Biography Writing Services
LIFE IS SHORT. GET IT WRITTEN.
Seizing The Great Stories That Still Walk Among Us
I write commissioned biographies for individuals and families worldwide. The global economy breeds hyper-specialists, many of whose life stories can be described as strikingly similar. The big, expansive, reckless life is in descendance. Now is the time to act. That renegade uncle or auntie. The high school buddy who disappeared, only to return decades later the conquering hero. The unapologetically rules-averse businessperson – someone for whom all those around him/her have irresistibly developed a deep loyalty or fascination. Most of us know at least one of such creatures.
Who is Paul Fenn?
I’m a writer who began his career in travel writing, switched to magazine reportage and editorial, then expanded into copywriting in advertising and digital, then to video, TV & film screenwriting and now… biographies. As a copywriter, I’ve long inhabited a strange paradox in which I communicate on behalf of others things they know better than me. So writing biographies came as a natural extension of all that. I bring a life experience that’s international and beyond unique; a Brobdingnagian vocabulary, which I know when and when not to apply; a love of research and historical context; a need to read everything under the sun; and a fierce addiction to daily writing.
Why work with me?
Because given the opportunity, I can demonstrate – through the provision of writing samples, the manner in which I conduct interviews, undertake contextual research and bust my fingertips to bring each page to life – that I’m the right man for the job. Because we live in dangerously homogenizing times where the bohemian one-offs, the “Grey Gardens” eccentrics, the “damn the torpedoes” generation is dying out, and no one’s replacing them. Because too many interesting people leave us with no written record of their exploits, triumphs, and failures, how they changed things and were changed by them. And that is a slow-burning tragedy.
"Hold Off on Their Inheritance Until They've Read Your Biography. Then Quiz Them."
- Paul Fenn, Toronto Copywriter
Great Stories Shouldn’t Die With Those Who Lived Them
My biography writing services are designed to preserve remarkable lives before their stories are lost. Let’s say you know someone larger than life. And now they’re getting on in years – or they’re gone. Who will remember them and how? Will all the things they said, did and left behind be remembered in detail or gradually forgotten? Is such a life not worth collating, immortalizing and honoring in print so it can be passed along to future generations? Prefer to preserve the story on film? See my Family Bio-documentaries. For company histories and founder stories, see Business Documentaries.
The thrill-ride of my inaugural commissioned biography
It celebrates a man, my Uncle Jack, who won over and impressed most everyone who crossed paths, or swords, with him. Researching it exposed me to people and events in his life that I’d never heard or thought about, and gave me a depth of knowledge and comfort about my own family’s history. Not all of it was great news, but it did shed light on the kinds of people and thinking that preceded me, us, and delivered the cushy world we ingrates now inhabit!
History is everything
What You Get
A Plan
Detailed plans of execution, with timelines, deadlines, and the ability to periodically view work in progress.
Detailed Consultations
Regarding story, messages, story arcs, writing style, tonality and length of the work
Quality
A well-written, engaging, tightly rendered work.
Scholarship
A religious devotion to brevity, potency, and grammatically-correct text.
Promises Kept
On-time delivery of each draft.
Customer reviews
What My Clients Say
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Contact
Get a quote, check on availability or just run an idea by me. I’ll usually get back to you within a business day.