What format should I use for my book?

Day 3 of 30 Bestselling Book Tips for Writing Your Life Story

Mentioned in this article: Elizabeth Gilbert, Cheryl Strayed, Michelle Obama and Jane Fonda

Since I use life story for my own writing and my writing coaching, my work falls generally into one of three categories: memoir, autobiography or self-help. Within those styles, there are many ways to format the writing to make the book creative and unique. Let’s delve into the differences between memoir, autobiography, and self-help using personal stories:

A memoir is a narrative that focuses on a specific period or theme in your life — like your divorce (Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert) or loss of a loved one (Wild by Cheryl Strayed). It features personal anecdotes, reflections, and emotions that illustrate key themes and lessons learned you’ve learned like self-love or resilience. These stories are typically selected to provide insight into your journey, growth, and transformation.

An autobiography is a comprehensive account of your entire life, from birth to the present, covering major events, achievements, and relationships like Becoming by Michelle Obama. In an autobiography, you provide a detailed chronicle of your identity and life journey. You might include personal stories from childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and beyond. These stories would encompass a wide range of experiences, such as family dynamics, education, career endeavors, and personal growth.

A self-help book offers guidance, advice, and practical strategies to help readers improve specific aspects of their lives, such as health, relationships, or career. In a self-help book, authors use personal stories — like Jane Fonda in Prime Time — to illustrate key concepts and provide relatable examples for readers. These stories serve to inspire, motivate, and connect with the audience on a personal level.

Within each of these formats, you can add creative elements like photos, excepts from letters, recipes, definitions of terms, references to other books and so on. There are unlimited ways to convey your message and engage with your readers. Your choice of style and format will depend on the story you want to tell and the impact you hope to have on your audience.

You can download my book here.

Learn more about writing coaching & writing retreats here.