Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Guest Writer Michelle Monet #Memoirs – I Was Told That My Memoir Could be a Huge Bestseller If — I do more celebrity name dropping. Huh?

Delighted to welcome guest writer, singer/songwriter guitarist Michelle Monet to the blog today who explores the concept of fame and the inclusion of ‘big names’ in memoirs to catch the public’s eye.

I Was Told That My Memoir Could be a Huge Bestseller If — I do more celebrity name dropping. Huh?

“Fame means millions of people have the wrong idea of who you are” — ERICA JONG
“Fame is proof that the people are gullible” — ANONYMOUS

I recently sent the first few chapters of my Memoir in progress to a popular Memoir Author friend/mentor. She has 9 Memoirs published. I respect her and her writing. She is prolific as hell too, which I admire most. She just keeps flinging her books out there.

She responded:

“Honestly Michelle, this could be a huge best seller. Especially if you have any other big names to drop in there, you know how the celeb-worship scene is today! I loved it. Go girl!! xxxx You are the only really famous person I know these days . You stand the best chance of all the writers I know of making it big, really big…”

Hmmm. The part that made me ponder was ‘…especially if you have any other BIG NAMES to drop in there..’

I might not want to do that.

So, what she’s saying is that if I get BIG NAMES TO DROP into my Memoir it could help it become a bestseller?

That just doesn’t resonate with my heart.

I mean, I can be a name dropper I suppose — if I want to.

In Las Vegas and Atlantic City, back in the 90s I sung for audiences that included President Gerald Ford and Betty, Michael Jackson and even Donald and Ivana — back when he was married to his first foreign wife. Ohhh, and I had a bitch fight with Donny Osmond once at his theater in Branson, Missouri — and did a gig with Tiny Tim in New York once. Do these count? LOL

I asked another fellow Memoir writer friend about this.

She said:

‘I don’t think you have to add big names. Your story stands all on its own… Sprinkle them throughout if they add to your story.’

I mean I COULD add a few stories about these celebrities and famous people that I had encounters with, like this title:

My Bitch Fight With Donny Osmond (That’s an attention grabbing one eh?)

• Would that title intrigue you?
• Would that make you want to buy my Memoir if you found out I had a fight with Donny?
• Do you think that would make the book more worthwhile viable and/or sellable?

To be honest, my goal is just to write the Memoir with authenticity and purpose.

I started writing this Memoir 4 years ago and have put it aside a few times to ‘let it simmer’.
Many emotional derailments. The best feeling of all would be to get this book done. Like an Exorcism THIS BABY WANTS TO GET OUT OF ME ALREADY!!

I think getting it done would be far more fulfilling than for the book to become a bestseller. I mean, I wouldn’t say NO to having a Best Seller. I do think my story is a damn good one. Some say it’s riveting. I think it can also help inspire others, not only help me to heal by writing it.

I’ve had some fame and some fortune in my past, as I wrote about here. I discovered its not all its cracked up to be, although I wouldn’t mind the fortune part to be honest…

Photo by Tinh Khuong on Unsplash

I wrote about the Downside of Fame in another article – My Story The false promises of fame and fortune.

So, I’m asking YOU as readers of memoirs

Do you think if I drop some ‘famous names’ into my Memoir that it would somehow make it more valuable or successful?

More than that I’m asking myself: Do I really wanna go down the salacious path of the Kardashian culture insanity who drop names and write about their wild sexual positions, people they’ve slept and hobnobbed with, all to sell more books?

Nope. I’d prefer to just tell my truth.

I think my story has enough in it to keep readers interested and that’s all I want from my memoir.

Thanks for reading….

©Michelle Monet 2019

About Michelle Monet

Michelle Monet is a multi-faceted creative human being.

Her career began as a singer/songwriter guitarist act in lounges around the Denver area. She progressed to performing her original music in cabaret clubs and concert halls around the US. In 1989 she landed the role as a Barbra Streisand impersonator for the hit show Legends in Concert. She traveled throughout the US appearing in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and Atlantic City, and around the world in countries from Russia to Japan to South Africa.

In 1996, while starring in a production in Sun City, South Africa she suddenly had a passion to switch callings. She began studying visual art. Since then she has sold her art in her gallery/studio and at art shows and festivals. She continues to make and sell her unique creations for happy customers and collectors.

Her upcoming Memoir will be about her life in show business including her surviving domestic violence, panic disorder and a dependency on prescribed medication.

These days you can find Michelle typing away on her next few books and chilling with her five cats and boyfriend Bob in the Smoky Mountains.

Books by Michelle Monet

One of the reviews for Catch a Poem by the Tale.

Robert Pfaff 4.0 out of 5 stars Whimsical Roller Coaster Ride to What The Heck and Back!

She tapped into my inner child and that’s not easy to do. Her poems are often simple but that’s just the point. Whimsical, childlike and at turns profound, there Is the sense of true poet playing a flirtatious peek-a-boo game with her first published audience, like the lament on menopause interrupted by the phrase “I just want pie.” That one made me laugh out loud. She’s a bit of a tease and at her best when she teases us to confront life arduous challenges, with a playful and unbounded sense of humor.

As the old saying goes, “God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.” Michelle Monet’s courage isn’t all that emerges in her poetry – she also seems to get the joke. She in on the act, part of the punchline, writing from the wings. Though personally not polished enough to earn a perfect score (I don’t think I have ever given a five), she’s a refreshing and fun voice, with some dark moments to share, but always prepared to rebound with enthusiasm. Highly recommend it for those who need a lift in mood…or want to spend time with a kindred spirit who has learned to ride life’s up and downs like a roller-coaster ride to what-the-heck and back!

Read the reviews and buy the books: https://www.amazon.com/Michelle-Monet/e/B01J5X26QS

and on Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Michelle-Monet/e/B01J5X26QS/

Read more reviews and follow Michelle on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7209847.Michelle_Monet

Connect to Michelle

Website: www.michellemonet.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MMonet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.monet.77

Thanks for dropping in today and I know that Michelle is looking forward to your feedback on the subject of ‘name dropping’ in memoirs…thanks Sally.