Perhaps after being inspired by the memoirs I had read, I wrote my own memoir in 2013. 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 when telling 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, was 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 was that readers realized the memoir was fake, and Random House apologized then refunded those who had bought it.
Though I kept lying when writing my stories, even after hearing of that James Frey scandal, remembering it now encourages me to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
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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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