# Tellforth: questions and answers ## The basics ### What is this, in one sentence? You tell your life story by voice, a few minutes at a time, to a listener that asks good follow-up questions and remembers everything, and Tellforth writes it as a real book your family will read. ### Is it really a book, or a pile of answers? A real book. Tellforth works out the shape of the book before writing a word: where it starts, the chapters, the people who matter. The memoir uses only what you said, in your words. The novel builds a story on the true facts and lists what was imagined at the back. ### Who is it for? Anyone with a story. Most often a parent or grandparent telling their life for the family, but also people facing an illness, people writing their own memoir, founders, veterans, and parents keeping a child's own made-up stories. ### How long does it take? As long as you like. There is no deadline. A visit is about fifteen minutes and most people do two or three a week at most. The book is written once the record holds what a writer needs, and you can watch the chapters fill in as you go. ### Who is doing the asking? An interviewer in the app, named Wren. It asks one question at a time, listens to the whole answer, and asks the next question a good listener would. It never rushes you and never asks the hard questions first. ## For the person telling the story ### Do I need to be good with technology? No. You open the app and talk, that is all. Nothing to type and no password to remember. A text message reminds you when a visit is waiting. If you would rather not use an app at all, phone-call visits on any phone are available as a premium add-on. ### I am not well. Can I still do this? Yes, and at your own pace. Five minutes is a visit. There is no deadline and nothing to keep up with. You decide what is asked, what is kept private, and who reads what. If you would rather stop, you stop. ### What if I do not remember things well? That is normal and it is fine. The listener asks about things you can see, smell and hold, which is how memory works best, and never tests you. A story told twice in two ways is kept both ways. ### What about things I would rather keep private? A story can be sealed: for one grandchild only, for after you are gone, or until a date you choose. Your family reads a proof before printing. Anything you want left out is left out. ### Can I speak in another language? You can answer in your first language and the words are kept beside the English. Tell us which language when you start. ## For families and givers ### Can my son or daughter set it up for me? Yes. They pay once and record a short message in their own voice, which you hear at your first visit. From then on it is your book: your words, your decisions, your recordings. ### What if they say no? Then nothing happens. The offer is made once, in your voice, and it is theirs to accept or leave. Many people say no in March and yes in June. ### Can the family follow along? Yes. Everyone the storyteller invites can see the chapters taking shape and suggest a question. Nobody can read a story the storyteller has sealed. ### Can both parents take part? Yes. The Whole Family package includes a second storyteller. Each gets their own book and their own record, on one family page. ### Will I be able to hear the recordings? If the storyteller allows it, yes. Most do. The recordings are theirs; what they share is their choice. ## The book ### What kinds of book can it write? A memoir in your own words; a historical novel built on the true story; a young adult edition; a children's picture book; a short gift edition; a family history; letters sealed for later; and a company history told by the people who were there. ### What is the Whole Family package? Your life, written five ways: the memoir, the historical novel, a young adult edition for the teenagers, a picture book for the grandchildren, and a short gift edition. Five hardcovers, one for each household. ### Can I change what it wrote? Yes. You and your family read a proof before anything is printed. Mark what is wrong, what is missing and what should come out, and it is changed. ### What does the printed book look like? A sewn, cloth-bound hardcover in a rigid gift box, with your photographs and letters placed in the pages. Extra copies can be ordered for the rest of the family. ### Can I add photographs? Yes. Add them in the app and say who is in them. The listener may ask about them at your next visit, and the best ones are placed in the book next to the story they belong to. ## Privacy and ownership ### Who owns the recordings? You do. Every recording, transcript and book can be downloaded free at any time. There is no subscription, so nothing can lapse and lock them away. ### Who can read my stories? Only the people you invite, and only the stories you have not sealed. You can change that at any time. ### What happens to my stories if I stop? They stay yours and stay where they are. Nothing expires. You can pick up again next month or next year, or download everything and leave. ## Pricing and paying ### Is there a subscription? No. You pay once. Nothing renews and nothing expires. ### What does each package include? The Book ($149) is as many visits as it takes and one finished digital book, memoir or novel. The printed book ($208) adds a cloth hardcover in a gift box. The Whole Family ($449) is five editions of one life, five hardcovers, and a second storyteller. ### What are phone-call visits? A real phone call at a time you choose, on any phone including a landline, for people who would rather not use an app. They are a premium add-on at +$99, paid once. ### Can I order more copies? Yes, extra printed copies start at $69. ### Are these the final prices? They are the prices for the first families, in US dollars. Final pricing may change before general release.