“You should write about your experiences growing up in a haunted house.” Those were my sister’s words. “You experienced the paranormal more than the rest of us.” She never believed I’d seen the ghost, yet, she saw the value in the story.

While I pondered her words, I continued writing my other creative nonfiction – stories about my grandmother (“Personal Notes” Moose Hide Books: 2008), my mother (F-Stop: A Life in Pictures Baico Publishing: 2011), close family friends (The Whistling Bishop Baico Publishing: 2008) and I helped Dad with his memoir. In between, I wrote fiction, but my heart lay in nonfiction, specifically that which you could take reality and tell it in story form, emulating novel fiction, and the ghost story kept churning in my mind.

The wise words of my editor, “Memoir sell better than fiction,” coupled with my sister’s urging, resulted in the resurfacing of my childhood memories and the ghost that haunted my nights. The result? Mrs. Murray’s Ghost (Tell-Tale Publishing: 2018) and three other books in The Piccadilly Street Series (book five is in the works).

Not all of what I wrote in The Piccadilly Street Series was memoir, at least not in the traditional sense that it was true and factual. Some of the fantasy elements of the stories are of my dreams and nightmares as a child. They wove together and captured the attention of readers of all ages, even though the stories were originally written for the middle grade reader.

My spark in creative nonfiction (also referred to as narrative nonfiction) had me revisiting the books I’d read over the years, the creative nonfiction stories that spoke from the heart and captured my attention. The top two were stories about the authors’ grandmothers: Jeannette Walls Half Broke Horses (Simon and Schuster: 2009), which was attributed as a 2009 New York Times notable book, and Dianna M. Raab’s Regina’s Closet (Beaufort Books: 2007). Both books received considerable attention and good sales.

Writing memoirs as creative nonfiction, if done well, can be lucrative. People crave true stories told in the storytelling format. Publishers are on the lookout for these both in book format and as short stories. Here are a couple of book publishers to consider:

Algonquin Books, publisher of the well received book, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

Persea Books, publisher of Beirut Fragments by Jean Said Makdisi.

Don’t forget the local publications that are always on the lookout for a well crafted, true story. Stick to the ones that pay. The bonus is they allow a short author promo blurb, a byline, a place where you can briefly and succinctly promote your writing. C. Hope Clark has written several creative nonfiction stories for SC Wildlife Magazine, paying anywhere from 50 to 75 cents/word.

Keep an eye on the big tabloids. Every so often they open submissions to freelance creative nonfiction stories. Payment can range anywhere from $50 per story to $0.25 per word. For example, if you’re into gaming and puzzles and have a creative nonfiction story to share on this theme, check out the New York Times Solver Stories which pay $200 per story.

My trusty editor convinced me to write more creative nonfiction in lieu of fiction. Was he right? I wondered. I received positive accolades for both my fiction and my creative nonfiction, but I was beginning to realize that my creative nonfiction and memoirs sold better and faster. By the time The Whistling Bishop was out of print (ten years after its publication), the sales income had been in the hundreds (that’s my royalty dollar amount), which, of course, amounts to book sales in the thousands.

I continue to write fiction, but my creative nonfiction stories do attract the most attention – and, yes, the most sales.

BIO – Emily-Jane Hills Orford is a published food writer, gardening blogger, novelist and writer of creative nonfiction books and stories. She has received numerous awards for her writing. Her passion for Scottish history shines through in her recent novels, Queen Mary’s Daughter (2018: Clean Reads Publishing) and King Henry’s Choice (2019: Clean Reads Publishing), as well as her middle grade fantasy novels in The Piccadilly Street Series (Tell-Tale Publishing 2018-2020).

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