The Difference Between Autobiographies and Memoirs

I recently ran across a question in a writers' forum that got me thinking: What's the difference between an autobiography and a memoir? I honestly didn't know the answer so I did some digging and finally found a decent explanation on a publisher's website. Although autobiographies and memoirs are similar, there are a few distinctive differences.

Both autobiographies and memoirs are told in the first person and both are true accounts about the author's life. They each contain personal information and are meant to allow the reader insight into the author's mind. You will find in-depth analyses in both autobiographies and memoirs, though memoirs are often considered the more personal of the two.

An autobiography is a sketch of the author's entire life, often from birth up until the time of the writing. When you write an autobiography, you start with your earliest memories and no one incident or time of life takes precedence over another.

A memoir, on the other hand, focuses on one aspect of the author's life. Many people write memoirs to talk about their experiences in a war or their careers or their family life. Memoirs usually cover a relatively brief span of time, and their main purpose is to draw the reader's attention to a specific theme or circumstance.

In a memoir written by the CEO of a major corporation, for example, he might want to talk about the success of his business venture and the pitfalls involved with owning a corporation. In that memoir, you probably wouldn't find many details about the author's childhood or his family, except when it relates to his work.

If that same CEO wrote an autobiography, however, his business might not make an entrance until the one-hundredth page. He might talk about his childhood, his education, his parents and his siblings before he gets to his adult life. Obviously, a memoir and an autobiography read much differently.

The reasons for writing a memoir might also be different than the reasons for writing an autobiography. Generally speaking, only famous people write autobiographies because their fans are interested in reading about their formative years. Just about anyone can write a memoir, however, as long as he or she has something interesting and unique to discuss.

In addition, an autobiography is usually structured based on the chronological timeline, while a memoir doesn't necessarily have to go in order of timely events. A memoir written by a drug addict, for example, might start at the climax of his or her addiction and then work back through time to explain how he or she got to that point in life. Usually, autobiographies are titled The Autobiography of..., while a memoir can have a more unique title such as Prozac Diary by Lauren Slater or Night by Elie Wiesel.

The differences between memoirs and autobiographies are vast, but people still confuse them in everyday speech because they are both written by the author, by the author. If you are considering writing one or the other, I would recommend researching the two types of books extensively before embarking on the project to make sure you are headed in the right direction.