FAQs
If you have a question about our services then you're in the right place
You can find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we receive here. And, of course, if you can’t find the answer to a question you have please just get in touch and we’d be very happy to help.
Life Stories
You don’t need to be a celebrity to have a right or reason to tell your story. Sometimes it’s the people leading the most seemingly ordinary of lives who have the most extraordinary tales to tell. Our job is to help mine your memories for those special experiences, moments that have helped to shape who you are. Please do get in touch so we can see how we might be able to help.
We would always recommend that our Storytellers should approach their life story in an honest and authentic way. However, if there are any particular family secrets that could pose upset or conflict, you may choose to share these with the writer but we will always recommend that anything potentially upsetting to family be excluded. Some things are best left unsaid or certainly left unprinted.
We will agree a timeframe for each project once the brief has been agreed upon in order that expectations are managed on both sides.
For a life story, we will generally aim to complete your project in a 3-6 months time frame depending on what length of story you have opted for. Our contractual term in which projects should be completed is 7-9 months depending on the package you choose. We are keen to get the interview stage completed in a relatively quick timeframe so that momentum is maintained and key conversations recorded as promptly as possible.
Some of our clients like to work almost entirely virtually, others prefer to be face-to-face. Depending on our clients location and requirement for face-to-face interviews, there may be an additional fee charged to cover travel costs but this will be shared and agreed up front.
We can always look to reschedule but would aim to do so in such a way as to honour the original time frames agreed for the project. We would ask you to give us as much notice as possible before rescheduling.
Our life story books are meant to focus more on the story of your life than just photographs, which is why we recommend using a curated selection of photographs. However, we can be open to you including more albeit it may incur additional cost.
Yes, that won’t be a problem. We will write your story in accordance with your budget but customers do sometimes feel they have more to share and choose to upgrade mid process.
After we have conducted our interviews, we will share a proposed structure for your Life Story and we will write up the first chapter so you have a good feel for the tone of voice for the book.
Once you have given us approval to proceed, we will write the complete book. You will have two opportunities to make amendments before the book is ready to go to print.
At this stage, it will be your chance to give a final approval for the book layout, photographs and cover via a printable PDF, before we go to print.
Celebration Books
We anticipate the majority of people will want to buy a celebration book as a gift for an individual or couple celebrating a milestone birthday or anniversary but it could be something else. As long as it fits broadly the same length of book in words and pictures. If you need something really quite different, please discuss this with us. We can produce anything you want and shall be happy to offer a bespoke quote to meet your needs
We would normally interview a close family member to get the storyline for the book so have usually been able to keep things as a surprise. However it’s often a good idea to involve the person receiving the book which we can do in a subtle way. Previously we have asked 18th year olds to answer questions about their bucket lists and life reflections at 18 as well as future aspirations. They had no idea their answers would end up in the book. Let’s have a chat about what you are hoping to achieve.
We will be happy to contact your chosen contributors on your behalf. We would normally recommend you let them know in advance that we will be in touch and should anyone not wish to participate, please do not share their contact details with us. We operate in strict accordance to General Data Protection (GDPR).
Part of our service is to contact your contributors on your behalf. We have a purpose built portal upon which they can load their celebratory messages and a photograph or two. Anyone aged sixteen and over can contribute to the book, provided they ticked a box to confirm they are happy for us to use their data.
Wedding Books
We would normally recommend getting as much of the written content done in advance of the wedding but of course, we would do a final edit and update post the wedding itself to ensure that the spirit of the day and any speeches are included. We would of course expect to receive photographs after the wedding, once you’ve had a chance to delve through them all.
We would recommend your contributors submit their messages and photographs after the wedding day because they can share their memories of your special day – and of course photographs from your actual wedding.
Unfortunately, this is not a service we currently offer. However, if there is sufficient demand, we will be happy to look into setting this up.
General Questions
Rights and publishing
The Storyteller and The Memory Shed will jointly own the copyright. Should you wish to have sole ownership, please let us know and we can put this in place.
Yes, please let us know if this is your intention and we can help to get you set up with Kindle Direct Publishing
No, we do not purchase ISBNs on your behalf – however this is something that can be purchased as part of the Amazon self-publishing route. We can support you with this at an additional cost.
Book Cover Design
We will discuss options with you – the majority of people like to have a photograph of themselves on the cover. However, if you require something else, we would be happy to discuss your particular needs.
Gifts
Yes, that is fine and if they do not embrace the idea of sharing their life story, we will be happy to honour a refund within an agreed timeframe.
Yes, we offer gift vouchers that are valid for up to 12 months after being purchased, by which point the receiver will need to have committed to at least buying one of our book options.
Payment
We will issue you with an invoice which will state our bank account details. You can also call us and we can take a debit or credit card payment. Whatever is easiest for you.
Because of the quick turnaround of Celebration & Wedding books, we ask for full payment in advance for these. We are happy to discuss receiving payments in instalments for our Life stories.
Photographs
Please note that there may well be minor differences in the way your photographs appear in the final printed book versus how you see them on a computer screen or as a printed photograph. We do quality check the photographs before we go to print and will flag any that we do not believe will print well. However, it is the Storytellers responsibility to check the quality of their photographs before submitting them to The Memory Shed. Any editing of photographs should also be done before supplying them. We are only able to make very minor enhancements once they have been received.
Once you have approved the printable PDF, no further changes can be made and no further refunds offered in the event of a printed photograph not quite matching your expectations.
