Karin Jones believes sex and intimacy are a big part of our lives, and she challenges personal historians to gently explore this topic with their storytelling clients. Links & Stuff Karin's controversial article appeared in New York Times' "Modern Love" column. "What Sleeping About Married Men Taught Me About Infidelity" Find Karin Jones' bimonthly column, "Savvy Love," at the Erotic Review Magazine , or on her Savvy Love blog at https://www.savvy-love.com/blog . Follow Karin on Twitter: @ms...
Sep 18, 2019•51 min•Ep. 69
Gloria's website: https://www.real-to-reel.org/ Gloria's Equipment List
Sep 12, 2019•28 min•Ep. 68
Gloria's website: https://www.real-to-reel.org/
Sep 05, 2019•32 min•Ep. 67
Illustrated Heirloom Books, and What Goes into Creating Them In this episode, we're going back to the first part of our conversation with Lisa Kagan. As an artist and writer, Lisa is fascinated by the intersection of visual art and storytelling. She brings all her gifts to bear on the illustrated heirloom books her company produces, allowing the clients a chance to become intimately involved in the creation of the words and images of their life story book. She also talks about: connecting to her...
Aug 15, 2019•37 min•Ep. 66
Workshops serve clients and creatives, and help to build a personal history business Family Heirloom Arts offers the usual range of services to its personal history clients: interviewing, writing, editing, photo management. But its founder and owner, Lisa Kagan, takes things a step further by inviting clients to create their own personalized artwork to illustrate their books. That's just one of the things that makes Family Heirloom Arts unique. In this interview, we talk about: Lisa's roster of ...
Aug 09, 2019•36 min•Ep. 65
Marketing with a local newspaper column and more Lisa Lombard O'Reilly of Your Stories Written joins us for a conversation about personal history. Listen as we discuss: Lisa's experience writing her dad's life story book using Kindle Direct Publishing for cheap proof copies and supplying friends with print-on-demand books Lisa's monthly column on personal history for Coastal View , a local print publication Lisa approached the publisher of Coastal View after attending a workshop given by Annie P...
Jul 25, 2019•39 min•Ep. 64
Part 2 of our interview with Lettice Stuart, Portraits in Words Join us for an insightful conversation about the business of personal history and the art of interviewing. In this episode, Lettice discusses: how much she charges for life story projects, and how that number has grown through the years a clever pre-meeting tactic that gets Lettice into the right frame of mind for that always-difficult money conversation with clients [Correction: with this technique, it doesn't have to be diffult!] ...
Jul 18, 2019•35 min•Ep. 63
Lettice Stuart was a journalist with stories in the New York Times when she shifted to writing life stories. While her writing credentials helped give her credibility, it was good old-fashioned conversations with people that grew her business. In part one of the interview, we discuss: the importance of talking about your personal history work in any social situation, and why it's easy how and why to contact groups looking for speakers what to include when you give a public presentation We also t...
Jul 11, 2019•30 min•Ep. 62
For Steve Pender, personal history comes alive in Legacy Video When Steve Pender started his legacy video company years ago, it wasn't to produce videos, but rather to teach DIYers how to make their own. Then technology changed. You still needed the know-how and the artistic flair to produce top-quality videos, but you no longer needed the big commercial studio. That's when Steve pivoted to do what he loved most: create compelling, beautiful legacy videos. Give them options I shape the productio...
Jun 11, 2019•49 min•Ep. 61
In six short years, Starts at 60 has grown to a platform with a million and a half visitors per month. Now Starts at 60 is looking toward markets outside the US, and there's room for us life story professionals to leverage the systems they've already built. The idea I like best is starting monthly coffee groups. Maybe it's because I saw how lonely my dad was after my mom died. Maybe it's because as a waitress in my teens, I saw how the people who lingered over coffee after dinner seemed to be th...
May 30, 2019•44 min•Ep. 60
Running and growing a video life story business This is part 2 of our interview with Mike O'Krent (listen to part 1 here ). In this episode, you'll hear Mike talk about public speaking and how it can grow the public's awareness of our services. (Hint: Check out Toastmasters for improving your speaking skill and spreading the word about your services) the power of seeking out influential people and connectors in your community how to ask for referrals and virtual introductions (via email) how bei...
May 24, 2019•35 min•Ep. 59
How volunteering for Steven Spielberg sparked a career saving stories Mike O'Krent was volunteering for an organization in Austin when he learned about Survivors of the Shoah , a foundation created by Steven Spielberg to interview and record the stories of Holocaust survivors. His training in L.A. set him up for successful interviews with survivors in Texas. In an article by Rich Polt (a previous guest on this podcast), Mike says, “These conversations are not going to be easy, nor should they be...
May 14, 2019•24 min•Ep. 58
Maureen Taylor talks about helping people solve the mysteries of their unidentified photos, a skill we as life story professionals can use to help our clients. Maureen Taylor's early career as a curator exposed her to lots of photos. But it wasn't until she opened shop as a photo historian that she discovered just how many unidentified photos people have. Frequent questions she hears: Who is in the photo? What is happening in the photo? Where was the photo taken? Rachel Rifkin's photo experiment...
May 03, 2019•58 min•Ep. 57
When he first started Acknowledge Media, Rich spent hours teaching himself Adobe Premiere Pro. But while he sees the need to have the skills that are foundational to the projects he creates, he recognizes that his team of videographers (including Jordan Freeman ), editors, archival producers, and media directors are better suited to the technical side of things, while he handles the rest of it: new business development, sales, marketing, HR, and, of course, the most important task of all—conduct...
Apr 18, 2019•40 min•Ep. 56
Rich Polt started his legacy video company in 2016; three years later, it's growing by leaps and bounds. Rich Polt left a lucrative career as owner of a public relations firm to pursue his passion—helping people record their legacy stories on film. And he did it all without knowing a thing about movie-making. It started with a personal project called Talking GOOD , where Rich interviewed change-makers with the power to inspire others. The epiphany came when Rich went off-script to ask his interv...
Apr 17, 2019•49 min•Ep. 55
We continue our conversation with Christine Norton about her Writing Partners, business licensees who operate independently, but who get all the support they need to grow a thriving life story business. Listen as Christine gives a run-down of some of the many, many support systems she provides for her licensees.
Apr 04, 2019•28 min•Ep. 54
Christine Norton is passionate about telling people's stories. And she knew others were, too. But not everyone is comfortable with creating a business from the ground up, and that's where her Forget-Me-Not Life Stories writing partner program comes in. In exchange for a business license fee, her writing partners get everything they need to get their own memoir-writing service companies up and running. Listen as we discuss this and much more, including: the high-end, hand-bound book design, creat...
Apr 04, 2019•25 min•Ep. 53
End of Life Coach Janet Bieschke on serving the dying Dr. Janet Bieschke has turned her retirement into a double career: She serves the hospice community as both life story gatherer and life coach. In her work with the dying, she makes room for a "sigh of relief"—the chance to share not only stories, but also regrets, forgiveness, and "I love yous." Janet's website: https://drjanetb.com/
Mar 28, 2019•40 min•Ep. 52
This week, David O'Neil talks to us about how and why we should be developing relationships with financial advisors and wealth managers. Listen as we discuss: Who in the financial industry make good referral partners? Why they value helping their clients pass down wisdom along with their wealth How to follow up after meeting a good referral partner How to use presentations to spread the word about life story work Links & Stuff David's website: https://storytrust.com/ Want more ideas on how t...
Mar 21, 2019•40 min•Ep. 51
From Life Stories to Business Histories David O'Neil founded Story Trust in 2007; several years later, he recognized the natural connection between life stories for individuals and stories that recount the history of a business. His most recent book was an outgrowth of an oral history conducted several years ago. With the upcoming centennial anniversary of the family's company, they reached out to him to create a book of memories, recipes, and memorabilia, with an initial a print run of 2,500 co...
Mar 13, 2019•24 min•Ep. 50
"It's all about the questions you ask." This is advice given by Beth Kephart to memoir writers, but it's just as applicable for those who ghostwrite memoirs. Listen in as we discuss: How we can use escalating questions to guide our storytellers to deeper and deeper stories How Beth teaches her workshop participants "empathetic imagination" through one-on-one conversations with others The gap between a person's spoken voice and their written voice, and how to study the techniques of dialogue in p...
Mar 08, 2019•46 min•Ep. 49
Mar 01, 2019•28 min•Ep. 48
Creating (and selling) a community history In today's episode, Patricia Hamilton, publisher at Park Place Publications, discusses a project near and dear to her heart: a curated community history with contributions from residents of Pacific Grove, California. "It's a community of people." Patricia talked at Rotary Clubs, heritage societies, senior centers, and libraries, putting out the call for submissions to a book that would be about the community, penned by the community members themselves. ...
Feb 21, 2019•28 min•Ep. 47
If you're a podcast fan who happens to write memoir—for yourself or for clients—you're probably familiar with the dulcet tones of Ann Kroeker, a writing coach who doles out advice and inspiration on her podcast, " Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach ." In today's episode, Ann talks about the role of a writing coach and how she went from "editing with a coach's heart" to "coaching with an editor's eye." Win a free copy of Scrivener Don't forget to enter our contest before February 18 to win a free Mac or ...
Feb 14, 2019•48 min•Ep. 46
Mike Oke of Bound Biographies doesn't write his clients' life stories; they do. Funny how we think our way of doing something is the standard approach. And then along comes someone like Mike Oke, a 27-year veteran life story writer, who says he can't believe everybody else isn't following the model he practices. After our podcast interview, I can see where he's coming from. Instead of sitting down to record an interview with a client, and then spending hours transcribing, editing, and polishing ...
Jan 31, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 45
Scrivener tips and tricks from the expert Gwen Hernandez is novelist who learned Scrivener the natural way—by using it. She shared what she knew with the online community, and her reputation as someone who not only used the writing software, but someone who could explain how to use it, took off. The author of Scrivener for Dummies talks to The Life Story Coach about some of the ways we can keep our writing, research, interviews, and everything else organized with what she calls the "project mana...
Jan 23, 2019•44 min•Ep. 44
Going into business for yourself can be scary. There are forms to fill out, licenses to apply for, new checking accounts to set up. And then there's the whole business about contracts, services agreements, insurance—do I need it or not?—along with lots of other things that can send your head into a spin. Even if you're already in business and have been for a while, you might not feel like you have the best grasp on the legal, tax, business entity-ish side of things. (Maybe I'm talking about myse...
Dec 17, 2018•57 min•Ep. 43
Cynthia Kyriazis, productivity coach and bestselling author of "Get Organized, Get Focused, Get Moving," shares her (well-organized) thoughts on doing business better. When I was a kid and my mom needed to send a check to school for some activity (or for my Scholastic Book order, remember those?), she would place the check in an envelope, write my teacher's name across the front, and pin it to my coat . That's right, I was the kid with stuff pinned to her coat. Because if it wasn't attached, I'd...
Dec 11, 2018•38 min•Ep. 42
This one is a quickie! I give you an overview of how I use Scrivener to wrastle documents into order so that I can find them when I need them. You'll also see how the split Editor pane in Scrivener is a life story gal's best friend. Watch the screencast here . Links & Stuff Want to use Scrivener for your writing projects? You can find the Mac version here and the Windows version here . Want to be listed on the upcoming Life Story Professionals Directory? Help future clients find you! The lis...
Dec 04, 2018•16 min•Ep. 41
How I Edit Back in 2010, when I first started The Story Scribe , my memoir-writing business, I asked a man to sit down with me and tell me his life story. We met for a total of fifteen interviews over the course of many months. He was happy to just talk, but my goal was to shape his words into a life story book—my first. I wanted the practice. I needed the practice. Or so I thought. Turns out I needed something else even more: the realization that if I didn't get my act together and create a fun...
Nov 26, 2018•21 min•Ep. 40
