When a Memoir Guide Becomes a Sales Pitch: My Honest Take on The Memoir Project

Let’s just rip the Band-Aid off—The Memoir Project by Marion Roach Smith didn’t live up to the hype.

When I picked it up, I was genuinely excited. A non-standardized guide to memoir writing? Sign me up. As someone who lives with sarcoidosis and heart failure, I’ve got more than a few stories tucked under my apron—and I was hoping this book would help me sharpen the storytelling knife.

Instead, I found myself halfway through a cleverly disguised infomercial.

From the jump, it felt promising. Smith’s voice is direct and no-nonsense, which I usually love. She calls out self-indulgent writing and encourages clarity and purpose—solid advice, especially for new writers tempted to spill every detail of their trauma in a single chapter. But then, somewhere along the way, the book lost me. Actually, it didn’t just lose me—it pivoted into one long sales pitch for her courses.

Page after page, it became clear that the “non-standard” structure was less about innovation and more about baiting the reader. And the bait? “If you want real help, take my class.”

Ma’am… I bought your book. I’m here. Help me now.

What frustrated me most was that she has the platform, the voice, and the experience to deliver something truly valuable—especially for writers navigating memoir with chronic illness, trauma, or complex identities. But instead of leaning into that, the book danced around the edges of useful advice without ever diving in. Just enough to tease. Not enough to teach.

And for a book that prides itself on emotional honesty and directness, the marketing undercurrent was just… disingenuous.

Now, I’m not against people earning money from their expertise. But if I pay for a writing guide, I expect a writing guide. Not an extended trailer for something behind a paywall.

So here’s the deal: if you’re looking for a motivational nudge or an intro to Smith’s voice before enrolling in her classes, maybe this book will work for you. But if you’re hoping for a hands-on, practical, page-by-page breakdown of how to craft your memoir? Keep looking.

There are far better books out there that won’t treat you like a potential sale.

The True Cost of a her $10 Book

After finishing the book, I visited Smith’s website to see what additional resources she offers. To my surprise, the book is just the first step in a series of prerequisites before you can access her editing services. Here’s the breakdown:

Purchase and read the book – $10.00 Take the online course “Memoirama” – $79.00 Enroll in “Memoirama Part 2” – $279.00 Attend her Master Class – $2,279.00

Only after completing these steps can you request her editing services, which are priced at $1,497.00 per 100 double-spaced pages in 12-point font. For an average 300-page manuscript, that’s an additional $4,491.00.

In total, you’re looking at $7,138.00 just to have your memoir reviewed and edited by her.

NB. This is a repost. This was originally posted in 2022, and the figures provided were true to that time.

What’s more concerning is the lack of publicly available success stories or testimonials from students who have gone through this entire process and achieved traditional publication.

Unless you’re committed to investing over $7,000 into this system, I’d recommend exploring other memoir-writing resources that offer comprehensive guidance without the hefty price tag.

Have you read The Memoir Project? Did you get something out of it—or did it leave you as annoyed as it left me? Drop your thoughts in the comments. And if you’ve found a memoir-writing guide that actually delivers, please share! I’d love a recommendation. Better yet, subscribe so we can keep trading notes, rants, and writer therapy.