Seven Tips for Publishing Your Family History

I became personally interested in genealogy after following my husband through every cemetery in southeast Ohio as he looked for his Davis ancestors–no small undertaking.

My own search was much easier–too easy. I found my own Beebe ancestors, fully documented on Ancestry.com, all the way back to the 1500’s in England. I felt rather smug until I discovered someone had made a mistake, and I’d been chasing the wrong Beebes through history. I was back where I started.

Those of you who are lucky enough to have put all that foolishness behind you, are probably ready to take the next step. Putting your family histories into print.

If you only plan to print a few copies of your genealogy history for your immediate family, you probably don't need to worry about copyright issues–but if the document ever gets put up on a webpage, then copyright becomes a serious concern.

After you’ve gone to all the work of gathering the information and putting it into a meaningful form...why not consider producing it as a commercial product? Libraries and museums have genealogy rooms, and are always looking for information to add to the shelves. The popularity of genealogy has hit an all-time high, and the network of genealogists spans the country from coast to coast and around the world. Today's families are avidly pursuing their roots.

However, before you can offer your history to the public, it’s important to understand a little about permissions and copyrights. I know–this is your family, and you don’t mind having everything disclosed. BUT...Is there anyone out there who will mind?

If the information is well-documented as fact, you don’t have a problem. But let’s say you have a story, handed down through the generations, that may have been embellished a bit with each telling. Is there anything in that story that might be libelous to another individual? That might upset the living relative of someone who's passed on?

If you are the last living descendent of the people about whom you are writing, you can relax. Compile your book–no one will contest it. If this is not the case, it might be a good idea to notify other family members of your intentions, then follow up with a request for written permission to use the material publicly.

I’ll talk about using images in a minute, but I’d like to bring them into this discussion also. Family images are of two types: professional photographic or painted portraits, and snapshots.

Professional photography is protected by copyright law and may not be used without the written consent of the photographer. Fortunately, old portrait photographs done before 1923 are in the Public Domain. This means that either copyright was never carried out, or it has expired and never been renewed. These materials often have no identifying marks, or were done by studios that have long been out of business. If this is the case, you can use them, provided family members agree.

In the case of painted portraits, the artist retains the copyright, and even if the artist is deceased, copyright continues for an additional 70 years after death. As with professional photographs, the 1923 date applies.

To confuse the issue, we need to address those images that you may find in books, magazines, or newspapers. Fair Use allows you to use any printed publication that is in the Public Domain. Publications released before 1923 are usually within Public Domain, but check to see who owns the actual materials. If the printed pieces are part of a collection, you may have to pay a reproduction or use fee.

Snapshots are the most common images in family histories, and only offer one drawback. Given the usually casual setting, a snapshot often contains people you can’t identify. If the picture is recent, you simply cannot publish it without every individual’s permission. If one of the subjects is no longer living, then you’ll need permission from one of his or her living relatives.

Finally, what about photographs of headstones? If you take pictures within private cemeteries, be sure to obtain permission before doing so, and indicate your intent to publish the photograph. Additionally, while the engraved information on the monument is not copyrightable, certain elements of the monument design might be, such as an etched design or scene, an original poem written for the deceased, and so on.

And tread lightly on the Internet! It abounds with copyright infringement, and you must be diligent in tracking down the actual copyright holder for an image. For the full scope of copyright law, visit http://www.copyright.gov

The family or historical photographs that you need for your project can 1) come from your own personal collection, 2) be borrowed from family members, 3) be available in library or historical society archives, or 4) be published in books, magazines, or newspapers.

Old photographs are difficult to reproduce well. The closer you can get to the original image, the better your final printed piece will look. If the only copy you can find of Aunt Gertrude is printed in her 1901 high school yearbook, be aware that the scanned reproduction will be terrible. The same goes for newspaper photos. One way around this is to digitally photograph the page on which the image resides, then treat it as an original. This usually works, but only if you use high resolution when you take the photograph.

When borrowing photos or materials from others, be sure to document your source. Use an index card to record the subject of the photo (including any pertinent dates), the name of the owner, a telephone number, and the address to which the item should be returned. Put the photo and its card into an acid-free slipcover and store it safely until you have had it scanned. Print a copy of the scanned image and add it to the protective slipcover, then promptly return the materials to their owner.

I recommend professional scanning of old photographs and newspapers. Today’s technology allows retouching and enhancement that will make your images print far better.

Pedigree charts and family tree images are the backbone of a family history. Several software programs are available for creating these critical and artistic pieces of your story. The important thing to remember when using these tools is that, when your pedigree chart or family tree is complete, it needs to be saved in a format that is usable in other programs and, ultimately, printable. Be sure to ask whomever is producing your book what file formats they can use.An alternative is to digitally photograph the printed family tree and use it as an image.

When you’ve compiled all your information, photographs, and family trees, it’s time to write the story. Decide how you’d like to showcase your family history. Do you want to set it up like a documentary or research piece? Or would you like to put it in narrative form, or add some personal touches that might make for more enjoyable reading? Do you want to sell your book? Or simply make the genealogical information available to future generations?

Dr. Lorle Porter’s book, St. Patrick’s People, is set up in chronological format with timelines and details of the events that surrounded several families in the Temperanceville, Ohio area.
Another book, Sara’s Table focuses on one family line and uses narrative non-fiction to demonstrate the lifestyles of women from the early 1800’s through 1950. Porter enhances this family history with recipes and discussions of housekeeping and child-rearing–a nice touch.

Another way to present family history is by telling a true story in fiction form. True events and real people, described and related within the framework of a novella are another form of family history. Carolyn J. Cross Hall’s Irish Blessing is an example of this type of writing. It follows the life experiences of one woman (the author’s great-great-grandmother) from earliest childhood until her death. The story is remembered through the eyes of that 73-year-old woman.

Regardless of the style, an important part of any family history book is a surname index.

Your family history doesn’t have to be dull. With a little imagination, you can bring your ancestors back to life on the pages of your book.

5. PROOFING YOUR WORK

After you’ve finished the writing and typing, the drudgery begins. You need to proof your work. I’m sure many of you have experienced the frustration of finding conflicting dates or name spellings in your research. Don’t compound the problem with your own contributions.

Check carefully all dates and surname spellings, and compare them to your research material. If you have more than one spelling for a surname, make a bracketed note in the text to that effect.

When you’ve read and re-read your manuscript, turn it over to someone who’s never seen it before. Friends and relatives are always willing to help, but often unwilling to take enough time to do a thorough job. A professional proofreader will see things you’ve missed, and save you the embarrassment of finding them after the piece is printed.

6. THE CHARACTER OF YOUR BOOK

Your next step is to decide how you want the finished book to look. Consider how many images you’ll include. Larger pages will allow larger images. If most of your material is text or family trees, smaller sizes will work just fine.

Traditionally, most family histories have been photocopied and crudely bound. If you’re planning to sell you book, binding is important. You’ll want to consider what is called “perfect bound.” These books stand up better to time and use, and they look better. Spiral binding is another option more suitable for books with a low page count. Copy shops will fold and staple booklets with low page counts, and this is called stitching. It is the least expensive and least desirable type of binding.

Okay! Time to go to press. Today’s darling is POD–Print On Demand–a quality printing process that generates books one at a time. The publishing industry has gravitated to this process because it allows the reissue of many out-of-print titles without a huge investment. And that’s where you can benefit. When your book is ready, you can order anywhere from a single copy to hundreds of copies. When you run out of those, you can order more. Cost for printing depends on size, paper, page count, and quantity, and the POD printer's policies.

When using online publishers, be sure to read everything on the site before beginning. Most will print exactly what you give them–they do no editing or proofreading.

I’ve only touched lightly on these various aspects of putting together a family history; each one could be an article in itself. The most important point here is that you pursue putting your histories into usable form. Future generations will thank you for it.