A memoir writer spends hours talking with your mother or father, writes from what they say, goes through the text with you and gets the book ready to print. Outside Iran, finding someone who can do this in Persian is not easy. Here is what to ask, and when you may not need a writer at all.

What a memoir writer does

Several conversations, in person or by video, usually an hour or two each.
Transcribing the recordings and writing the memories in the order they happened.
Going through the text with your parent and the family.
Choosing photographs, laying out the pages and preparing the print file.

What it costs

When one writer does the work from start to finish, prices usually start at several thousand dollars, because it is months of one person's time. How much does a life story book cost? puts the price ranges side by side.

Where to look

Persian-speaking journalists and writers in your own city, Iranian cultural associations, Persian writing classes and local Persian-language publications are good places to start. Ask people you know as well; writers like this are mostly found through someone who has worked with them.

What to ask before you start

Can I see something you have written before?
Do you keep my parent's own words, or rewrite the text in a literary style?
How many sessions will it take, and how long overall?
Who owns the recordings, and will you hand them over at the end?
Will you do the Persian typesetting and printing, or will we?
Who signs off the text before it is printed?
Who decides where and how the book is published?

When a memoir writer is the right choice

When you have the budget, you want one person to handle everything from start to finish, and your parent is more comfortable talking face to face.

When you may not need one

When your parent would rather tell it on their phone whenever they feel like it than sit for set sessions, or when your budget is limited.

Moonray is not a person and does not replace a memoir writer. If what you want is a face-to-face conversation with a writer, Moonray is not for you. Moonray is an AI interviewer, and it says so in its first message. On WhatsApp or Telegram it asks one question at a time, in Persian (Farsi) or English, and your parent answers by voice note or text whenever they like. The memories are written in their own words and put in the order they lived them. You read every one before it prints and change anything you want.

$149 gives a year for the stories to be told, a digital book and one full-colour printed hardcover, with shipping to most countries included. The first two weeks are free and need no card.