From Monologue to Memoir: What Readers Really Want
- Sally Collings
- Jun 13
- 2 min read
Many first-draft memoirs start with a familiar impulse:
“Here’s everything I want to tell you about me.”
It makes sense. After all, the urge to write a memoir often comes from a desire to make sense of one’s own story, to shape memory and meaning into narrative. But when a manuscript leans too far into this mode, it can slip into monologue—dense, personal, inward-looking. The kind of writing that might feel cathartic to produce but often leaves readers on the outside, unsure why they’ve been invited in.
Readers want something different.
They’re asking:
“What can you tell me about yourself that helps me understand myself better?”
That’s the magic of a great memoir. It’s not a data dump of life events or a therapeutic purge. It’s a crafted experience that centers the reader while honoring the writer’s truth. It’s the difference between self-expression and connection.
Memoir as a Bridge
When I’m editing memoirs, my job isn’t to strip away the writer’s voice or flatten their experiences. It’s to help shape the mountain of “me” into a clear, compelling path for the reader. That might mean trimming anecdotes that don’t serve the story’s arc, clarifying motivations, or deepening the emotional stakes in a scene.
Not everything has to go. But everything does need to serve.
Each beat of the story should answer: Why this? Why now? Why does it matter—to the reader?
A Reader-First Approach
This is where memoir meets craft. You can keep your complexity, your tangents, your contradictions—but they must be curated with care. When readers see themselves reflected in your experience, when they find language for something they’ve felt but couldn’t name—that’s when memoir lands. That’s when it matters.
If you’re working on a memoir or nonfiction book and want to ensure your story resonates with readers, I can help. Explore my Micro Services for focused, high-impact reviews of your book proposal or manuscript.
Let’s shape your story into something unforgettable—for you and your readers.
Photo by Guilherme Caetano on Unsplash
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