Having successfully published a memoir, Sins of My Father, with a very good mainstream publishing house (W&N, Orion, part of Hachette), I was keen to send a second proposal to my editor to get another memoir in the bag. I have moved through a few different ideas over the last year or so, and then landed on something that has heart and I could envision writing. But selling a memoir on commission is not something I have ever done before and in lots of ways it goes against the grain of how I write. Almost everything I have written up to this point - three novels and a memoir - have been projects that have unfolded and shown themselves through the writing process itself, and it feels artificial to be planning a book, and working out its structure before doing the most rewarding work.
© 2024 Lily Dunn
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