About Me
My Background
My name is Bill Fischer and for over 40 years I worked in radio and television, firstly as a disc jockey before transitioning into sports journalism. The highlight for me, apart from being paid to watch sport, was interviewing athletes and turning that interview into a story. Given my career was based on sports news as opposed to sports commentary, my philosophy was to inform and entertain. Information was the key, but to be able to deliver it in an entertaining manner was the clincher.
Gap Years weren't invented when I left school, so now, the rest of my life is a Gap Year, riding and writing.
The move into writing biographies came when my son returned home after visiting his grandmother and asked if I knew about the story of her brother and sister. Of course I did, Mum talked about them often but it surprised me he had never heard the stories.
Mum had dementia by this stage, thankfully only short term memory loss, so she talked about the old days a lot.
She had always wanted to write a book about that part of her life but never did, so I decided to start recording my conversations with her. I finished it about 12 months before she passed away.
Thankfully though Mum’s story lives on, for her grandchildren and her great grandchildren,
Why Your Story?
It's All About The Dash
It's All About The Dash
It's All About The Dash
A friend once told me the importance of the ‘dash’:
John Smith 9th Aug 1940 - 1st Jan 2020.
The facts are obvious; we know when John was born and when he died, but John’s real story is the - , everything that happened in those 79 years he was with us. That’s the story that can get lost unless it’s recorded. That’s the story I rec
A friend once told me the importance of the ‘dash’:
John Smith 9th Aug 1940 - 1st Jan 2020.
The facts are obvious; we know when John was born and when he died, but John’s real story is the - , everything that happened in those 79 years he was with us. That’s the story that can get lost unless it’s recorded. That’s the story I record for you.
So that your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and your great, great, great….. can get a real feel for you and your story I write it in the first person. You are telling your story. My role is to record it in such a way that your personality comes through. It’s your words, with your emotions, in a format that’s entertaining and informative.
Your Book
It's All About The Dash
It's All About The Dash
Once the interview is done and the story is written I then put it all together in a book for you. Your biography in your own, professionally bound, hard cover coffee table book. But the book is more than just your written story, it’s also a pictorial history of your life. The exciting thing for me when I moved from radio to television was
Once the interview is done and the story is written I then put it all together in a book for you. Your biography in your own, professionally bound, hard cover coffee table book. But the book is more than just your written story, it’s also a pictorial history of your life. The exciting thing for me when I moved from radio to television was that I now had pictures to work with and they gave the story more meaning and more emotion. We had a saying then, ‘if you don’t have pictures you don’t have a story’. It’s the same with the photographs of your life. I don’t throw them in randomly throughout the book, I place them where they are relevant to the story. The more photos we have the more emotion there is in your story. So often the photos of our life get buried in albums and are rarely seen. It’s no different in this digital age, they just get lost in the cloud.
Easy To Read
It's All About The Dash
Easy To Read
I write the book in such a way that it doesn't have to be read cover to cover. There are no chapters, just headings and sub-headings that highlight a particular part of your story. While flicking through the pages a grandchild might stop at a stunning photo of a young, beautiful and fashionable lady and wonder who it is. ‘Is that Grandma
I write the book in such a way that it doesn't have to be read cover to cover. There are no chapters, just headings and sub-headings that highlight a particular part of your story. While flicking through the pages a grandchild might stop at a stunning photo of a young, beautiful and fashionable lady and wonder who it is. ‘Is that Grandma?’ That child had only ever known the grey haired version with wrinkles and glasses. Now they realise she was once young and beautiful, just like them, and after reading that part of the story they have a totally different understanding of Grandma. Another time the heading ‘The War Years’ might pique an interest. They can read that part of your life and place it back on the coffee table for another time. The story and photos need never be buried again.
Your Next Steps
It's Personal
One Small Request
It's Personal
I help you record your story for you and your family. I don’t offer it for public consumption. I don’t even publicise your biography anywhere on this website if you don’t want me to. It’s your story and it’s personal. My motivation for doing this is to ensure no-one’s story is lost. I’m passionate about recording your story and I don’t w
I help you record your story for you and your family. I don’t offer it for public consumption. I don’t even publicise your biography anywhere on this website if you don’t want me to. It’s your story and it’s personal. My motivation for doing this is to ensure no-one’s story is lost. I’m passionate about recording your story and I don’t want to exclude anyone, so I don’t place an economic barrier in front you. I have a set price for the project but that is negotiable and private between you and me. The recording of your story is too important to be impacted by the cost.
The Process
One Small Request
It's Personal
- I interview you. This takes as long as it needs to, to ensure you are relaxed and comfortable.
- I scan as many photos as I can.
- I transcribe the interview.I find this process helps me to get to know you better.
- I write your story.
- I send you a copy of your story for approval. Nothing gets published until you approve it.
- I produce your book and publish it.
- I present you with your biography.
What You Get
One Small Request
One Small Request
You get your own personal copy as part of the agreement. If you want more copies that is not a problem, but they will be at your cost. Extra copies will be at cost price. I don’t charge any fees for ordering extra copies. You can also get copies of the interview, the transcript of the interview and all the photos I use in the book. I can
You get your own personal copy as part of the agreement. If you want more copies that is not a problem, but they will be at your cost. Extra copies will be at cost price. I don’t charge any fees for ordering extra copies. You can also get copies of the interview, the transcript of the interview and all the photos I use in the book. I can place these on a USB stick for you if you want them. There’s no charge for this either.
One Small Request
One Small Request
One Small Request
The only thing I ask is: if, by any chance, Steven Spielberg wants to turn your story into a Hollywood blockbuster, maybe we can have a little talk about copyright.