Legacy Writing
A Priceless Gift
Historical Value
How It All Works
Prices
Can you name all of your great-grandfathers and great grandmothers? Regardless how interesting a life a particular ancestor may have led, few people know about them because life stories often die along with their subjects. Native Americans and Africans have maintained an oral history of their own genealogical roots. When author Alex Haley traveled to
In the West families and communities are our tribes, but we don’t rely on memory and mouth to record information and stories. We use books and various other forms of media. Unfortunately, the tradition of learning one’s roots is lost in this culture, and aside from a famous relative, few people can name all of their recent ancestors, much less their distant ones. In this age of information, such a cultural drawback begs to be addressed, and that’s where legacy writing comes in.
Legacy writing is a specific type of biography in which a person’s life story is put on paper for their descendants to learn from long after the subject has passed on. Are your parents or grandparents enjoying their golden years but are afraid their story won’t be told by the time future generations are ready to listen? With legacy writing, these stories can live on forever.
Biographies are written about people who are either famous or whose life stories are intriguing and unique enough to attract millions of readers. They are often written in the wake of a public scandal and can sometimes be written to slander or distort one’s life story, especially if the subject is dead and therefore cannot defend themselves. Legacy writing is for a much smaller audience: people who are related to the subject in some way. It is a much more personal biography because it means so much more to the people who want to read it. The subjects of legacy writing do not need to be wealthy or famous; all they need is to have a story they feel needs to be told, preserved and cherished for generations to come.
Lives are valued beyond material assets. They are valued for the experiences they’ve gained and what that person stood for and what segment of humanity that person’s life reflected. It’s the events people have lived through and the way in which they and others around them reacted to these events that makes legacy biographies, and biographies in general, so fascinating. It’s the response to situations and the emotions that accompanied them that people love to read about. A book of a loved one’s life story could be the greatest gift they ever receive. While humans are all vulnerable to death, creating a legacy biography is the closest one can come to immortality. For all of us who know only minute details of our ancestors, one can only imagine how valuable such a document can be to family members 50, 100 or even 200 years from now. As decades and centuries pass, a legacy biography can only increase in importance as your descendants will trace themselves back to the subject.
For most young people, history can seem boring. But historical events and periods can spark much more interest when placed in a more personal context. A legacy biography can focus on how the subject lived during a specific historical event or period. Your loved one’s participation in various historical events and times are unique because these are the experiences of close relatives. Legacy writing creates an easy-to-read and publish text, preserves irreplaceable life stories for your descendants, and can even create a precious resource for future genealogists, historians and other researchers.
Imagine your child’s next book report about how one of his relatives marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., fought in World War II, or immigrated from another country or region. Imagine the endless supply of stories to pass along to friends and family and especially children. Researchers are always looking for historical accounts of everyday citizens and as the Information Age demands more and more details, the lives of your loved ones can be included or become the subject of an upcoming historical documentary, book, museum exhibit, movie or television program adding additional pride to your own family history.
I begin by interviewing the subject over the telephone or in person. We can meet at your home or any agreed upon spot. The interview process may take a few hours a week for several weeks or until I feel I have enough material to put together a manuscript of the length you specify. I limit my legacy writing to take no longer than two months. While I have considerable editing and writing experience, I have no problem working closely with family members, especially if the subject is mentally or physically unable to be interviewed.
The finished product will be sent to you in the format of a computer file and upon complete payment, I will submit the finished product to the U.S. Copyright Office ($45 filing fee required plus shipping) naming the person of your choice as the copyright holder for your legacy biography. If you are contemplating having a legacy biography written for yourself or your loved one, you should act now while the source is still able to tell their tale. We all like to believe that we will lead long, healthy lives, but the truth is that people die every day at every age. Don’t let your family’s history fade away into obscurity!
- Legacy Biography: $20 per page (about 1,000 words)
- Children’s Version: $20 per page or $10 per page if regular biography has already been paid for.
- 10-page minimum per order.
- 50 percent deposit required.
- Travel expenses may apply if travel costs more than $2 each way.
- No fee for telephone interviews.
Don’t wait until it’s too late.
“How many of us know the true stories of our parents and grandparents? How many of us share the stories of our lives with our own children? What a loss to the children if we don’t. What are we but our stories?”
–Author James Patterson in Sam’s Letters to Jennifer
“Now is the time to enjoy our lives, enjoy the lives of those who have gone before us, and the lives of those who we have helped to bring us into this world. Write your stories, read your stories, enjoy who you are.”
–Author Erma Bombeck, after she learned she was dying from cancer.
Entries (RSS)