Hiring a Biographer for Your Personal Biography or Memoir Book (C) Sheridan Hill. Call 828 669 6588 and see samples of our biography books. What goes into my personal biography book? Our books are more in-depth and feature better writing and research than you will find elsewhere. We provide thorough research of your family genealogy beginning with the Old Country, a beautiful narrative that weaves in world and local events with your family history--and the most compelling story-telling possible. How much time does it take? For a full biography, I spend about 20 hours of interview time with the subject of the autobiography (sometimes more), that much or more in supplemental interviews, anywhere between 200 and 400 hours of writing and research, as well as communication, organization and planning to keep the big project properly on task. Why hire Sheridan Hill? Many people find that, in the long run, hiring a professional is both cost-efficient and ultimately the most satisfying experience than hiring a writer whose expertise is either limited or lies in another field (technical, public relations, the media). Also, although some companies offer online photo-journalism books, please know that those are not archive-quality books. One of the great benefits of working with me is the healing and joyful experience of telling your story to an experienced professional who treats each client with the utmost care. What makes good writing?  If you simply want a book filled with quotes--the typed-up version of exactly what people said--then you don't need to worry much about the writer's style. But if you want a real story that follows the true themes of a person's life and fully reveals all the excitement and challenge and wondrous workings of a life, then you need a writer who can conduct efficient interviews, thorough research and whose writing makes you feel something. This will produce a book that will be treasured for a very long time. Can interviews be done on the telephone? A good writer can gather quite a lot of research over the phone, and I have written hundreds of magazine profiles of people from a few telephone interviews. But it's not the best method if the goal is a detailed story. What are other work is involved? Transcription, photograph scanning, design and printing. A professional transcriptionist turns the audiotaped interviews into written transcripts, which the biographer then uses to begin writing. What happens when the manuscript is completed and ready to print? When you are satisfied with the manuscript, you will need to provide photographs that you want included in the book. The photos must be scanned at the proper resolution and organized by chapter. Then they are given to a designer who begins designing the book. What is an archive-quality book? I manage the printing to ensure that you receive an archival book that will last 200 years or more. Read carefully, because the following details are what you will never find in a quick-print shop nor an online book process. Sheridan Creative archival books are printed by a high-quality offset press (not a photocopier) using real ink (copy machines and quick-print shops use toner, which breaks down quickly) on archive-quality, acid-free paper. Our booksare bound with library-style, archive-quality binding, with headbands securing each end of the binding. It's a heart-warming, healing process and at the end of it you receive an archive-quality book, printed on acid-free paper and bound in the cover of your choice: high-quality leather, hard-bound or soft-bound. Order as many copies as you desire; one per family household is a good idea. You also receive the entire set of audio-taped interviews of your loved one's voice. See articles about Sheridan Hill 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.