Family history book publishers can help you transform all your genealogical research into a special book to be enjoyed for generations to come.
Publishing Your Family History
A family history is a book that includes information you've gathered about your ancestors. It may be an extensive family tree that covers everyone in your family, or it may focus only on the life of a certain person. Some family history books are strictly informational in nature, while others are written to read almost like a novel.
Creating a family history can be a fulfilling project on its own, but you will likely want to find a way to share your finished manuscript. Some of the many reasons to investigate family history book publishers include the following:
- Share your work with other members of your family
- Preserve your family history for future generations
- Allow other genealogical researchers to take advantage of your efforts as they are creating their own family histories
Home Inkjet Printing
If you're like many people, your first instinct may be to simply print out copies of your family history on your home inkjet printer. This option is made easier by the fact that many genealogy software programs include tools to allow you to format your work for printing.
Unfortunately, home printing is not the most efficient or cost effective way to share your manuscript. Pages printed at home can cost from 10 to 20 cents per page, depending upon your printer model, ink choice, and whether or not your family history book includes color photos. You will also need to come up with some way of binding your book, which can be hard to accomplish without access to special tools.
Copy Shop Printing
Your local copy shop can be a good source for having a small number of books created. Copy shops have the capacity to laminate covers, reproduce color photos, and bind pages together using coil, comb, strip, or book methods for about half the price you'd pay attempting to create your family history at home. Larger copy shops, such as FedEx Office, will even let you upload files and design your book online, although you may want to visit the copy shop in person if you're not exactly sure what you want your finished book to look like.
POD Family History Book Publishers
If you want to order more than 20 or 25 copies of your family history book, you may want to consider using a print on demand (POD) publisher. While a traditional book publisher often requires a minimum order of 500 to 1,000 copies, a POD publisher has the capacity to print orders to any size you desire.
POD book publishers also provide more than just book binding services, although you can expect to pay extra fees for any additional assistance you receive. A family history publisher may offer help:
- Editing text for spelling, grammar, and clarity
- Writing sections of the book
- Typing and formatting pages
- Designing a cover
Examples of POD family history book publishers include the following:
If you're on a really tight budget, you may want to skip the POD companies specializing in family history books and try publishing your manuscript using a free POD service, such as the following popular options:
Regardless of what type of POD publisher you choose, remember to read all contracts and informational materials you receive carefully. It is important to understand exactly what services you can expect when you choose a particular publisher for your family history, especially if you're planning on ordering several hundred copies of your book.
