Why Memoirs Sell
Submitted by mwilliams on Mon, 2008-03-03 18:20.Because everybody has a story to tell, because everyone has a voyeuristic streak and because misery loves the company of someone more miserable. These are the reasons why memoir is now outselling debut novels and makes up 12.5% of non-fiction deals signed. If they’re good, says one publisher, there can never be too many.
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Reality shows and memoirs are similar in a fashion - they both allow us to live the lives of other, according to us, more interesting people.
If people dislike their own existence so much why don't they change it?
Perhaps it's a bit more entertaining than a novel sometimes.
Rat's Reading - http://reading.kingrat.biz/
It could be because thinking something to be real makes it more relevant to some. Human existence is so subjective it's silly, there's no objective account of it and memoirs can sometimes be truly fictional.
Still, I very much like to read war memoirs like Roald Dahl's Going Solo, it's captivating!
Sites like FaceBook and Twitter are somewhat similar I find. It seems to go beyond being social, becoming a window onto other people's lives. Especially Twitter, where even total strangers follow what you write.
Fear prevents people from change. It's those who are bold enough to change their situations that have the best memoir material. Those who aren't must live vicariously through those who are. That's my guess.
There is no thief like a bad book
--Italian Proverb
Because deep down they know that ennui is one of the greatest luxuries there is?
(I realize they don't, I'm just making a point. Or a joke.)
L'ennui est la raison d'être moderne... spinning some more French! :)
All those reasons are about the reader. Surely the name on the cover has some influence as well.
There are many memoirs that ARE akin to reality TV--all about the drama of daily life, and sometimes purporting to have some therapeutic benefit. Many of these are in the same vein as self-help books.
Then there are the memoirs by people with an unusual storytelling style or a humorous authorial voice.
There are also memoirs by influential people, or those who've seen and done extraordinary things. I imagine these books draw some of their readership from history and current affairs buffs.