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Archiver > GEN-EDITOR > 1997-10 > 0877399754


From: Glenn Randers-Pehrson< >
Subject: Re: Publishing Family History
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 22:09:14 -0400


About format: genealogical software such as Brother's Keeper
gives you some choices: among them "register" format and
"outline" format.

For our books (3 so far) we have selected the "outline" format.
While the "register" format may be more useful to genealogists, 99
percent of our readers are not genealogists, but they've all
studied in school how to understand an outline.

We choose a couple (in our case, the first family members to settle
in Harford County), and write about them and their ancestry in some
detail. Following that we present the outline of their descendants, then
a
chapter on their siblings and cousins.

It's important to have more than just names and dates. We sent
questionnaires to the family and asked them not only for the names
and dates but for interesting tidbits such as favorite recipes, favorite
Bible verses and proverbs, their occupations, special accomplishements
and hobbies, and early memories. Occasionally we find a poet among our
cousins, and include a bit of their work.

About printing: for small quantities, you will probably have to settle
for photocopies and "Velo" binding. If you are making more than
about 300 copies, the price of offset printing (much nicer) becomes
competitive. We buy offset-printed signatures and have them bound
as needed by a small local bookbinder who is willing to do small
quantities.

Photos are an extra expense but well worth it. Many of our family
members only look at the pictures after they've found their own
entry. The first two times we used glossy photos, but for our
most recent book the printer worked with our bitmaps (scanned
images), which were printed directly from the computer to film in
high resolution.

Glenn

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