4 Steps to Creating a Family History Book in 2018

December 5, 2017| Lynn| 3 Comments|

Do you dream of creating a family history book?

Has your book been just that, a dream?

I’m a big believer that to accomplish your dreams you need goals and a plan.

For those of you who are dreaming about creating a family history book in 2018, our next four posts are designed with you in mind. We are going to close out 2017 and begin 2018 with developing a plan to turn your family history book dream into a reality.

Over December and January, we will cover the following in a 4-part series.

Step One. Identify your dream and the purpose behind the dream

Step Two. Identify and set your goals needed to make your family history book a reality

Step Three. Make an action plan and timeline for accomplishing these goals.

Step Four. Set up the daily habits required to accomplish your goals.

Each part will come with a downloadable template to help you flesh out your plan on paper.

Today, we start with Part 1 – The Dream, and its Purpose.

Part 1 – The Dream and What Drives Your Dream

Your dream is to write a family history book. But why do you want to write a family history book? It’s not enough to just have the idea. You must also identify the purpose and passion behind your vision, any vision including creating a family history book.

When you have a clear sense of the purpose of your project it enables you to focus your efforts. It compels you to stay on task and push forward when the work might become difficult or overwhelming.

Knowing why you want to create a family history book is an essential first step in figuring out how to achieve this dream.

Only when you know the why will you find the courage to take risks needed to make it happened, to stay motivated when the road becomes tough and to take on a challenging yet very rewarding trajectory.

Why I write family history stories and books?

To help you identify your own purpose behind wanting to create a family history book I thought I would share some of the reasons that got me started in writing family history but also why I continue to make it a significant part of my life.

I believe that stories can close the gap between our ancestors and our families. We’ve all tried to share our family history with our loved ones. We’ve all been met with the eye rolls. I believe that in creating a family history book that is entertaining and compelling, I could overcome their resistance and close this gap.

I was worried about spending years researching my family history, acquiring boxes and files full of information only to have it lost or be packed away when I left this world. I wanted to create a book that was going to be a representation of my work. It would not be just a legacy of my ancestors but my legacy of years of research and dedication to my passion for genealogy.

I wanted to create something that had longevity, a book that was going to sit proudly on all my relative’s bookshelves. It wanted a book that they would be proud to have displayed on their coffee table. I wanted a book that they would reference from time to time over the years and a book that would be passed on for generations to come.

These were the three significant purposes that fed my dream to create a family history book. You may have other reasons for wanting to create a book. The point here is to acknowledge those motives. These larger purposes will feed you throughout your writing journey. When you have a drive and desire for your project, you’re more likely to stick with it.

The Power of Writing Down Your Dreams and Goals

An essential component in making your dreams a reality is to write them down. There is considerable evidence to support the fact if you write down your thoughts and goals you are more likely to transform those desires into reality. It also suggests that if you share your written goals with a friend who believes in your ability to succeed it will aid you in meeting with success.

Therefore, each step along the way in this 4-part series, I will provide you with a template you can download and print off and fill in so that you have your dream, purposes, goals and action steps all written down. Not only will this help you take your ideas from the thinking stage to putting them on paper and making them concrete you’ll also have a written plan to help you proceed.

Let’s start by identifying your dream to create a family history book and the purpose behind your vision. Download the Dream and Purpose Template and fill it in.

Your Dream and Purpose Template

Watch for our next installment as we take your dream and begin to identify the goals needed to make it a reality.

Identifying Your Goals

Making an Action Plan and Project Timeline

Jan 17, 2018 – Creating Daily Habits that Support Your Goal

3 thought on “4 Steps to Creating a Family History Book in 2018”

Laurie Capener says:

December 20, 2017 at 7:05 pm

I enjoyed reading Part 1. Thank you for inspiring me to once again ‘try’.
Ros Askew says:

December 22, 2017 at 3:30 am

I would love the guilford u3a group to do this. It would be a good challenge for 2018.
Karen DeBow says:

December 22, 2017 at 5:19 pm

im so excited for these preliminary steps I dont want to stay on my previous scatterbrained, go around in circles track that I’ve been on for the last 2 years!

Comments are closed.

Creating Your Family History Book: Fleshing out 8 Milestone GoalsCreating Your Family History Book: Fleshing out 8 Milestone Goals

December 19, 2017| Lynn| 0 Comment| 11:00 pm

In part one of our series Creating a Family History Book, we looked at identifying our dream of creating a family history book in 2018 along with recognizing our motivations behind the dream. I hope you took the time to identify your vision in specifics and to write it down using our template.

Now it’s time to move forward and to flesh out the eight milestone goals that will help you move closer to accomplishing that dream.

In my work of writing a family history book, I realized there are eight key goals that I had to meet along the way. I also realized it was essential to think and plan out each of those goals in advance before I began to write.

Let’s identify these 8 milestone goals. They will be your guide to creating a family history book. You won’t necessarily complete these goals in this order, but for the sake of planning your project, I recommend working through them in this order.

Distribution of the Book – The first thing is to start at the end. How do you plan on selling and distributing the book? Who are you selling or giving the book to? What is your deadline for distribution? Do you wish to release the book at a specific event or in time for a milestone birthday or anniversary? Even if you don’t have an event to use as a deadline, it is best not to leave the publishing date open-ended. Always have a deadline to keep you on task.

Printing the Book – Acquire quotes for printing of the book. You can have your book published online with any number of book publishers. My favourite is Createspace. You can check out my final product here. You can also take it to your local printer, or even your local office supply store can print it for you. But do your homework. Decide on a number of pages? Each page will cost more money. Will your book be colour or black and white? How will it be bound? Who will design the cover? How many copies do you need? How much time does the printer need? In what format does the printer require the manuscript? Set a deadline to get the manuscript to the printer, so it is back to you in time for your distribution deadline.

Final Editing – Who will edit your book for you? It’s essential to have an outside editor. While you can rely on family and friends, you must be appreciative of their time and not expect a quick turn around. How much time will they need? Consider that several edits might be required. Set a deadline for each edit.

Formatting – Scan pictures, documents, etc. for inclusion in the book. Choose font, spacing, cover design. Who will format the book? This could be the printer, yourself or someone familiar will book formatting like an editor. You may format your book in an online program such as Createspace or even in the writing software Scrivener. Once again, set a deadline for completion.

Identify the Ancestors and their Stories – Identify the ancestors that you will write about. Create a list and gather and organize the research you require for each. Complete an ancestor profile which will help you to identify any missing gaps in your research and help you to get to know your ancestor better, before writing about them. Do you have enough research to tell a proper story? Organize all your research for this project into one place so that it is easily accessible. Some options include a computer file, Evernote, OneNote or Dropbox. Getting Ready to write. It important to establish a good workflow before beginning.

Outline the Stories – Outline each of the stories for the ancestors you have identified. If your book is one story, then create a storyline and storyboard so that you have a plan for your writing. If you are writing several stories than you will want to create a storyline and storyboard for each story you plan to write.

Schedule the Writing – Plan when, where and how you will write and complete the stories for your book. How much time will each story take? Identify how many words you can write in a given timeframe. How many words and can you write in an hour. How many hours to write first the first draft. How much time is required for revisions? Find the time to write and schedule it on your calendar. Create a deadline for a first draft and for completing revisions in time for the editor.

Finalize the end Product – Now that you have worked through milestone goals 1 to 7 your vision for your book may have changed or altered a bit or drastically. That’s ok. Identify and rewrite your new vision for your product if it has changed.

What is A SMART Goal?

For each of these milestone goals, we want to make sure they are A SMART Goal. All goals should have the same common elements. They should be specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and have a target and we are going to add one more element, accountable making them A SMART Goal.

Let’s define each of these elements.

A- Accountable.

Who is going to keep you on task? Find an accountability buddy, or join a writing group. Somebody or some who will keep you focused on a regular basis for each of these milestone goals. They can be different people for each of these goals.

S – Specific.

Be as detailed as possible about what this goal is and what it will include. Write out the goal in specifics.

M- Measurable.

How will you measure your progress? Create a way of checking off or measuring your progress.

A-Actionable.

Each of these goals should be easily broken down into actionable tasks.

R-Realistic

Don’t take on more than you can chew. If you have never written a story before don’t start out by thinking you’re going to write an epic novel. Start out with short stories or ancestor profiles. Be realistic about your time and skills. If you’ve never written a story before taking a writing class might be a task you need to add to your project timeline.

T-Target.

Every goal should have a deadline, not just one overall deadline. These dates will keep you motivated and on task along the way.

Download our Milestone Goal Planner sheet to help you flesh out each of these milestone goals.

Milestone Goal Planner

In Part 3, we will organize our Milestone Goals into an action plan to keep you focused and on task.

Creating a Family History Book in 2018

Part 1: Identifying Your Dream

Part 2: Fleshing out the 8 Milestone Goals

Part 3: Creating an Action Plan

Part 4: Establishing Daily Habits

Creating a Family History Book: Detours, Delays, and DistastersCreating a Family History Book: Detours, Delays, and Distasters

July 4, 2018| Lynn| 0 Comment| 11:23 pm

Many of us start out with the best of intentions when it comes to turning our family tree research into a family history book. But then something happens. Our book project is completely thrown off course, and we can’t seem to get back on track and bring it across the finish line.

You are not alone when it comes to struggling to complete your family history book. There is any number of detours, delays, and disasters that can keep you from finishing.

Let’s look at a few of the more popular problems that can happen to your project and how to fix them and get you back on track.

Disaster – I can’t afford to print my book

I’ve written my book, but it is too big. I mean really big and I can’t afford to print it. This is a disaster first because the entire goal of writing a family history book is to be able to share it. If you can afford to print it, or your family can’t afford to purchase a copy what is the point. What was all that work for?

THE FIX – Take on manageable size projects

Break your family history into sections, one book per surname or couple. You can even create a book on a single ancestor if you have a lot of research for them. Don’t think that your family history must be one giant book. There are so many more viable options that will not only interest your family but make the book more affordable. If your book is already written, consider natural breaks in your book. Turn the book into a series and print it in volumes reducing the cost to your family.

Delay – Life keeps getting in the way of creating my family history book.

I really want to create my book, but life keeps getting in the way. I just can’t seem to find the time.

THE FIX– Comprise a detailed plan

You need a detailed plan with manageable tasks and deadlines that takes you from start to finish. You also need to carve out time each week to work on your family history book. If you don’t make it a priority in your life no one else will. The only way to do that is to schedule it into your weekly calendar and make that time non-negotiable. When you have a plan, you have a focus, and it becomes much easier to stay on track.

Delay – My research isn’t complete.

I want to get a little bit more research done before I start writing my book.

The FIX – Adopt a new mindset

Stop it. The research will never be done. Create a book with what you have. If you keep waiting to find that next piece of research to include in the book, you’ll never get around to making your book. You need to adopt a new mindset. Create a book with what you have – One ancestor, one story at a time. Learn the process of building a book on something small and manageable. Then later you can take on that bigger book. Also, many on-demand printers allow you to make changes to your book at any time. You can always go back a few years from now and make any changes you want, provide updates and second editions.

Detour – I can’t figure out how to organize my book.

My book is chaos, it has no organization, and I don’t know how to fix it.

The FIX – Outline the scope and span for your book

Taking some time upfront to identify the scope and span of your book before you start will go a long way in keeping chaos at a distance. Identify very clear parameters for your book, including the ancestors that will be in it, what years you will cover? How many pages, how many stories? Without these clearly defined parameters, you’ll quickly get off track, and the whole project can become a runaway train that is hard to bring back under control. Mindmap out your contents. Divide your book into parts, sections, chapters, and stories. When you compartmentalize the book, it becomes easier to organize. Don’t try to write your family history as one long story from beginning to end. Family histories are comprised of many individuals each with their own story. Don’t try to make them all fit together in one story.

Delay – I don’t have the tech skills to make a book.

Many family historians are intimidated by the software available to create beautiful coffee table style descendant’s books.

THE FIX– Anything can be learned or hired out.

Build some time into your schedule to learn. If the tech element of producing a book is not your strength, then create a team. Find family members with these skills who are willing to help you. There are also lots of online courses and videos to help you learn book building software. Most of this software has simple drag and drop features. Explore what is out there. It’s easier than you think.

Disaster -My stories are boring

My stories are boring, and I want them to be better before I print my book. What good is a book that won’t be read?

THE FIX- Learn to turn your facts into entertaining stories.

By learning to write narrative nonfiction, you can turn the true-life stories of your ancestors into entertaining and engaging stories. Narrative nonfiction uses details, description, plot, tension, and dialogue to bring family history stories to life on the page. Take a class and learn to turn facts into real stories.

Do you have a delay, detour, or disaster that is preventing you from creating your family history book?

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