How to Prepare a Family History Book
Ten Recommended Steps to Seeing Your Genealogy in Print
There are ten recommended steps to publishing a family history book for future generations to enjoy:
- Collecting Family Photos
- Writing the Family History
- Protecting Copyright
- ISBN Numbers/Barcodes and Legal Deposits
- Choosing a Publisher
- Editing
- Interior and Cover Design
- Fact Checking and Indexing
- Proofreading
- Printing Books
Part I (How to Prepare a Family History Book) of this two-part article will look at the first five steps in a bit more detail. Part II (How to Publish a Family History Book) will cover the final five points.
1. Collecting Family Photos
Family photos are an essential part of any family history book, so make sure to include as many good quality photos as possible. While in the midst of contacting family members for their contributions during the research stages of the family history project, keep in mind that today's publishers and printers prefer to receive all files in electronic format.
All colour photos should be submitted to your publishing company in either .jpg (.jpeg) or .tif (.tiff) format, with a minimum resolution of 300 DPI, using the CMYK colour model. Black and white photos should also be submitted in either .jpg (.jpeg) or .tif (.tiff) format with a minimum resolution of 300 DPI; however, for best results, they should be saved as grayscale/monochrome images rather than CMYK. Each file should be given a unique name that makes it easily identifiable to you and the graphic designers assigned to creating your book.
In the event your family members send some or all of their pictures to you in physical form, this is fine. Your publisher will most likely be able to scan them into the acceptable electronic format for a minimal extra charge.
2. Writing the Family History
When it comes to writing your family history, you can either do it yourself or hire a professional ghostwriter to do it for you. Either way, a computer that contains word processing software such as Microsoft Word is a mandatory tool for this job. Most publishers expect to receive your manuscript as one continuous text file with nothing more than the following formatting:
- Times New Roman font, 11 pt. size
- Left-aligned text
- Entire document double-spaced
- Only hard returns in this document should be at the end of chapter titles and paragraphs
- Insert a page break at the end of each section and/or chapter
- Insert an additional page break where you want blank pages to appear
- Type "Insert image file name here" wherever you wish to see your electronic photo files inserted.
- Italicize any words/phrases you wish to see italicized in the formatted version of your book
- Bold any words/phrases you wish to see bolded in the formatted version of your book
- Underline any words/phrases you wish to see underlined in the formatted version of your book
The reasons for formatting your manuscript this way are discussed in Part II (How to Publish a Family History Book) of this series under points 6. Editing and 7. Interior and cover design.
3. Protecting Copyright
In Canada, all writers own the copyright to their work as soon as they create it. There is no legal requirement to register it. Protecting your copyright can be done in a very straightforward and cost-effective way. It's as simple as sealing a copy of your completed work in an envelope and mailing it to yourself via registered mail. When the date-stamped package is returned to you, keep it sealed and stored in a fireproof container. In the unlikely event that someone else ever tries to claim copyright ownership of your work after the fact, you will have the date-stamped proof of your ownership to fall back on.
4. ISBN numbers/Barcodes and Legal Deposits
"ISBN" stands for "International Standard Book Number." An ISBN number is a unique 13-digit identifier for each edition of your book that is obtained from Library and Archives Canada. For example, the trade paperback version of your book will have one ISBN number, and the e-book version will have another. You will only require an ISBN number and corresponding barcode if you plan to sell copies of your book. Your publisher can take care of this detail for you.
If you decide to put your book up for sale to the public, then you must also submit two copies of it to the Legal Deposit at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) upon publication.
5. Choosing a Publisher
It is best to work with a supportive self-publishing company for a project such as this rather than submitting it to a trade publisher for consideration. The only trade publisher that would contemplate a family history project would be one specializing in historical non-fiction. And, most likely, the only family history that would be accepted would be one of considerable renown.
Hiring a supportive self-publishing company to help you with such a special project is beneficial in many ways: first and foremost, you will be able to keep all copyright and publishing rights to your book; secondly, you will have a team of qualified editors, designers, and proofreaders at your disposal to produce a polished result you can be very proud of; and finally, you'll be dealing with knowledgeable industry professionals who can make the process run a lot smoother than it probably will if you publish it completely on your own.
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