instead of assaulting the publishing companies with your work directly, which typically results in less luck than one would expect, agents have specific contacts to get your manuscript read, while lessening the work load on your end. Supplying a sampling of your autobiography and its overall written treatment to an agent will help open the right doors to getting the audience your book deserves. 

Writing an autobiography is a great way to share your experiences and accomplishments, large or small, with others. Whether you take your story to the streets on your own, with an agent, or simply want to leave something for your family to enjoy, the overall fulfillment of completing such an incredible task will be an experience of meaning and satisfaction. You never know yours may even become one of the top autobiographies on the NY Times list.