Hi Becky,
I'm glad you are not giving up on NEHGS. While not excusing the fact that you have not had a response from their website manager, please realize that, unlike sites like Ancestry.com, FamilyTree, and other paid subscription services, NEHGS is a non-profit organization. As such, they rely heavily on volunteers and donations. They do have a very professional (and paid) staff who all try to do the work of many. In the case of the website manager (yes, just one individual), given the priority of resolving the weekend problems, it is likely he/she simply hasn't had time to respond to their full inbox of emails. I'm not trying to make excuses for them. I'm just sharing some insight into their operation and honest effort to make their services and information available to us all.

Becky - Our BC Genealogical Society has a subscription to the NEHGS. I have found them quick to respond to any question/problem. There is a 1 888 # - have you tried calling? I know that # works from both Canada & USA.

This is awesome! I'm almost done writing my Grandpas life story. I'm going to publish next month!

Welcome shari. Are you going to do individual documents for each ancestor?

I think I will be doing my books featuring a Married couple, until I don't have enough stories to do a whole book on just them, then I will do the line as far as I can go. But I'm starting where I'm at right now. My Mom just finished her parents book, so I'm working on my Fathers parents.

I've been gathering information on my Revolutionary War Patriot and have a lot of stuff. I think I'll start writing there. I've picked a point where he was 75 years old and applying for his pension. Then it goes right into the flash-back. What I'm looking for is if the opening lines draw interest. You can find it in my blog.
Thanks for any input.

Hi!

Just joined this group in hopes to find out what others have experienced with self publishing websites or other forms of book publishing of their family history. I have had other types of books published by Blurb (a self-publishing Internet company) with very nice results but it will not serve my purposes in having my family history published so I am looking for another source..

Hi Stephanie,

I'm publishing my books through Heritage Makers (also a self publishing Internet company) I'm an independent consultant for them (www.sharingheritage.com). Its perfect for my family history stuff because its archived and I can buy books for years to come. Also if any books are damaged at all (fire, kids, etc.) I can buy it at 50% off. If you want for info email me at shari@sharingheritage.com. I love it!

Why won't Blurb work for your book if you don't mind me asking?

Shari

Stephanie,

I offer my clients several publishing options. I have used online publishing options with Cherish Bound (a competitor of Heritage Makers), and Memory Press.

But, when I want to make sure the book turns out the way I really want it I use Family Heritage Publishers (Utah Bookbinding) in Salt Lake City. I live less than a mile from them, I have had books published by them and their quality is top-notch. I don't know where you live, but perhaps there is a local publishing company that could give you the service you need.

Rose Marie Morrell
A Lifetime Remembered, LLC

Hey everyone

I just wanted to let you know that I am here and I'm not ignoring the group. Due to some personal matters, I've been offline and will probably remain so for a little while long, but I am here. I found an internet cafe where I can at least get online for a few hours every so often.

Keep up the awesome work!!

Thanks for the replies and advice. Shari ask why not Blurb for family history publication. Don't get me wrong but Blurb did a very nice job on the three books I had published by them but they were nothing like I have been planning for a family history book/s. I had a lot of photos in those Blurb books and some text which was a pain to deal with. The program you donwload to use for creating your books works extremely slow on my computer and it would get frustrating at times. I really need more RAM to deal with that.

Also, it lacks a good text editor so I used Word to create text and did the cut and past routine which was very time consuming. For my family history books I would like to incororate PDF files and Blurb just recently added that feature but I was disappointed in the way you have to do that. They provide templates for Adobe InDesign and I don't have that software nor do I intend to get that at a price of $699! They do claim that they are working on templates for other desktop publishing software.

Also, for the amount of material I wish to put into my book/s it would cost a forturne to have it published by them. You are limited on paper choice. I would like to have a mix of paper for text and for photos and charts. It just isn't feasible for me to go that route. I'll have to look into some of the other suggestions made here by other contributors. Thanks again for the feedback. I am just doing preliminary investigating right now as I have a lot more writing to do on this project.

Have you talked with your local print shop? Or even Kinkos? I don't know if either would be able to bind hardcover books, but Kinkos, and many independents too, can do paperbacks, and give you a choice of binding types, including traditional bookbinding, not just spiral or three-hole. With our current economy hurting small businesses, you might find your local printer willing to give you a deal, and be more than happy to incorporate different kinds of paper.

By the way, while you may need Adobe to fulfill the software requirements of Blurb or other online publishing companies, most commercial printers won't care where you created a PDF. PDF Creator is a freebie program created by a bunch of shareware guys that you can download from many different companies just by googling PDF Creator. Some companies will actually try to charge you for the program, but my understanding it is exactly the same program as the free version. It doesn't allow you to edit a PDF, like Adobe does, but if you find an error after you create the PDF, you can always go back to your Word document, do the edits there, and recreate the PDF--it's basically point and click. I've used PDF Creator to create annual reports for a nonprofit and my local printer has never had a problem with them. He can use them with his Adobe programs.

There is a website where you can convert a PDF document to a Word .doc or .rtf which you can edit in any word processor. It's a free service! The site is http://www.pdftoword.com/ and if you aren't comfortable uploading your pdf document to the website, they also offer a free trial of their professional version which would be on your desktop.

Thanks guys for your comments and I already have PDF software installed with a program called PrimoPDF which was a freebie and works fine. I use that in conjunction with Word. I know the drawback is that you cannot edit the resulting PDF file. My previous reply was to Shari McLaws who wanted to know why I did not wish to use Blurb for my project. As it stands now with them, I could not use a regular PDF file as it is and the cost would be prohibitive for the size of book/s I wish to create. I also can produce PDF files from my Legacy software. Like Catherine suggested I am going to contact a local printer to find out if they will handle PDF files and take it from there.

Good luck and Congratulations on getting published!

I just ordered The Fine Print of Self-Publishing and can't wait for it to arrive! It only took me two hours of aimless wandering thru the internet for self-publishing options before I decided the book would be an invaluable tool. Thanks for the recommendation.

Good Morning Everyone,

I am a writer who has recently turned my interests toward my family history and toward creating a writen record for my children of all the family stories that have been passed down to me by my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.
Has anyone else ever attempted this type of a project?

Are there pros and cons about writing stories for this group for review or comments... I am nervous about putting the story online if I can't use it for magazine... Any advise... How can one put stories in magazines...

Debbie Hagner,
When you say you want to put the stories in mmagazines, do you mean you want to sell the stories? Are they stories of your ancestors? Or, are they stories of people you have researched? One thing I would suggest is select one or two of the people from this group and see if they are interested in sharing reviews and comments. Then do it offline if you're concerned.

Any volunteer???

I'd like to look at them! How long are they?

I keep writing the stories in my head but never get them on paper. How do the rest of you do this?

Taking the first step to put it down on paper is the hardest. I personally believe you have to "give yourself permission" to just write things down--not in any order, not in any form--just write down random words associated with a memory.
You can look online for "memory trigger questions" to get you started. Cherish Bound, a publisher that I now use almost exclusively, sells products called Story Starters. Each story starter is a list of trigger questions directed at a specific topic (like "When I Was Young," "Life's Lessons," "Grandparents," and many, many more). The questions are organized in a way that if you simple answer the questions in the story starter your story will have a beginning, middle and end. I use them all the time to write my own personal and family stories as well as when I interview my clients.

Remind yourself that you are not writing a high school English paper and it will not come back with written red comments from your teacher. It is your story, told your way.

There are other online resources with hints on how to write your stories. And, there are also organizations that promote the preservation of stories. I belong to the Association of Personal Historians and the National Association of Memoir Writers. There are many benefits of membership from both of these organizations.

Good luck in starting to "put it down on paper." Why not start by telling about a person who was a hero in your life. First question, what was the name of your hero? Then describe the person and the experiences you had with him/her. You'll be done in less than 10 minutes and will have put your first story on paper.

Let me know if I can help.



Remember, you do not start a project by writing the final draft.

My mother started researching our families in the early 50's...and I started this past summer after all of my kids were out of the house...due to the internet, I have found ALOT more stuff (YEA)...I want desperately to put this all in book form for my kids and grandkids, but it seems SO overwhelming...I also have some great family histories that need to be told to any and every one (my great gandfather's diary he kept on the way to the Gold Rush)...I guess I'm looking for that "first step" to putting this on paper in an easy, sensible way that readers will enjoy.

I think one of the best ways to "start" creating "The Family Story Book" is to find one specific story or person and a photograph, sketch, or other graphic to illustrate it then tell it in your own words, thoughts, and feelings, adding historical facts as appropriate. It's also a help if you've visited some site where the story took place and "put yourself" in the story, too. Then add another story and another until voila! you have a book without hardly realizing you've done it...what this does is eliminate the "there's just so much!" roadblock. One story at a time adds up quickly!

Thanks, William...I was in a family story writing group for a few years and have several stories...when I go back and read them, I always think that they would work good in my book...I guess I need to concentrate more on telling the stories and not so much on organizing everything perfectly.

Me too, Victor. It's as though everyone has gone on vacation as there's been little activity lately on GenWise.

One of the things any writer learns is that an empty page can be his/her worst critic. Another is that nothing is so difficult in writing as the beginning, unless it be the end. A key prompter I have found in getting past these "writer's blocks" has been working with descendants and a local historical society. We all know how strong emotions can make us want to "express how we feel" -- use thse times to start writing your family stories. Yes, we all get rushed off our feet during the holidays, but they are ideal times to put down those family stories about the holidays they celebrated. You may find -- as I did -- for example that something dramatic like a family death occurred at Christmas. In my case, it was during a move from one state to another back in 1850. As they were crossing an icy creek, the wife fell off the wagon, and died of pneumonia right around Christmas, leaving the widower suddenly with six young children to raise. Use the naturally strong emotions,you feel for family at Christmas, for example, to write out your own "family Christmas saga" -- be it joyous or tragic, it can't be humdrum. Have you ever moved to a new place? More good emotional inspiration for writing the story of your ancestor's immigration, whether it's to a new country, state, region, or town. Things -- life things -- not just birth, marriage, and death dates are the stuff of family stories that communicate more than we think they can. Throw away that thought in your head "Oh, that's boring. No one would care." and compliment yourself that you're preserving genuine history. Trust me, your local historical society will feel the same way if you contact them and give them a copy. Now, get writing!

I agree. Just start writing, and you will be surprised what will appear on your paper. I am writing a book that I want to leave to my two sons. They now say they are not that interested; but I believe that at some point, after I am gone they will wish that they had asked more questions. I know I felt that way after my grandparents and parents were gone. I believe that anything you are able to remember or find from research will be enjoyed for generations to come. It does not have to be "War and Peace". It just has to be from the heart. I hope that I can spark an interest in my sons. I just add to it whenever I think of something that I have not previously recorded. For now it is in my computer; and I work on it when I can.
Nancy

I have written two books from my research, Notes and Documents of Free Persons of Color, and Pieces of the Quilt: The Mosaic of An African American Family. I am working on my third book, Minqua: People of the Welsh Mountains. My worst enemy in writing is procrastination, which has me focusing everything but writing. Writer's Block comes in a close second, and sometimes just walking around the block helps. Once I get started writing, I will write until the wee hours of the morning. I thoroughly enjoy writing about history and and my family.

My suggestion is to keep your interest high by coming to boards like this, and talk to people about the project. That keeps it alive and will get the adrenaline flowing. Move it out of your mind and onto paper.

Happy Hunting!!

Anita

I want to thank everyone who is willing to share their ideas on writing their family stories...I know everyone has their personal preference as to the way they write...but I also know how inportant it is to put all of this wonderful history on paper for others to enjoy! The biggest problem that I have is getting and staying organized...I'm working on several families and have a dendency to get sidetracked when I think of something I want to write about each family...I just keep a notebook for each family and write down stuff as I think of it...but now I really want to complete at least one project!

Best to start by breaking it down into small manageable projects otherwise it will continue to be overwhelming. Check out my post at www.thearmchairgenealogist.com on organizing your information to start your family history book. Most recently I posted on how to determine the size and scope of your book. Both articles are also available on my blog here on GenealogyWise.

Lynn, thanks for the info...it was very helpful. I am still in the process of reading articles on thearemchairgenealogist.com. I have found alot of good stuff. I have been writing family stories for several years and intend to include them in my genealogy book, so I already have a farely large collection. I have discovered so much wonderful information on my ancestors that I hate not to include as much stuff as I can.

Thank you everyone for sharing your information. I have done a lot of research and have lots of information and documents that I want to put into book form. This information has been very helpful...

Just joined to get help in putting together a family history and update for an upcomming family reunion. The first question I have is - where can I find a sample form for release of information to give to living members who want to be a part of the family update section? Thanks

Would like to hear what you think of my new blog -- of course it's a work in process and still have many entries to write up but here is what I have so far

http://carrandcatterallgenealogy.blogspot.com/

and comments, correction, suggestion will be appreciated -- shrinerfamilytree@yahoo.com

thanks,

Julie

Julie I also have coal miners from Durham county in my family. I don't know if you are aware of the the web site about mining in the UK but it has lots of info. http://www.cmhrc.co.uk.

I wrote a book last year using Ancestry.com's publishing piece. It turned out really nice, but I want to do something a little different the next time around. I really like Genealogywise's photo album creation ability and think is is a good first step to creating a book along with blog content. Is that something that might happen? A "self" publishing program?

Dave, have you looked into Blurb Books for self-publishing? I have had them do 3 of mine and have another one in the works. I was very pleased with the results and found that Ancestry.com publishing price to be rather steep in comparison. Here's the link if you haven't checked it out.

http://www.blurb.com/

I published 100 family history books on my maternal family in 2005, sold 70 the first year, 20 the second year and 10 the third year. Plan on republishing the book in 2025, if I can still hit the keys on this keyboard.

Thanks Stephanie-
My first book was a very personal genealogy including living relatives and their ancestors, so the steep price of Ancestry.com worked OK because I produced only a limited number. It was the 250 page limit and it was all in color. It was meant to be a coffee table family heirloom kind of thing. I think I succeeded. But next time I want to go a little more in depth about history and place, maybe only using my real family as a framework for a larger story of population over extension and poverty driven emigration. Whatever I write, it will be a family gift, not something I will want to market.

Dave,
I didn't market my books either as that was not my intention to sell books. I wanted to preserve memories for my immediate family. I just found that the types of books I wanted published to contain photos along with some history. None of them were genealogical books per se with set formats as in Ancestry.com publishing. The photo templates and page setups available in the program you download to use in Blurb just suited my purpose just fine. I only had two books printed of each of the three publications; one for my own home and the other for my daughter.

I have so many cousins the world over, most of them heard about the Lange Book 1525-2005 before I even got started. I had problems with translation and proofing, but finally got the project together in 2005. In my 232 page book, there are only two living people, my mother, who is 87 and an aunt. I did not write much about them in order to protect their ID.

I've never heard of Blurb, but it looks great and I've already started on one of my books. Thanks for the link!

Heather, Glad you found the link useful. I was so pleased with the results on all my books. It was fun to do and the results far surpassed my expectations. What I particularly liked was the fact that all the information I put into the books was kept in the Blurb software right on my own computer which is not the case in some other self-publishing sites. Good luck with your project and let us know how your book comes out.

Steph

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