For many, later life appears to be the perfect time to begin writing your memoirs or autobiography.

The recent Colour Report revealed retirees never want to stop self-improvement, with 12 per cent wishing to learn a new language or instrument, and a further 12 per cent would like to write a book during retirement.

In his recently published autobiography, 'Over the Top and Back', Sir Tom Jones tells the story of his six decade career in showbusiness, from his humble beginnings as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman, to amassing his £190million fortune and everything in between.

You need to ask yourself: 'Why my life. What's so interesting about me?'

Rebecca Swift

But while most of us aren't a legendary Welsh singer, that doesn't however mean you should be deterred from writing your own autobiography. Over the last 20 years, Bound Biographies have worked on over 300 projects, helping people to write and publish their life stories.

Here, we share some handy tips to help you get started with your own.

Decide what you want to write

Though they have their similarities and are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between a memoir and an autobiography and you must decide on which one you want to write before you begin.

An autobiography is the story of an entire life, told chronologically and generally includes all the important phases in life such as childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

Memoirs, on the other hand, are just one particular story from that life. For example, in the controversial The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven, Alex Malarkey wrote about his near-death experience and about "visiting" heaven.

As such, you can only write one autobiography but, if you wish, you could write numerous memoirs about various experiences in your life.

Who are you writing for?

Figuring out who you are writing your memoirs or autobiography for is something you should decide on very quickly.

Are you writing for mainstream publication, or do you just want something to share with your grandchildren and help to catalogue the family history. Depending on which your decide, your audience may be looking for different things. Your friends and family may simply want to read about important, tragic, or humorous moments in your life, while a wider audience may be looking for a moral or message in your tale that they can attribute to their own lives.

Identifying who your audience is will help guide you and make it easier for you to write.

Are you writing for mainstream publication, or do you just want something share with your grandchildren? Credit: Getty

Be harsh

"Everyone thinks they've led the most interesting life," says Rebecca Swift, director of The Literary Consultancy, "but the market is extremely difficult to break into. People are mainly interested in celebrity names, so if you're thinking about writing an autobiography you need to ask yourself: 'Why my life? What's so interesting about me?'"

Unless you're a celebrity or a household name, you will have to think very hard about what in your life is worth writing about if you want to publish your work for a wider audience. Swift recommends thinking about social context when you're writing: "You might not be a celebrity, but maybe your autobiography could contribute to the wider social history and fill in the gaps that others could not."

In 'Orpington 127 the Autobiography of a War Baby', Michael Proom tells the tale of "growing up in a Britain that no longer exists" in order to emphasize the "differences in the society of the post war years to that of the society that we live in today."

Honesty is key

As tempting as it may be to embellish a few particularly embarrassing moments in your life, you must remember to stick to the truth. Your autobiography or memoir is fact, not fiction after all.

Though changing names or locations to help protect the privacy of the people you're writing about is acceptable, you shouldn't censor your own feelings or motivations regarding them. If you don't feel comfortable with revealing the whole truth, perhaps writing an autobiography or memoir is not for you.

Be nice, but remember, while the people you write about might recognise themselves in the text, the majority of your readers will not. Don't compromise both the plot and your integrity in order to make the minority happy.