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7 Memories|How to write your personal stories--leave a legacy”


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Patricia Benesh
From the San Diego Union-Tribune
By Arthur Salm, Book Editor

The fun part of my business, says owner Patricia Benesh, "is seeing people just blossom, seeing them take an idea and run with it."

Patricia Benesh runs a very personal business. That it happens to be almost entirely on the Internet turns out to be beside the point.

"You become intimately involved with them. You become really good  friends," Patricia said of the writers she works with. "In some cases I've met them, but in most cases I haven't. We exchange pictures, even  recipes. I've seen into the souls of these people, because I've seen the writing in its original form, and it comes from the heart."

For more than a decade, Patricia has been the visionary and energy behind AuthorAssist.com, helping English-speaking writers around the world. Clients include: Thomas Steinbeck (son of John Steinbeck), whose anthology, Down to a Soundless Sea, was published by Ballantine; Kerry Cohen-Hoffman, author of Easy (Simon and Schuster) and Loose Girl (Hyperion); Beth Rubin, whose novel, Split Ends, won first prize at the Maryland Writers Association Contest; and James Wray, whose award-winning short story, "Dark Toast," was published in the West Wind Review. AuthorAssist has provided online literary services to more than 350 new writers. She leads workshops and seminars at writers' conferences.

Patricia's articles have been published in numerous books, journals, and business periodicals. She is a former professor at The Johns Hopkins University in the field of Human Communications, specializing in neurological disabilities and readability. She holds a doctorate from Johns Hopkins and advanced degrees in counseling and business administration. She has spoken at numerous US and international conferences and is recognized in Who's Who in Education.

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Associates


   Carolyn Marsden
Carolyn Marsden is the author of more than a dozen award-winning children's books, including The Gold-Threaded Dress and Take Me with You. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children from Vermont College where she won the Candlewick Scholarship Award. Prior to writing for children, Carolyn wrote short stories, poetry, and novels for adults. She is currently exploring the genre of illustrated memoirs. Carolyn is fluent in Spanish.

Karen Braun has been copyediting for thirty years, wielding her red pen over a wide range of material including books, corporate publications, catalogs, legal documents, and doctoral dissertations. She co-authored a series of children's books and established a children's paperback book distributorship of national renown. Karen has a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Columbia University with a minor in English. She's been seen reading newspapers and novels with red pen in hand -- just for fun!
     Karen Braun


        Ian Kath
At Create Your Life Story, Ian Kath is producing a series of audio and text resources to help you record, edit and publish your personal life story. As Ian says," All your personality can shine through your voice in a way now easily available to all of us." The best part is that you can use AuthorAssist products and services to prompt your memories for your audio recording and then to transform your audio to book format.

Ian Kath loves to simply ask, "So, what's your story?" Which is how his online chat show Your Story started in 2007. After recording multiple life stories, Ian realized that recording audio memoirs is the perfect way to capture memories prior to their being published in the many options offered today.

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Our Philosophy

From Patricia Benesh ... a few words about our memoir writing and editing services ...

7memories is born of my urgent wish to encourage you to tell and write personal stories--your own--and those of your relatives. Our method gets you started with a manageable slice of life--just 7 memories. Please capture these rich memories before it's too late.

In my case, I waited too long. When the first grandchild was born into our family, I felt compelled to regale her with stories about her great grandparents--my parents. Both were immigrants whose journey took them from oppression and poverty to freedom and prosperity; from riding in a horse and buggy to watching a man walk on the moon. Alas, they were no longer here to tell their stories. Instead, I patched together a photo memoir and wrote a child's version of their life together. My brother's grandchild delights in it. You can see an excerpt on the top banner of this web site.

"Your words are precious to me."

You have taken great time and thought to create your material--and to share them with me and your potential readers. As I work with you to enhance your writing, I will honor your words and your intuition.

Here's what to expect from us:

  • prompt and courteous service
  • an understanding of your goals for writing this material
  • a knowledge of your target audience and viewer expectations
  • a focus on tone and content for clearer and more compelling writing
  • respect for your creatvity and your fundamental belief about your work.
  • personal attention to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of your material.


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