The 18-Month Journey
From the first conversation to the first copies in hand
Here is what happens, what you can expect from us, and what the journey asks of you.
Why Eighteen Months?
A book that shapes generations cannot be rushed, and it should not drag. Eighteen months gives a story room to surface, settle, and be written with care, while a steady rhythm of sessions and milestones keeps it moving toward a finished book. An accelerated path also exists. Ask about it on your Story Discernment call.
What to Expect
A Steady Rhythm, a Clear Path, and a Team That Listens
What We Bring
- Two storytelling guides on every book, a lead and a second chair, who listen deeply and ask what no one has asked. “Having both of them in each session meant one could lead while the other truly listened.” Founder, wealth management firm
- An outline with cinematic clarity before a single chapter is drafted.
- Human writers who draft every chapter in your voice, and a team that responds promptly, so the work never waits on us.
What We Ask
- Your presence and honesty, an hour a week through the first three months.
- Your eye at the moments that matter: the outline, the chapters as they arrive, and the finished manuscript.
- Your readers: the hundred people, by name, this book is written for. Write for a hundred you know, and it can reach thousands you don't.
The Journey, Movement by Movement
Excavation
We uncover the stories beneath the stories. The meaning a life has carried but never named.
Alchemy
Experience becomes art: one narrative that shows what it all means.
Consecration
What began as fragments becomes a book that can be held and passed on.
Excavation
We uncover the stories beneath the stories. The meaning a life has carried but never named.
Alchemy
Experience becomes art: one narrative that shows what it all means.
Consecration
What began as fragments becomes a book that can be held and passed on.
Excavation
We uncover the stories beneath the stories. The meaning a life has carried but never named.
Alchemy
Experience becomes art: one narrative that shows what it all means.
Consecration
What began as fragments becomes a book that can be held and passed on.
Excavation
We uncover the stories beneath the stories. The meaning a life has carried but never named.
Alchemy
Experience becomes art: one narrative that shows what it all means.
Consecration
What began as fragments becomes a book that can be held and passed on.
From Our Clients
“With you, it felt like I could simply jump on a well-laid track.”
-Family legacy practitioner
“So much of this work is in the soft stuff, but it never felt heavy. It was actually fun.”
-Family legacy practitioner
Three Movements
Excavation: About Three Months
- One hour a week of conversation, each one going a layer deeper than the last. We ask the questions you've never been asked, and we listen for the stories beneath the stories.
- Between sessions, your storytelling guides map what surfaced: the people, the turning points, the meaning you've been living but never named.
- By the end of the Excavation, you hold an outline you can see the whole book in. The architecture is set before a single chapter is drafted.
“There's a lot of dirt to sift through to get to the gold.”
-Steward of a $1B enterprise
Alchemy: The Writing
- After the outline, one hour a week walks through each chapter. Then, as our human writers draft, a short call every other week reviews the chapters with you, while the writing is still warm.
- Experience becomes art: what happened, and what it means, shaped into one narrative in your own voice. Your first chapter comes as a sample, so you hear your own voice before the rest is written.
- When the last chapter is written, a celebration call, then thirty to forty-five days with the whole manuscript: read it straight through, share it with a few trusted readers, and make your final changes.
Consecration: The Finished Book
- A final editorial review, then cover design and interior typesetting. You see the cover and an interior sample, and nothing is finalized without your approval.
- A final proofread of the typeset pages, your final sign-off, and then printing: the books and dust jackets made with the care the story deserves.
- The first copies arrive in your hands. Then the handoff: read it, write a note to the person you're giving it to, and set a time to talk about it. A book meant for the public also releases in print and ebook.
Then the book goes to work. It slips past a reader's defenses, stays with them, and can change the direction of a life.
Their Transformation
The author changes first
Before
Alive, but leaking.
They carry wisdom with no place to go. A grandfather tells his story over coffee, and the people who needed it were never in the room. A founder watches it land for ten minutes and evaporate.
▸
During
Spoken, and seen.
Eighteen months of being seen at a depth no one has reached. They speak their life aloud, sometimes 200,000 words. Pain finds language. The hardest thing becomes the most life-giving. They are different when it is done.
▸
After
Traveling, and landing.
A granddaughter finds it on a shelf and meets the young man her grandfather once was. She reads it to her daughter that night. The wisdom that once leaked is traveling now, and landing.
What nearly every author tells us
“The process was the product.”
They were changed long before the first copy was printed. By the time the book is ready to publish, they already hold far more than they came for. Then the book arrives too.
Begin With Discernment
Every journey begins the same way: a conversation about whether this story must exist, and whether now is the time. No pitch. No pressure. If it's a fit, we'll know together, and if it isn't, we'll tell you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of books do you make?
Four kinds. A Personal Narrative tells your own story. A Heritage Narrative carries a family's story to the generations that follow. A Founder's Legacy tells the story behind what you built. A Storied Truth carries a conviction you've lived through the stories that taught it. We will help you see which one your story wants to be.
How much of my time will it take?
About an hour a week through Excavation and the chapter calls. Then, while the chapters are written, a short review call every other week. Most authors find it fits inside a full life.
What if I'm not a writer?
You don't need to be. You bring the life and the honesty; we bring the craft. Most of our authors had never written a book, and many never intended to. One told us English was his lowest grade in his entire life.
What happens when the book is finished?
Consecration begins: a final editorial review, cover design, typesetting, and a final proofread, with your approval at each step. Family books are printed and delivered to you, and books meant for the public also release in print and ebook. Then the first copies reach their readers, and the book begins its real work. When it is ready to travel further, we make warm introductions to trusted partners in branding, PR, launches, and marketing.
What's the investment?
A six-figure engagement that reflects the depth of eighteen months of work. An accelerated path is also available. We are glad to discuss specifics on a Story Discernment call.
Who owns the book?
You do, completely. All intellectual property, including derivative works and adaptations, is assigned to you. We steward the process. The outcome is yours.
Will what I share stay private?
Yes. Everything you share stays with the team, and nothing reaches the page without your approval.
Can I write the book myself?
You can. Some authors speak their story and we shape it into prose. Others hold the pen, and we coach them chapter by chapter. The Renown standard is high, and when the writing falls short of it, our writers take the pen.
Isn't writing about my own life self-indulgent?
It's the worry we hear most, usually from the people with the stories most worth telling. A Renown book is written for the reader: the son, the successor, the stranger fifteen years from now who needs to know someone walked this road first.
Will my book be a bestseller?
If a list is your goal, we will tell you honestly what it takes. Our standard is a book that is read, passed hand to hand, and returned to for years. A list can be gamed. A legacy cannot.