Services

For the last twenty years, Classic Stories has produced memoirs and biographies for people of exceptional achievement.
Our books are typically 250 to 450 pages, with as many photos or other images as you would like.

    • Research, including genealogical research

    • Interviews and transcriptions
    • Manuscript development, including copyediting, proof-reading, and fact-checking
    • Book and jacket design
    • Book publishing:

    • Hardcover books

    • Leather-bound heirloom books

    • Audio books, including casting and sound engineering

    • eBooks

    Timing

    Timing depends on the scope and your availability for interviews and feedback on the manuscript and book design. Once we know the scope of your book, we will commit to timeline in our proposal.

    Approach

     

    We tailor our service to your schedule and preferences. That said, the book creation process involves four phases.

    Phase 1: Gather and Organize Information.

    • Digitize all background materials from you and that we find elsewhere.

    • Conduct and record face-to-face interviews in your home or place of business, (Note: conducting interviews and finding and organizing background information are iterative, with each spurring the other).

    • If applicable, conduct and record interviews with others by phone or video calls.

    • Transcribe all interviews.

    • Organize the interviews and the background materials.

    Phase II: Develop your Manuscript.

    • Create a detailed outline for your review.
    • Provide you with a chapter for feedback on the voice, tone, style.
    • Share the remainer of the manuscript for your review and feedback.

    Phase III: Design your book.

    Once you are happy with your manuscript, Classic Stories will do the following:

    • Provide designs of the dustjacket for your review and feedback.
    • Layout the book for your feedback.

    Phase IV: Publish your Book.

    Once you approve the book design and dust jacket, we will publish the book:

    • Hardcopy books
    • Leather bound, heirloom books (optional)
    • An audio book (optional)
    • An eBook (optional)

    Frequently Asked Questions

    With a private book, you control content and distribution.

    Depending on the length of the book and the number of additional people we need to interview, you typically need to spend thirty to forty hours in interviews, at whatever pace you would like.

    After the interviews, you will need to review drafts of the manuscript and the book design. Most people will spend about ten to twenty hours reading the typical manuscript and providing feedback. We strive to produce the best manuscript on the first draft, but clients usually have edits. When you review the book layout, you are just focusing on the visuals, like fonts and photos, as well as their captions.

    For both manuscripts and the book layout, we do not limit the number of edit cycles. We want your book to be as close to perfect as possible.

    Many people use these terms interchangeably. Memoirs are usually written in the first person and focus on a specific time or theme in a person’s life. A biography covers your entire life in the third person.

    Featured Book

    Self Made CEO

    By Joshua M. Sklare and Michael L. Cramer

    Gerry Shreiber, founder, former President, CEO, and Chairman of J & J Snack Foods Corporation, knows that you win the game by keeping a close eye on the details, working hard, and dreaming big. In 1971, he bought a bankrupt soft pretzel bakery for $72,100…