My friend Marvin Kane told someone in the publishing industry recently that he is writing a memoir.

Her response was bluntly along the lines of, “You’re not famous. Why would anyone want to read about your life?”

That’s cold.

But isn’t that a fair question? Why go to all the effort – and it is a lot of effort – of writing a book if no one wants to read it?

And that’s why many good stories never get written. People start and stop at “Why would anyone want to read about my boring life?” They think that if they haven’t climbed Mount Everest, won an Oscar or had a stunning public downfall then no one wants to hear about them.

While being famous either for doing good or doing bad may give you a wedge into the industry, it doesn’t ensure that your book will be any good or even get read. And, you don’t have to have jumped out of an airplane, made a million dollars or been a rock star to have a good story to tell or to be able to tell it well.

It’s not “what” you’ve done but what you have to say about it that matters. In other words, it’s not a boring life that makes for a boring book, it is boring writing. You can have lived a perfectly ordinary life and still offer a perspective or insights that will make people want to read about it. And, you can have lived a tremendously exciting life and still end up with a tremendously dull book.

This question, “Why would anyone care,” is a good place to start for any writer who wants readers. It works whether you writing a book, a blog post or a business proposal.  If you can’t answer that question, then keep searching. Just because you don’t immediately know the answer doesn’t mean there isn’t one.

It just so happens that although Marvin is now a not-quite-famous web developer he actually once was a rock star.  That’s a good start for a story, but it’s probably not enough on its own. Although his band sold records, it hasn’t been on stage in years. What makes this particular story interesting is how he got there – how a sweet Jewish choir boy from New York ended up a hard rocker on a smoke-filled Eastern European stage during the Cold War with fans shouting his name. Toss in his sense of humor and perspective on how his life reflected the rapidly changing culture of the time, and you have the potential for a real page-turner

What’s your story?

If you are thinking about writing a book or if you’ve written one and are wondering what to do now, contact us to learn more about our one-on-one workshops to help you make the next move.