Family History Books
Self Publish Your Family History Book Professionally and Affordably With Love of Books Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin and Australia-wide!

Compiling A Family History Book

The information on this page is designed for those who are writing a family history book (also known as a Family Tree or Memory Book). The questions we are most often asked are "how do I publish my family history book" and "how much will it cost to publish my family history book"? To answer these questions fully, we have summarized the process into simple steps complete with how to submit your file for publishing.

Any questions regarding any step in the process, please call us toll free at 1300 556 529

If you are currently researching family history, there are a number of free genealogy sites available online. One of the most helpful free genealogy sites is www.searchforancestors.com

Customise family photo albums

Share personal jokes

Organise family memories

Family tree,

Step One – Writing A Family History Book

If you are going to Self Publish Your Family History Book yourself with a little or a lot of help then this page is for you!

Those who have undertaken the task of writing a family history book will often say that computer software posed a significant challenge. We recommend using software that is user friendly and designed to work with the larger files that are common with many family history book projects. Below, we have provided a list of common software used for creating family history books.

Do not use 2 or more versions of software to produce your manuscript. Choose one type of software. If the software you have chosen is causing problems, copy the files to a Microsoft Word document. While Microsoft Word is not a perfect software, we have found it to be among the most stable.

Use a single computer. Using 2 or more computers or a variety of software can cause a number of problems with your file, the most serious being text-re-flow. Using a single software on a single computer will minimize the risk of developing problems.

If you would us to format your Family History Book ask us for a quote?

Software

SOFTWARE

COMMENTS

RATING

Microsoft Word

(Most common) (90%)

Microsoft Works

(Similar to Word - Not as stable with large file sizes)

Microsoft Publisher

(Serious text re-flowing problems - Very Unstable - Many service providers will not accept Publisher files)

Adobe PageMaker

(Large learning curve - Problems in transferring files Seldom used)

Adobe InDesign & Quark Express

(Large learning curve - The best, but also the most expensive)

Corel WordPerfect

(Possibly the most user friendly but not compatible with commercial printing presses )

Second Step – Editing Your Manuscript

Edit or have your manuscript edited professionally your manuscript correctly to avoid delays with the printing process.

Third Step - Choose A Binding Style For Your Family History Book

The most common page size for a Family History book is the 8 ½” x 11” format. or A4. This is the easiest format for placing a combination of text and photographs on a page. It also allows a choice of a single or double column page layout. The two most common binding styles for a Family History book are hardcover and paperback binding with hardcover binding being the most popular.

Quality - Our Paperback and Hardcover books aref the highest quality available.

Fourth Step – Page Layout

The information found in this step is designed for those who wish to produce their own page layout.

Page layout is a term which refers to the way in which text and images are situated on a page. The layout of your manuscript should be adjusted to look exactly the way you want to see it in print. Look at previously bound books for ideas. Sample family history or reunion memory book layouts are very helpful for showing how to set headers, position page numbers, set margin width, or choose a font style.

Setup your page to the correct size of your book and place the correct margins and binding edge on the file. This is like a foundation. This first step in the setup process is the most common step not taken first. Everything else follows ths step. Ask us for a free Micrsosoft Word Template. Tell us the approx amount of pages and the size you want the book to be and we will provide you with a temlate setup the correct size with a binding edge and margins in place.

Contrast

In order for your page layout to be visually appealing and to keep the readers interest, you should have contrast on your pages. Use a contrasting type for headings, keeping the headings very different from the body type. Use one type for the body copy and a different one for the headings. Consider a newspaper and how the headings are larger and bolder.

Alignment

Choose one justification and stick to it. Centre justification will give the page layout a formal look. It is commonly used for wedding invitations, formal announcements, etc. Left justification will give a more conservative professional look. Full justification within the layout will give your pages a clean orderly look. With full justification, your headings could be either left, right, or centered on the page.

Repetition

Create a sense of unity to your book by adding a few visual elements that you like, and then repeating them throughout. Look through some of your favorite books to see what they have used on their pages, you may get some inspiration. Perhaps a decorative ornament under the heading of each chapter, or a decorative drop cap to start each chapter might give your book a special look.

Proximity

Organize your type properly by grouping things together that relate to each other.

Margins, Header/Footers

When setting the margins for your pages, it is important to not set them less than 15mm to ensure that proper space between the printing and the edge of the page remains at the binding edge. We recommend that when choosing a margin setting for your page layout, you should allow extra for the binding edge.

For example, if you have selected a margin setting of 20mm for the top, bottom, and right hand side of the page, the left hand, or binding edge should be 25mm slighter higher depending on your page count. This makes the text appear balanced on the page when the book is bound. Microsoft Word uses a measurement which is referred to as a gutter.

Care should also be taken when placing information in the headers or footers, such as chapter heading or page numbers, that sufficient room remains between the edge of the print and the edge of the page. A header/footer measurement ofpprox 12mm is a common setting for a standard page layout.

Typing

Here are some basic layout tips:

·  Only use one space after periods.

·   Indent paragraphs one em space. This is equal to approximately two spaces.

·   Choose either a double space between paragraphs, or an indent. Do not use both.

·   If you are choosing to indent your paragraphs, you need not indent the first one of
   each chapter.

·   Watch for hyphenated words at the end of each line. If there are too many, you may
    want to adjust your kerning.

Fonts

Choosing font styles for your book is very important for both the appearance and for transferring files for printing. The most common fonts used for books are the Oldstyle fonts, as they are easily readable for large body copy. Among the most common are Times Roman, Goudy, Garamond, and Baskerville. Remember to choose a contrasting font for your headings. A sans serif font such as Arial is a common choice. A sans serif font is one without the "hooks" at the ends of each letter. These "hooks" help to guide the eye from one letter to another making the text easily readable. This is why sans serif fonts such as Arial should never be used for the main body of the text. Children's books are commonly set in a slab serif font, because of their clean straight lines. Some common Slab serif fonts are New Century Schoolbook, Classic SSK, and Clarendon.

In regard to printing, it is important to ensure that all fonts being used are resident in your Windows font folder. This includes both bold and italicized versions of each font. Simply using the bold or italicize commands on the toolbar may not necessarily ensure the font is available. For example, Microsoft Word will manufacture its own version of a font if it is not already installed on your computer. If this is done, the bold font will appear to be two images side by side when printed on a high quality digital press. The italicized versions may not print at all. The simple solution to font problems is to avoid unusual fonts such as Wing Dings and Symbol, and stay with more common book fonts such as Times New Roman and Garamond.

Copyright, ISBN

Copyright, ISBN, CIP, and Library of Congress information should be placed on the page directly after the title page. This page is commonly known as the copyright page. If you have decided to produce your own page layout, we will check to make sure all the necessary information is included on this page. For more information on copyright / ISBN and CIP applications click here.

Page Numbers/Chapter Headings

The title page and chapter headings should always be placed on a right hand page. It may be necessary to leave a left hand page blank in order to start a chapter as a right hand page. Inserting a section break at the end of each chapter will automatically force the following chapter to begin in the proper right hand position.

When numbering the pages in your book, you should also keep in mind that right hand pages are always odd number pages while left hand pages are even numbers. It is also common to number the pages preceding the first chapter with roman numerals.

Scanning

If you are planning to add photographs to your family history book, they must first be scanned. For those who prefer not to scan their own photographs, we offer a complete scanning service which includes photo touch-up and adjustment for overexposed or underexposed images.
There are many brands of scanners available on the market. Even the most inexpensive scanner will be able to produce the high quality images needed for printing.

For best results, photos should be scanned as 300 DPI TIFF or JPEG files.

Some scanners automatically default to 72 DPI between uses so be careful. Photos scanned and printed at 72 DPI would not be considered acceptable for printing.

Higher than 300 dpi resolution is not necessarily better. A resolution over 300 DPI will only increase your file size (sometimes dramatically) and cause your computer to run more slowly.

5th Step Cover Design

In step 3, we touched on the fact that most family history books are produced in the hardcover format. If you have selected the paperback format for your family history book, our designers will incorporate any images you provide into the cover design. For complete information on our cover design process, click here. If you have selected the hardcover format for your family history book, there are several options available when it comes time to decide on what style to choose for your book cover. The most common styles are:

· Linen or leather finish book cloth with gold or silver lettering. (This option is the most popular.)

· Linen or leather finish.

The most economical is a simple cover file with a cello glazing in Matt or Gloss. This can go onto a soft cover or a Hardcover backing.

Family History Book - Pricing

The cost of our more common services are as follows:

Manuscript Typing                   $2.00 per page for standard A5 books
Page Layout (Typesetting)     From $1.00 per page. Family Histry Books are quite involved. As a genaeral rule allow $4.00 per page.
Photograph Scanning              $1.00 ea.

Submiting Files For Printing

One difficulty in producing a family history book is that photos will dramatically increase the amount of memory needed to store your manuscript.

Files which exceed 5 megabytes in size could either be burned onto a CD and sent by regular mail or sent through our ftp site . Our ftp site is an excellent way to send large files quickly and easily.