Legacy Writing Club
led by Jody Dyer
Do you have stories to tell?
What if you could write a book about your life in only six months without pressure, without writer’s block, and without using lots of technology, even if you have never written before and don’t know how to begin?
Legacy Writing Club is a six-month membership program of weekly writing prompts, easy, low-tech communication, encouragement, and support to help you write a legacy book for the people you love. Author, editor, publisher, and teacher Jody Dyer will lead you step-by-step from idea to a finished, first draft manuscript.
Enjoy thoughtfully crafted prompts and consistent support as you write about your life, then share your legacy with the people you love in a timeless gift—a hardcover book.
"I have been taking individual classes with Jody for several months. She is knowledgeable, easy to relate to, and caring. I highly recommend her to beginning writers and to those who are already published."
~ Phyllis Babrove, author of Mirakal Books
"My biggest concern about starting my book was thinking I couldn’t write. After my first interaction with Jody, I felt excited. Jody is kind, patient, and doesn’t get flustered but offers a solution and then does it. She is fantastic at communication and answering questions and corresponding by email. I really appreciated all her prompt responses. I love her humor and I appreciate her willingness to work with first time authors who have no clue what we are doing, like me. I love that the company is so personal and owned by a woman. I felt very satisfied with the services I received and what I paid for them. What I learned during the process is that I CAN do it. I’m very happy with the outcome of the book. It will be a keepsake for my family and in particular for my grandchildren."
~ Beth Staff, author of Auggie’s Neigh Neigh
Maybe you want to write a book, but just need a little help along the way.
You know that in order to share your legacy with loved ones, you need to record stories, memories, anecdotes, and more. Imagine what you can share!
But you may not know how to begin.
Maybe when you sit down to write, you get stuck and don’t know what to write.
Problem 1:
You are confused about how to organize what you want to say.
Problem 2:
You have lots of questions and don't know who can help you.
Problem 3:
You aren’t sure what to include, what stories to tell, and what loved ones may want to know.
Imagine a writing experience that is organized, low-tech, no-pressure, and FUN. Imagine writing at a comfortable pace with lots of encouragement, inspiration, and ideas to help you. Imagine creating a high-end outcome with low-tech tools. Imagine having pages and pages of stories, anecdotes, family memories, life lessons, and more recorded for good. Imagine the reaction loved ones will have when they read your priceless writing!
Yes, there is a way to write about your life without being stressed by deadlines and word counts, confused about what to write, or overwhelmed by technology.
The Legacy Writing Club Framework
Sign up! Once you do, you will receive two prompt/story ideas per week. Each prompt includes multiple, well-developed questions to help you structure your stories and discover details to include. My mother (a retired teacher and prolific scribe) and I worked together to create the prompts for you. You can use our prompts, tweak them, save them, or skip them. You may submit an original story any time. I will give you simple submission guidelines to follow, and I will keep the process low-tech all the way through. Also, you aren’t required to send me anything back! You can read the prompts, write for fun in a journal, record audio, or respond in emails that you can then send to family and friends. This is YOUR project, so do what’s best for you while enjoying the ideas and support my team and I offer.
Keep writing (or talking) and loving the process! If you do submit your work, my team and I will compile and format stories as you email them to me. I also have routine office hours during which I will answer your phone calls. Yes, you can just call me on the phone. You can also email me any time you have a question.
Toward the end of the six-month membership, you will have three options:
You can renew your membership and keep writing for another six months with all new prompts.
You can send me your last stories, and I will send back one Word document that contains all of your submissions and is formatted as the first draft of a manuscript.
I will share printing options and pricing with you so that, if you are interested, you can display your stories in a high-quality, hardcover, heirloom book. You will be able to order as many copies as you like!
The truth is, your memories and stories are priceless and can have profound impact on the people you love, but they must be recorded in order to have that impact. There are memory books, websites, and software programs that can help you write a legacy book. There’s a whole world of options for writing and printing, but you don’t need to learn everything about the writing process and about printing books. You just need someone, a teacher and encourager, to guide you and give you the support and tools you need to finally write about your life in a meaningful way so that you can give family and friends a gift that lives forever.
Hello, I'm Jody Dyer.
Personal stories are family treasure! I am incredibly fortunate in that my 77-year-old mother (pictured here with me on her 75th birthday) keeps a journal. She “talks” to me, in a way, and she makes sure that I have on paper what she thinks I need to know. Her journal entries vary from serious to sentimental to reflective to riveting. Often, Mama writes about her childhood. She also writes advice, funny anecdotes, lessons from her career as a teacher, notes on rural living, what her dreams are for her future and the futures of my children and me, and so on. My paternal grandmother, Wimmie, actually taught my mother this practice. Even though we lost my wonderful Wimmie when I was five years old, I KNOW her. She has tremendous impact in my family to this day, all because she wrote about her life.
Wimmie encouraged my mother to start preserving memories through writing. My mother, an English teacher, was a natural, but sometimes writers need a little “prompting” to actually put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.
After helping one client after another write personal memoirs and legacy books, I realized that many families are starved for information they can get only from certain relatives. Time and again, people have asked me to help parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles document life stories or collections of creative writing. I have witnessed the benefits to everyone as the writers passionately wrote and later shared their minds and hearts with friends and family.
Yes, there are “books out there” with printed prompts, and there are websites and software programs that zip out routine questions, but what writers most often need is consistent guidance at a comfortable pace, an easy process to follow, a low-tech experience, and encouragement from someone who understands exactly what their goals are. That combination is what makes the Legacy Writing Club unique.
If you want to discover how to write about your life and share your stories with the people you love …
Join the Legacy Writing Club!
Write about your life and share your legacy.
I will walk you, step by step, through the process of writing about your life and creating an heirloom legacy book.
Yes! I want to join Legacy Writing Club"Legacy writing captures the goodness that you would like to pass down through the generations. It's easy to identify the family drama -- and we all have it -- but putting the spotlight on the beauty and sweetness of your story is important too. It gives family members permission to claim that goodness for themselves."
~Suzanne Stelling, artist and author of Take a Deep Breath, former Director of Women’s Ministries, Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church
What's Included
Weekly prompts with thoughtful ideas to help you write meaningful stories with detail. My mother and I wrote the prompts together with input from extended family, clients, and grandchildren.
You’ll write anything from a paragraph to multiple pages. It’s up to you how much you write for each story. If you prefer, you can record your stories on audio. You may use good old pen and paper. Perhaps video is the way to go for you. Some members may decide to just talk stories through with loved ones. The choice is yours!
Original stories are an option. If you want to skip a prompt, tweak a prompt, or scrap it and write your own original story, go for it! You can use as much or as little direction from Jody and Donna as you like.
You will have phone and email access to me for assistance. You will enjoy personal support as you write. My phone number is 865-414-4017. My email address is [email protected].
You’ll enjoy realistic deadlines with room and time to write. You can turn in stories as you write them, even the same day the prompt comes out, or you can work on them at your pace on your schedule. You decide!
Easy options for printing. You’ll get a formatted manuscript that you can print at your local print shop or email to family and friends all over the world. You can also extend your membership for another six months and keep writing. Even better, you can order print copies of your book (pricing is separate and will be communicated to give you plenty of time to decide). You’ll have lots of easy options, and I will guide you through each simple step.
GOOD NEWS! The fun doesn’t stop there.
The Legacy Writing Club alone will help you achieve your goal of creating an heirloom book for loved ones, but I have a few bonuses in store for members.
5 Steps to Start Writing About Your Life – You will love thinking about and writing down your reasons for writing about your life. In this five-step packet of printable worksheets, you’ll identify your motivation, make a plan, and set yourself up for writing success.
Legacy Writing Club Gift Box - When you join or buy Legacy Writing Club for someone, I will ship a gift box filled with inspirational tools to get the writer excited and active! Plus, if you are giving Legacy Writing Club as a gift, the gift box is be a fun way to deliver the membership.
Guides, Checklists, and Tools, Galore! Throughout the membership, I will share fantastic, printable tools with you to help you think of ideas and have fun as you write.
GROUP OPTION: If you are part of a writing group or want to create one, I will help you start your very own Legacy Writing Club Chapter. My mother and I may visit your group to help kick off your membership, conduct a workshop, and/or help you celebrate! Contact me if you'd like to talk about starting the membership as a group. Again, my phone number is 865-414-4017. My email address is [email protected].
Pricing
Total Value = $14,875
That's a hefty price tag, BUT, because this is a "group effort" and I love helping people share their hearts and minds in written form, the price is only $497!
I feel called to help people write, and my goal is to help as many people as possible enjoy the limitless benefits of writing through simple processes at affordable prices.
You have options, too.
One payment of $497
or
Six monthly payments of $99
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I’m so grateful to Jody for all of her hard work! Her help and talent, brought to fruition, a dream of mine that far exceeded my expectations. I’m so excited to be able to share my work with the world, and the final product is high quality and beautifully done. I’m so proud of what Jody and I have been able to create! —Julie Ingman
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Jody is a rockstar. She is very friendly and helped me in every way I needed. She eased my concerns the first minute we started working together. She assessed my needs, made recommendations and off we went. —S.R. Fabrico
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I am not a writer, but I felt I had a story to tell that would encourage young people that no matter what they experienced in their early years did not have to dictate what they became in adult life. I struggled to write my story and when I had done all I could do I turned to a friend for a recommendation of what to do next. My friend suggested I contact Jody at Crippled Beagle Publishing. I did and what a wonderful recommendation. …I will forever be indebted to Jody for helping me realize my dream of publishing my story. —Claudia Peacock
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My story was truly a God-led journey…. What an incredible blessing it was to trust my work to someone so amazing, professional, talented, kind, and encouraging. [Jody] held my hand and walked me through this process. She believed in my book, which means more than she’ll probably ever know. I am so thankful to have had this wonderful experience with someone who takes such pride and care in her work. —Jessica Akhrass
When you enroll today, you get immediate access to the following:
✨ Bonus #1 - 5 Steps to Start Writing About Your Life Welcome Packet
✨ Bonus #2 - Email tips to set you up for success  Â
✨ A printable packet of membership information and benefits
✨ Email support
✨ Access to office hours
✨ The link to discounted, private phone or Zoom meetings with Jody
✨ THE FIRST TWO PROMPTS. You can start writing about your life right now!
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Can't I do this on my own?
What if I don’t have a lot of time?
Is this program right for me?
Here's the answer!
Total Value = $14,875
Remember, because this is a "group effort" and I love helping people, YOUR price for all of the above (and more) is only $497!
Options:
One payment of $497
or
Six monthly payments of $99
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"Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic." —J. K. Rowling
“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” —William Wordsworth
“If a story is in you, it has to come out.” —William Faulkner