How it works

If you decide that you would like to write an autobiography or you want to commission a book for a loved one, all you need to do is get in touch and we’ll arrange everything! At the end, you will have a great quality hardback book with your life story, illustrated by your chosen photographs.

Let’s assume the book is about you. We will simply come to your home or a convenient meeting place (during the Coronavirus lockdown, we can arrange a video chat) and ask you lots of questions about your life!

The process in detail

Get in Touch. The first thing is to get in touch and we will talk you through the process. We will arrange a time for the first interview and at the same time we will send you a list of the sorts of questions we will be asking.

You can complete the questionnaire or just use this as a guide of what to expect during the interview.

The interviews. We will start by asking about your memories of your grandparents (if you can remember them) and your parents or guardians.

Then we will talk about your childhood memories, and continue through your life experiences.

The questions we ask are designed to prompt memories. For instance, we ask about what your favourite meals were, what films you enjoyed, what music you listened to. So many memories are hidden away, so our job is to bring these back to life.

The standard package includes two 3.5 hour interviews. This is enough time to produce a detailed and informative book.

You may wish to go deeper. Some people spend years writing their memoirs! We can add as many interviews as you wish to add more detail and depth. Or you may want us to talk to family and friends for a more rounded book. Every book is different!

Choose your pictures. The book should also be a visual feast. We can include photos of your childhood, your wedding, holidays, special occasions, relatives, your children (and possibly grandchildren) or any other image which is meaningful to you.

You can either scan them in yourselves and send them to us digitally. Make sure you scan them at a high resolution. If unsure, please email or call us.

Or we can scan your original photos and safely return them to you.

Editing the book. Once we have completed the interviews and the photos have been scanned, it is then down to us to get to work.

We will edit the interviews and create a word document for you to read and amend. We may not get everything right on the proof – it isn’t always easy to turn a verbal interview into a flowing autobiography. If we mix up a few names, please forgive us!

At this stage, check the accuracy of the text. You may wish to add more anecdotes or stories. The proof is often a prompt for further memories.

We will also ask you to check picture captions.

Designing the book. Once you are happy with the text, we will design the book for you. Once we have designed the book we will send you a designed PDF to check over. This is a good opportunity to check the pictures are in the right places – and you can see the book coming to life.

Seeing the first published book. Once you are happy with the designed proof, we will publish a full proof book. Publishing takes about two weeks. The book will be delivered to your home address.

Hopefully, the book will be perfect. But even now it is possible that an error may have crept in. If so, let us know and we will make the corrections.

Once you have carefully checked the book and you are happy, we will send you two copies of your fabulous autobiography!

Enjoy reading your life story!