We simply need to learn how to tell it, so that others can find it interesting. That’s the hard part. We all have our own style, likes and dislikes and each of us beats to our own drum. I know that A Bittersweet Goodnight may not appeal to everyone but I’d like to think I told my story in a way that others could relate to it and glean at least something that might touch them in their own life.

As I’ve written before, trying to sell my book is a mystery and a nightmare. It’s difficult to sort through all the different avenues promising to sell thousands of copies of my book if only I would fork over $200, $300 or even $500 to do so. When it comes to an author and their “baby”, everyone has their hand out. So I decided to start with a simpler option. Lots of memoir authors are willing to read a free copy in exchange for reviews on Amazon. I decided to start simple and join the crowd.

Lately I’ve been reading a lot of memoirs. I always enjoyed reading them in the past and I’ve broadened my choices to help fellow authors. The books have ranged from stories of stepmothers, to growing up in the sixties and seventies, to a stand up comedian, to a famous singer and actress.

I find all of these life stories fascinating. I truly do, it’s my thing. My only wish is that some of them would spend more time on the craft of writing while telling their story. The first rule of writing is show don’t tell. Show me with words the brilliant hues of an amazing sunset don’t say the sunset was pretty that night. Show me with words how the smoky hazy cocktail bar made you feel the day you met the love of your while life sipping on a martini. Don’t say you met him at ladies night out.

I want to feel what you felt, see and smell what you saw. I want to be in your shoes. I hope that you walked a few steps in my shoes while reading A Bittersweet Goodnight. I hope that other writers, famous ones with household names included, will see my words as coaching and not criticism. If any of us is going to truly succeed as an author, we can’t just place words on a page. We need to work hard to make them dance, sparkle and shine.