In today’s Publetariat Dispatch, indepedent bookseller Bob Spear talks autobiographies, and why even non-writers should consider leaving this meaningful legacy.

There comes a time in our lives when some of us get the urge to leave  a legacy. Who would like to read about our lives? Will our writings  pass the Who Gives A SH– test? Perhaps just our families would be  interested in our stories. Maybe our friends, or perhaps many people  would have an interest in us. What should we write about and how should  we write it?

Perhaps you could break your life up into time lines or you could write about topical areas such as my outline of my life below:

Mea Culpa (appology for tricks of memory or lack thereof)
Family Roots
Down on the Farm
Vagabond Years
Move to Lafayette
Middle School
High School
Indiana University
Army Years
Marriages
Civil Service Years
Music
Martial Arts
Writing, Publishing, and Reviewing
Patriot
Teaching
Book Barn and Other Businesses
Spirituality
Health
Kids and Grandkids

You can try to create dialog or just tell what went on. You can include pictures and captions to add clarity and interest.

Software

You can use a word processing program such as Microsoft Word or more  ideally, a layout program such as Adobe InDesign, Quark, or Publish.  Journal programs such as MacJournal can prove helpful as well. You can  make it as simple or as complex as you want.

Suggestions

Be positive. Provide lessons learned. Don’t write an expose of your  life. Remember, kids may read this, so keep it reasonably clean. Include  interactions with others. Mention awards and honors and what they meant  to you. Mention what you did not get a chance to do as well as your  accomplishments. Talk about who helped you along the way and pay it  forward. If you did something worthwhile, did it make a difference in  someone else’s life? Write this in such a manner that readers will be  proud to have known you. Don’t focus too much on those who have done you  dirty. Do explain how you overcame adversity.

This is a reprint from Bob Spear‘s Book Trends blog.