Do you need to create a short or long biography or story for future professional engagements, or for a feature in Arts Professional’s ‘Arts People’ or similar?
Or are you reflecting on your professional, or personal life so far, before you head into your next exciting chapter? Maybe you’re coming up to retirement, starting on the speaker circuit, or looking for non-exec director roles? Or perhaps you’d like to document and share your story – a gift to your family and friends and future generations, or something for you to build on in retirement?
I’ve been helping people to tell their organisational stories for more than 25 years, including interviewing individuals and telling their stories of change; helping people write CVs and promotional materials to secure more work.
Now I’m expanding that work to help individuals in my professional network to capture their unique stories.
How would it work?
We can work in whichever way you find most helpful, I’m very happy to adapt to your own preferences and needs, but here’s what it could look like:
✅ I email you a simple questionnaire asking what you want to get out of the process, any particular hopes or preferences, and also a more detailed agreement about our collaboration.
❓I email you some prompts/questions that you can think about or even write responses to, ahead of our meeting.
💭 We have one-three (see below) two-hour meetings over Zoom (recorded) where I guide you through a process of reflecting on your skills and experiences, moments that shaped your or insights you’ve gained, and the path that brought you to where you are today.
👩💻 I write up what you’ve shared in a collaborative Google document that you can comment on/edit. I’ll take care to write in your tone of voice, and take account of your hopes and preferences.
✏️ I will review and edit the document based on your comments. You’ll be able to provide further edits (see below).
📖 I’ll then finalise return the document to you as a Word document which you can keep to work on further over time, or get designed, typeset and perhaps printed*.
Please note: I will be using AI (Otter, Grammarly, Claude) for some of this work eg transcribing, and some aspects of the drafting, to keep costs down and to enhance the quality of the work. I use AI to record meetings and also as a sounding board, tone of voice checker and editor. I have undertaken training in the ethical use of AI and will ensure that your intellectual property is protected as far as possible. I have set my AI tools to not use my content to train the AI model; and I will not use your name in any AI tools.
What will it cost?
This all depends on you: your budget, and your aspirations for the work. I will always aim to work around your budget, and will provide a quote and outline of work before we start. But of course you need to know what sort of costs *might* be involved. Here are some guide prices:
Bio – £300-£600
One two-hour meeting; up to two A4 pages bio, including short and long versions, one set of edits.
- Story – £800+
Minimum: three or more two-hour meetings, 20+ A4 pages, three sets of edits.
Before we start work, or during the process, you can also add on:- more meetings
- more draft stages
- creating the document into a typeset/designed booklet
- including photos
- getting the document printed for you
Why choose me?
Other life story companies charge thousands for their services. And they may not have the unique skills and experiences that I have – spanning journalism, copywriting and writing for people in music, the arts and charities. But they aren’t as flexible, or knowledgeable about the sector/s you work in – or perhaps about you, if we know each other well. And as I’ve only promoted this on LinkedIn, the chances are you probably know me, or know of me – so the service will be a lot more tailored, personal and enjoyable.
Interested? Contact me if you have any further questions or you’d like to take up the offer.
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