Even if you're not going to be doing a lot of writing or other creative work yourself, an intellectual property attorney can help you protect your rights and maximize your profits when selling your life story. Particularly if some event in your life has garnered local or even national media attention, you may have already received calls from people interested in buying your life rights. Under no circumstances should you so much as contemplate making a deal with someone to produce your life story without at least talking to an attorney. Not only can a good copyright attorney help you protect your rights before you start trying to sell your life story to a producer, they can review contracts and make sure you're going to get what you want and be fairly represented in any deal you sign. If you don't know any copyright or intellectual property attorneys, start your search on the website of your state or local bar association. There should be a searchable directory of attorneys licensed to practice in your area. Most bar associations also have an intellectual property section for attorneys who specialize in that area of law, so it's a good idea to focus on members of that section. Don't worry about trying to find a lawyer in L.A. or New York City (unless that's where you happen to live) a local attorney will be easier for you to keep in touch with and may have lower rates. If you're not writing the story yourself but you still want to sell it to a producer, what you'll really be selling is your life rights. These agreements encompass a number of rights, but basically protect the producer from being sued by you for defamation or invasion of privacy. You can find examples of life rights contracts online, or if you've hired an attorney they may have a few samples to go over with you. Keep in mind that when you sign a life rights contract to sell your life story, this means the producer or the writers or directors they hire will have the right to change various aspects of your story if they believe it would make a stronger film. By selling your life rights, you lose the ability to sue the producer or anyone else associated with the film for defamation or invasion of privacy if you end up having problems or disagreements with the way your life is portrayed on film. These are serious issues that you should think long and hard about before you decide you want to sell your life story to a producer. While you may have some control over the story, in most cases you'll have to give up all rights or the producer will simply walk. While you can't copyright an idea or a true story, you can copyright anything that's written down. Since a movie of your life isn't literally your life, you can copyright the treatment, synopsis, and any other written material you have. You can register your outline (also known in film circles as a "treatment") and synopsis for copyright protection by visiting the U.S. Copyright Office's website at copyright.gov. If you file your application online, copyright registration is only $35 and protects the words themselves as you've written them, as well as derivative works. This means no one can make a film based on your outline or synopsis without your permission, or you can sue them for copyright infringement. Keep in mind you can't sue anyone for copyright infringement in federal court unless you have a registered copyright. Since it's your life story, you may have a state lawsuit for invasion of privacy or defamation, depending on the content of the film. However, if you got significant publicity as a result of the events that are recounted in the film, you have a higher burden of proof that is substantially more difficult to meet than the burden of proof for private individuals. These written materials also can be registered with the Writer's Guild of America for a similar amount of money, which provides them with additional protection in the film community. While registration may be one of the simplest and cheapest things you do to protect your story, it also may turn out to be the most important especially as you start sharing your story with producers you hope will adapt it for film.
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One-sentence summary -- Consider consulting an intellectual property attorney. Review life rights contracts. Register all written material.

It will be much easier to see how you website style looks if you have your actual content instead of placeholders. You don't need too much content, but it will look much better in mockups if you have some copy and original images. You don't necessarily need the body of an article, but you should at least have actual headlines. The internet is much more than simple text websites. In order to stand out in your niche, you'll need a variety of different content types to attract and retain visitors. Some possible content to keep in mind: Pictures. Audio Video Streams (Twitter) Facebook integration RSS Content feeds If you are including photos on your site, your initial impressions will be much better with professional photography. A single good photo is worth more than twenty bad ones. Look for recent art photography grads for cheaper solutions than long-time professionals. The written content on your page will determine the vast amount of your web traffic. While you don't need to worry too much about content creation at this point of the design process, it doesn't hurt to start thinking about it, since you'll need content on a regular basis once the site goes live. Beyond article content, there are written items that you will most likely during the website construction process. This could include contact information, company names, or anything else that will be used in multiple places on the site.
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One-sentence summary --
Have some content ready before you start building the website. Remember that good content is more than text. Commission a professional photographer. Write quality articles.