EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE something so wonderful happens that all you can do is laugh out loud with joy. My favorite of these moments is when you think something is set in stone and someone shows you how to allow that thing to evolve to an even better place, one you never considered. So it is with The Memoir Project Algorithm and what Kyle Young, our Operations Manager, recently showed me about that little algorithm.

You know the Memoir Project algorithm. It goes like this:

It’s about x, as illustrated by y, to be told in a z.

Our algorithm changes writing lives by reminding you that your story is about something universal (x), as illustrated by something deeply personal (y), to be told in one of the five forms of memoir (z). These five forms from which to choose are blog post, essay, opinion piece, long-form essay or book.

But Kyle added a phrase recently that makes your blog post, essay, opinion piece or book not only have an argument but also have an audience.

That’s right: An audience.

How does this new version go? Like this.

It’s about x, as illustrated by y, to be told in a z, in service of w.

Yes, that little “w” is not placed alphabetically, coming as it does after the “Z,” but it is placed perfectly when you consider it represents the “whom,” as in for whom your book is intended.

Let’s say I was back writing Another Name for Madness, my first book, chronicling my family’s struggle with my mother’s Alzheimer’s.

At one point, that Memoir Project algorithm would have been stated like this:

It’s about how loss is an inevitable part of love we must also accept if we want to continue to grow, as illustrated by my family’s struggle with our mother’s Alzheimer’s disease, to be told in a book in service of the 7.5 million Alzheimer’s patients and the estimated 30 million family members caring for patients.

Wow. Suddenly you not even know who you are writing for, but you can easily assure agents and publishers that there is a built-in audience.

Everyone asks me, “Do I need a platform?” “Do I need a huge audience already following me in order to sell a book?” The answer: Not always.

You don’t need to wait until you have a podcast/newsletter audience/following to put your book out into the world. With this, and a little reporting, you can identify the existing audience waiting for this book to arrive.

Need more convincing? What if you are writing about the joys of having a dog? Here’s that algorithm.

It’s about how dogs do things for people that people cannot do for themselves, as illustrated by the 12 dogs in my life, to be told in a book in service of the 68 million households with dogs.

See how this goes?

I bet you do.

How many households have cats? Forty-nine million.

How many American adults have recently been diagnosed with autism? Five point four million.

What about grief, you might ask? It’s not a diagnosis, after all, and not so easily counted. Studies show that 12.5 million Americans experience grief each year.

And on and on you can go with this, pulling from research the kinds of numbers that should convince you, as well as those in publishing, that you have a book worth writing and publishing.

Ah, The Memoir Project Algorithm. Consider this new version our gift to you. Unwrap it and let it amaze you.

Write well.

Want more help? Join me in live, online memoir classes

Start here, with The Memoir Project System Page, to understand the breadth of all the classes we teach.

Want to jump right in? Here’s a sampling of our classes.

Memoirama: Live, 90 minutes. Everything you need to write what you know.

Memoirama 2. Live, two hours. Limited to seven writers. What you need to know to structure a book.

How to Write Opinion Pieces: Op-eds, Radio Essays and Digital Commentary: Live, 90 minutes. Get your voice out into the world.

And keep in mind that we are now registering names for the next Master Class, the prerequisites for which are Memoirama and Memoirama 2. Live, once a month. Limited to six writers. Get a first draft of your memoir finished in six months.