Perhaps after being inspired by the memoirs I had read, I wrote my own memoir around 2012. The idea of sharing how I grew up and the lessons I had learnt was something I couldn't resist then.
But I wrote the memoir in such a hurry that I wonder how it could have become the bestseller I wanted it to be. To make matters worse, I borrowed other people's words to tell my story.
Not surprisingly, I didn't succeed in having the memoir published. But I learnt valuable lessons while scouting for a publisher, like how world-class publishers don't deal directly with authors but with literary agents.
The best lesson I learnt though is the value of telling the truth when writing nonfiction stories after hearing about what happened when Random House published a fake memoir by James Frey.
What happened, you ask? Well, the only thing I cared to remember is that when readers realized the memoir was fake, Random House apologized and refunded those who had bought it.
Though I kept lying for a while after hearing about that James Frey scandal, remembering it now encourages me to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth when writing my stories.
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Also check out "The Pawpaw Principle".
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Learning From the Mistakes of Others
A True Story
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