Both the memoir and self-help genres draw on personal experiences to teach lessons, but memoir emphasizes the story while self-help emphasizes the lesson. Memoir is used to inspire readers and perhaps help them out of a difficult time, while self-help is an expansive genre combining professional advice and personal vignettes to teach self-development, productivity, career planning, wellness, and anything in between. However, in all self-help books, the author explicitly tells the reader what they can take away from the author’s lessons and personal experiences in a certain area.

As an author, you likely know how challenging it can be to navigate the publishing landscape, especially at the start of your journey. Relying on the expertise, insights, and skills of seasoned publishing professionals can significantly enhance the quality and success of your book.

At Greenleaf, we collaborate with authors at every stage of their journey to help them determine their publishing path. We assist with book development—whether through editing, ghostwriting, or coaching—and guide the entire process.

Behind every great author is a great editor — and behind every brilliant author might be several. The quality of editorial work that goes into a manuscript can be what makes or breaks a book’s success.

Friends, colleagues, family—everyone wants to give you advice when you are writing a book. But what do you do with advice that is confusing or feels contradictory? Here are five tips to help you navigate all that feedback so you can make your manuscript even better.

You’ve written your book, and you’re ready to launch it into the world—as quickly as possible. Like most authors, you are naturally anxious to get your book out and into readers’ hands after spending so much time writing it. The hard part is complete, so there’s not much more to do, right? Well, if you’re a first-time author, you might greatly underestimate the amount of work that still needs to be done to produce your book and how important that work is to set your book up for a successful publication.

This article looks at typical book production timelines for three different publishing models: traditional publishing, self-publishing, and hybrid publishing. Publishing time can vary widely, depending on a book’s specific needs, but this overview will give you a general idea of what to expect from the standard process for most books.

What is a synopsis, and why is it important?

In short, a synopsis is a summary of your book. It should capture the key plot points and characters or questions and arguments of the entire book, from start to finish.

The prospect of titling your book can be daunting. Surely, if you could have distilled the entire message of your book into one short catchphrase, you wouldn’t have spent the last couple of years writing 100,000+ words about it!

That’s why it’s important to use a guide when creating a title and subtitle for your book. Here are tips from our titling experts on how to create a title that garners readers and sells.

So you write poetry, or plays, or short stories, and now you’re wondering how to go about getting your work into the world. Publishing short-form content is more about finding your people than a scatter shot across the industry. The right fit depends on your subject matter, medium, and goals. If you want to publish one piece at a time and build up your following, literary magazines, personal websites, and social media are all versatile, accessible ways to get your foot in the door. If you are ready to publish a complete book of short-form content, small presses can help with the heavy lifting of production and marketing.