Desktop Publishing Your Family History Book

Narratives for Your Family History Book

Writing on walls probably isn't the best way to preserve your family history. Put your story in a family history book instead.

© J. James

• Consistency - Develop a consistent but distinctive format for all narratives (margins, columns, font, spacing).
• Grouping - Group narratives of key figures or other historical information at the front of the book followed by charts. Or, place biographies of key figures of each branch of the family immediately before their corresponding descendant charts.
• Memories - Include a special section in the book for stories from later descendents to tell about what they remember of their family, what life was like growing up, and about their lives today.
• Footnotes - Include footnotes or explanations of names so that those reading the Memories or other sections know that "Aunt Susie" refers to the Suzanna Jones found on Page 14 or that "the Baileys" are a family that lived next door. Create a specific style for such footnotes or notations and use it consistently throughout.
• Small Caps - In genealogy it is common practice to place surnames and sometimes place names in all caps. This makes it easier for later researchers using your book to scan for relevant information. Use small caps, instead. The effect on scannability is the same but small caps enhance the overall appearance of your text.
• Break-Up Text - Long blocks of text, no matter how well-written, are boring. Entice readers into the story and keep them reading with visual signposts within paragraphs such as initial caps, indents, bullets, pull-quotes, and boxes. For longer narratives, use subheads to break the story down into sections, such as by year or by location of the family during migration to other areas.

• Design, Layout, Printing for a Family History Book
• Software for Your Family History Book
• Narratives for Your Family History Book
• Charts in Your Family History Book
• Editing Photos in Your Family History Book
• Photo Layouts In Your Family History Book
• Using Maps, Letters, and Other Documents in a Family History Book
• Creating a Table of Contents and Index for Your Family History Book
• Print and Bind Your Family History Book
• Your Family History Book: Start to Finish