🎉 Exciting News! My Blog is Named One of the Top Memoir Writing Blogs in the World

Yesterday morning brought a delightful surprise to my inbox: an email from Feedspot letting me know that my memoir writing blog has been listed among their Top Memoir Writing Blogs worldwide!

👉 You can check out the full list here: Top 40 Memoir Writing Blogs on Feedspot

I’m genuinely honoured to be included alongside some of the largest US organisations and many hybrid-publishing networks. It’s especially meaningful because I created this blog to fill a specific gap and I’m the only one on the list that exemplifies a traditionally published memoirist’s perspective on the writing and publishing process.

Why I Started This Blog

When I was searching for guidance during the (long!) journey of writing and selling both of my memoirs to agents and publishers, I found a lot of mixed advice.

There’s a big difference between:

• Blogs that share insights from publishing professionals or bestselling memoirists
• And those that are more about hobby memoirs, family chronicles, or self-published personal projects

All are valid in their own right—but if your goal is to publish commercially, it’s important to know the difference.

💡 If you’re a Writer Looking for solid Publishing advice for Memoir and other types of Nonfiction, Here’s a Tip:
Google the author. If you’re looking at a memoir blog, take a moment to see if the person behind it has actually published a memoir with a traditional publisher. It’ll give you much more context around the advice being shared.

From Inboxes to Essays

I began this blog back in 2018, shortly after the release of my second memoir, A Letter From Paris. This was a difficult book to write, because it was a mix of biography, memoir, family history and travel.

By then, I’d already spent years learning (and unlearning) all kinds of information about memoir writing, literary agents, book deals, and what it really takes to get a personal story onto retail shelves in the elusive and exclusive traditional publishing market.

Honestly? I started the blog because I was getting flooded with emails asking for advice. I’d write long essay-style replies to strangers asking how to get their memoir published. Eventually, I realised it made more sense to write articles that could help more people—and save my inbox from overflowing. 😂

The Moment That Lit a Fire

The moment that truly pushed me to get serious about sharing the real ins and outs of traditional publishing?

At a signing event for A Letter From Paris, a man—who ran a well-known local writing group—queued up (behind 20 other readers!) and then cornered me with a list of TEN detailed questions about memoir publishing.

He hadn’t bought the book, but was clearly there to pick my brain for free.

(Side note: Please don’t do this at book signings. Or at least buy the book first! 😂)

That moment stuck with me—not just because of his questions, but because this man was also a leader in the writing community. And if he didn’t understand the publishing process, what kind of advice was he passing on?

It made me realise just how much misinformation is out there not just about publishing, but memoir in particular. The fact that he didn’t realise how different a memoir was to a fictional novel both to write AND promote, was both surprising and common.

A Little Publishing Myth Busting

In fact, I’ve even received well-meaning but incorrect advice from literary professionals.

One publishing connection, who now works at one of the biggest literary agencies in Australia, once gravely told me:

“No one will publish your book unless you—or your father—are a celebrity. It might be better as a family history document you just share among your close family…”

🙃 Spoiler alert:
A Letter From Paris was picked up by a publisher and went on to become an international bestseller.

(Yes, I sent her the link. Yes, I hope she’s stopped giving that advice.)

My Memoir Writing Blog Today

Fast forward to today: this blog has become something of a labour of love (and fiery passion!) over the past seven years that I’ve been teaching and consulting on storytelling, media, publishing and memoir.

There are now more than 170 articles here on the memoir blog, all written from the perspective of someone who’s been through the trenches and come out with two traditionally published memoirs. I’ve worked with agents and publishers across the world, and authors of every type of memoir you can imagine. No, it’s not an ‘impossible sell’, and no, it’s not a hobby project. It’s a deep and important category in publishing and literary and the process of writing memoir offers an enormous amount of self-development potential, too. Which is what I’ve poured into my signature writing programme, The Art of Memoir.

The Art of Memoir is the only start-to-finish programme in the world created BY a twice-published memoirist that offers you a method to write and revise a draft professionally, at the same time that you grow and develop personally.
In my two academic literary degrees, there was a lack of attention on the mindset aspect to writing, and for memoir in particular – where your life is going to be out there for the world to read! It’s crucial.
But more importantly, my memoir writing blog – and all the content I create for you, the reader, is about accurate and informed advice from a published author’s perspective, so I can share what agents and publishers won’t tell you about memoir.

Because that’s what I needed when I was starting out—and couldn’t find.

This kind of information isn’t commonly shared in workshops or by popular writing teachers, but it’s essential if you want to write a memoir that agents and publishers will take seriously.

New Here? Start with This

If you haven’t visited the blog in a while, you might like to start with this one that dives into one of the most important distinctions every memoir author needs to make when writing their manuscript.

🧠 It’s a game-changer—and could make the difference between a powerful, publishable memoir and one that never makes it past your own computer.

Thanks for Being Here ❤️

Thanks again to Feedspot for the recognition—and thank YOU for reading, writing, and being part of this passionate, truth-seeking memoir community.

Happy reading (and memoir writing!),

Louisa