Many factors influence the cost of a personal history, including: 

• The scope of the memoir
  (A 100-page slice-of-life book will be a fraction of the cost of a complete personal history, which runs between 200 and 400 pages.)
• The degree to which the client participates in the written manuscript
  (If the narrator writes the book, it costs much less than if I conduct interviews and generate the narrative from the interview transcripts.)
• The complexity of the book design
  (The number of photos and special features such as timelines, family trees, hand-drawn maps, text boxes, and pull quotes influences how much time is required to design the book.)
• The quality and quantity of the printed book
  (Choices about your final product, including soft vs. hard cover, the weight of the paper, and how many books you want printed impact the cost.)
• The number of revision cycles (Some narrators request additional revision cycles beyond the standard proofing rounds, which adds hours to book development.) 

One of the shortest projects I’ve worked on was a 60-page book about a man’s childhood and his experiences as a fighter pilot during World War II. My client, the fighter pilot’s son, wrote the book. My job was to edit the manuscript; work with members of my team, who proofed the book; scan and Photoshop photos and newspaper articles; create watercolor maps of the protagonist’s bombing mission; design a timeline and a family tree; and lay out the book. 

• This book cost about $6,500.

The most complex book I’ve ever worked on was a personal history narrated (not written) by a man who grew up on a farm in southeastern Idaho. Eager to document what farming was like in the 1940s, the narrator devoted about a quarter of his 400-page book to details about running the family farm, from the machinery they used to the crop calendar they followed and the animals they raised. His book also included extensive material about his career, political and musical interests, religious service work, and family. I interviewed his eight children and included their memories and insights throughout the book. Over 200 photos and pull quotes, a dozen newspaper articles, as well as multiple text boxes and sidebars helped to capture this man’s complex, interesting life. 

• This book cost about $130,000

Most books I’ve created fall between these two extremes. 

Just as with cost, the production time begins with the scope of the book and ends with the narrator’s level of participation. I’ve created a slice-of-life book about a narrator’s marriage in just under nine months. Traditional personal history books, which cover childhood, career, and family, usually take between two and four years to create, from when I sign on to printing.  

• Deciding what time periods and topics to focus on
• Writing and/or being interviewed 
• Polishing and proofing the narrative
• Adding a variety of elements to the manuscript, such as a timeline, a family tree, photos, family letters, newspaper articles, and maps
• Captioning the visual elements
• Designing the book
• Printing the book

I taught middle school and high school English at four different independent schools—one in Provo, Utah, and three in New England. At each, I was given the freedom to design my own courses, many of which included reading memoirs and writing personal essays. Without realizing it, I was getting ready to start my personal history business! 

After leaving the classroom in 1995, I started Wordworks, an editing business that I still own today. I help writers with everything from academic journal articles and novels to personal statements for college applications. Integral to my editing business is facilitating writing groups. Every month, group members—which include novelists, memoirists, poets, and creative nonfiction writers—submit up to 4,000 words to which their peers and I respond. In the two decades I have led writing groups, nearly every participant has completed and published their manuscript. 

I get asked this question more than any other. There’s no quick, easy answer. I advise narrators to weigh what the content will teach your readers, how it will affect relationships, and how it will affect them. Beyond that here are some other things to consider. 

• If the information primarily affects the narrator and they are ready to share it, I strongly encourage them to do so. Reflections on past mistakes and regrets can be an immeasurably valuable legacy for your relatives and other readers.
• If the content affects other people, I suggest reaching out to those involved and discussing it with them. (If the affected individuals have passed on, consider how it will affect living family members.)