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Tellforth vs StoryTerrace
StoryTerrace is a ghostwriting service. It matches you with a writer from a pool it says is over 600 strong, the writer interviews you (in person or remotely) for a fixed number of hours, and you get a full-colour hardcover. The packages are Book Taster (about $150, a concept and a sample page), Swift (about $1,200: 4 remote interview hours, 60 pages, one copy, print-ready in as little as 6 weeks) and Classic (from about $3,250: 4 to 10 interview hours, 60 to 120 pages, four copies); a PRO package starts at about $24,000. It is a good, well-run version of hiring a writer, and the hours are the ceiling.
What StoryTerrace does well
- A professional human writer and, on Classic, a dedicated project editor
- A clear process: outline, a first chapter to check the style, then a draft for review
- Full-colour hardcover copies included; a PDF for final approval first
- Swift is quick: a print-ready version in as little as six weeks
- Swift is refundable for 30 days or until you accept a writer, whichever is earlier
Where StoryTerrace falls short
- A fixed number of interview hours: 4 on Swift, 4 to 10 on Classic; more is an add-on
- The words are the writer's rendering of the interviews, not the teller's own
- Short books: 60 pages and 7,500 words on Swift, 60 to 120 pages on Classic
- Priced in the thousands once you want more than one copy or more than four hours
- After the refund window, payments are non-refundable; no finished-book guarantee is stated
Side by side
| StoryTerrace | Tellforth | |
|---|---|---|
| How stories are gathered | A matched writer interviews you in person or remotely; sessions of about 2 hours; 4 hours (Swift) or 4 to 10 hours (Classic) in total | Voice visits of 15 to 20 minutes with a live interviewer that asks follow-ups, plus a 30-second daily card; no typing, no login for the teller |
| Follow-up questions | Within the interview hours, yes: a human interviewer; nothing between sessions | One record of every person, place, saying and story; the next question comes from what is still missing |
| What you get | A hardcover written by the writer: 60 pages (Swift) or 60 to 120 pages (Classic), 1 or 4 copies | A designed, finished book: a memoir in the teller's own words, or a novel built on the true story with what was invented listed at the back |
| Ownership | Not stated on their pages we read; check their terms | You own every recording and word; export everything free, any time; no subscription |
| Price | About $150 (Book Taster), about $1,200 (Swift), from about $3,250 (Classic), from about $24,000 (PRO); check their site | One-time price; no renewal |
| If it isn't finished | Refundable for 30 days or until you accept a writer, then non-refundable | No deadline and no renewal: the record stays open until the book is finished, and we step in early if it stalls |
Verdict
Choose StoryTerrace if you want a named human writer to interview your parent and shape the book, you are happy with four to ten hours of material, and the budget is in the low thousands. Choose this if you want many more hours of the person's own voice, the book in their words, and a one-time price with no cap on how much they can tell.
Sources
Prices and features of other products are as published on their own sites at the time of writing and may have changed. If something here is wrong, write to hello@tellforth.com and we will fix it.