Marketing Your  Memoir Book I do not market books--I write them--but I can offer you these tips on marketing your memoir, written by personal historian Sharon Levine Waldman of "Family Chronicles" in Van Nuys, California. Remember that: 1. Publishers really only accept material from literary agents. 2. Publishers and literary agents are overwhelmed with material from unknown writers: they throw away most of it. 3. Producing a best-seller, a hit show, or a hit movie is a very expensive and risky investment. Most projects fail to make back their money. Therefore, these businesses invest in "sure things" -- a celebrity, a writer with a track record of successes, or a hot topic (which changes all the time). 4. To reach these businesses and be taken seriously requires representation by a literary agent. The publishing, TV and movie industries expect the agents to screen people and material for them. Most will only accept material submitted from agents. 5. Literary agents only make money if they sell a book or script. Therefore, they only take clients who are "sure things." If you decide to market your book yourself, remember that the odds are heavily stacked against you, but here's what you can try. 1. Go to the library (or online) and look up literary agents and publishers who meet both of these requirements: (A). They represent the kind of book you have written, and (B). They will accept unsolicited submissions. Copy down their name, address, phone number, a person's name to submit to, and each one's specific instructions on what to submit. Most do NOT want a full manuscript. 2. Research how to write a query letter at the library or online. Write the best query letter you can and show it to several people for their suggestions before you send it out. Make sure it follows the query letter guidelines. 4. Send your query letter out to a person at the agents and small publishers who might read it. Send it in whatever form they say they'll accept it: mail, fax, e-mail. Then wait for their replies, which may take months. Other Resources: The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living, by Peter Bowerman. Sheridan Hill is a Southern biographer (memoir writer) with a warm interview style. She loves a good story and can be reached at 828 669 6588.