Should you be writing an essay collection instead of a memoir?
A checklist to help you decide.
In honor of our next Craft from the Couch guest being author
(of the fantastic collection LEAVING ISN’T THE HARDEST THING), today’s post will explore whether you should ditch your traditional memoir project and write an essay collection, instead.But since I’ve been deep (very deep) in French vacation mode, I have a few announcements before we can talk craft.
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New podcast alert! Substack’s own
has launched a podcast, and I’m on episode 04, talking about publishing secrets. I think my episode goes live next week but in the meantime, you can listen to Substack’s beloved discussing the intersection of art and advocacy.
Want to join me in Mexico next February? Que buenas noticias! I’m part of the faculty for the 2025 San Miguel Writers’ Conference in Mexico! They’ve got early bird pricing going on until August 31st if you’d like to escape with me to San Miguel in February. I’ll be teaching one class on memoir writing and one on boosting platform and discoverability, plus, I’ll be taking appointments for private consulting sessions on any topic of your choice. If you do enroll, and you’d like to arrange a one-on-one consultation with me in Mexico, you can reach me at thequerydoula (at) gmail (dot) com to do so.
Please note: these private consultations will take place outside of the conference and will not be affiliated with it, nor will they be listed on the conference website. Pricing will match what is listed on my website.
August AMA: Thank you to everyone who asked a question in last week’s AMA session! I’m getting through your questions slowly, but thoughtfully. If you want to ask a question this month about anything having to do with publishing or writing but you’re not a paid subscriber, it’s easy to upgrade. And don’t forget to look through everyone’s questions and my answers: there are some great dialogs going on and lots of confusion getting less confused!
September memoir class approaching! In September, I’m holding the penultimate Turning Points masterclass, and this one is on all things memoir! You can sign up through my website www.courtneymaum.com/courses . If you can’t join us live, no problem— I’ll send out the video and transcript after the class to everyone who enrolls. If you have a memoirist friend who is struggling with rejection, this would make a thoughtful gift. Remember: paid Substack subscribers get a discount to all Turning Point classes! The discount code will come right after the paywall in this post.
Now back to our regular programming!
Should I be writing an essay collection instead of a memoir?
When you decide to write about your life, or a certain period or event you lived through, many people jump to writing a memoir without giving consideration to other memoir forms. There are so many kinds of memoirs (fictionalized memoirs, reported memoirs, hybrid memoirs, experimental memoirs…) but today, I want to focus on the memoir-in-essays.
In my experience, essay collections are the right choice for writers in the following four situations. Let’s learn what those are.
Four reasons your project might work better as an essay collection than as a memoir:
