Create a Family History Book
With all the technology we have today, isn’t it a little old-fashioned to make a physical family history book?
Not at all. There’s still something special about holding your family’s story in your hands. A book gets pulled off the shelf at holidays, passed to grandchildren, and read by people who will never log in to a genealogy website. And it’s easier and cheaper to make one now than it has ever been.
Decide what the book is about
You don’t have to fit everyone in. Some of the best family history books focus on:
- One person, like a grandparent, with their story, photos and memories from the people who knew them
- One couple and their descendants, great for a reunion
- One family line, following a surname back through the generations
- Your own life, for your children and grandchildren
If the person you’re writing about has many living relatives, ask each of them for a favorite story or memory. Those pages are often the ones people love most.
Plan it before you write it
- Make an outline. Chapters can follow a life in order, or each one can cover a different family or branch.
- Gather your materials: stories, interviews, photos, documents and a simple family tree chart.
- Write the stories. A page of story is worth ten pages of names and dates. (Part 4 of our free course, Telling, Preserving, and Sharing the Family Story, shows how.)
- Include your sources, so future readers know what’s documented and what’s family tradition.
- Ask a couple of relatives to proofread. They’ll catch wrong names and dates, and they’ll often remember something new.
Choose a format
A free PDF
The cheapest option of all. Write your book in Word or Google Docs, save it as a PDF, and email it or share it in a cloud folder. Everyone can read it, and anyone can print their own copy.
Three-ring binder
Inexpensive and easy to update as you find new information. It takes some time if you’re making a lot of copies, but it’s a great way to start.
Spiral-bound at a print shop
Still one of my favorites for price and speed. Take your file to a local print shop such as FedEx Office or Staples, pick a cover and binding, and pick up your copies, often the same day.
Print-on-demand books
Upload your file, and the company prints and ships as many or as few copies as you need, with no order minimum:
- Lulu prints paperback and hardcover books, and can set up a page where relatives order and pay for their own copies, so you never carry inventory.
- Blurb has free design tools and works well for books with lots of photos.
- Mixbook and Shutterfly are best for photo-heavy books, such as a picture history of a grandparent’s life.
- Family Heritage Publishers specializes in family history books, with soft and hard covers and no order minimum.
A book made from questions
Storyworth emails a parent or grandparent one question a week for a year, then binds their answers and photos into a hardcover book. It’s a wonderful gift, and it does most of the work for you.
Straight from your family tree
Genealogy programs such as Family Tree Maker and RootsMagic can generate a book-style report from your tree, with charts, an index and sources. It’s a great starting point that you can then add stories and photos to.
Make sure it lasts
Many old family history books were printed once, decades ago, and now there are only a few copies left. Don’t let that happen to yours:
- Keep the final PDF with your family history files and back it up.
- Give copies to relatives in different branches of the family.
- Consider donating a copy to the FamilySearch Library, the local library or historical society where your family lived, so future researchers can find it.
Whichever way you go, making a family history book is a lot of fun, and your family will thank you for it.