But HOW do you go about sharing all you have discovered. There are many options. Write it all in a book, create a website, create a photo album with lots of journaling, create a self-published book and more. I wish I had time to sit down with you and talk about the option that you are interested in, but let’s face it. That isn’t an option here. So instead I will provide a brief outline of several ways you can share your history with family and friends.
Scrap-booking –If you have collected a lot of photos of family members from the past, creating a scrapbook might be the option you are looking for, especially if you already have scrap-booking experience. If you have a lot of supplies at home, and a scanner, computer and printer, this could be very low cost, but if not, you could run into a large cash outlay. Additionally, this is not really an easily to duplicate option. So if you are only interested in giving mom and dad a keepsake for the holidays it can be a wonderful option, and don’t forget to include a box of tissues. The important thing to remember with a scrap-book is to include text information. Birthdays and anniversaries are important dates to include, but you may also want tojournal about some special event that occurred in your family. The other thing to remember is not to use your original photos. Those you want to keep safely stored in acid free containers. Use photo copies. In 2000 I presented my mother with a small scrapbook of her life and accomplishments. She jealously guarded it when sharing it with everyone and I was soon bombarded with requests by other family members. So, unless you are willing to create more than one version, or if your family is small in number, creating a scrapbook may be your solution.
Self-Published books are now quite easy to accomplish. You can find many websites that will let you create a book and publish it on demand. This means that as someone requests a copy, you can go back to the site and order a hard copy. This is an option that often creates a very professional book to share with your family and friends. The choice of what to include in such a book is limitless, but the basics are photos and a short paragraph to identify each or a short story to place along side. Prices for these self-published books can range from a few dollars, to hundreds, depending on the options you choose, but if you are planning on selling your book the cost does not fall to you, other than what you pay for your own copy. Yes, be sure to get yourself a hard copy of this type of book. Trust me, you will be happy you did and it offers you the opportunity to show your family and friends your first book and entice them to get their own. Whether or not you choose to make a little profit on the book is up to you, but easy as you would order the book for the set price but include an up-charge or a few dollars to cover your time and the convenience of having you supply the finished product.
Along side of Self-published books would be eBooks. eBooks, however usually contain more text and fewer images. However this is an option that you can create almost for free. Using a word processor, you would create your eBook. when you are ready, you can use a freeware or paid for program to convert the document to the pdf format that can be used across all platforms. You would then distribute this document on the internet, in emails, or even on a mini-cd. This will also allow you to include copies of documentation in your eBook which may be an interesting addition. I included copies of marriage and birth certificates from my grandparents and one of their children in my first eBook and the results were, well let’s just say explosive. You see, no one ever knew that grandmother had the first baby tend days before she married grandfather. If an eBook is the option you choose you can distribute it for pennies, you can sell if or give it away. It can be printed out by your readers without you having to absorb the expense making it a pretty good option, especially if you have good skills with your word processor and can include photos and other visual interest.
Publish a ‘real’ book. This would be the most expensive and tricky option. there are some companies that only publish genealogy books. Bust most will charge a substantial fee and a fee per copy that you would need to pay up front. When you get your delivery of books, you can sell them to family members to try to recover some of your costs. If you choose this, do the math first. Decide on how much you think your family would be willing to spend on a family genealogy and if you can’t stay within that range, you may want to consider one of the other options, unless of course you have money to burn and just want to see your work in hard copy on a bookshelf.
Finally, but by no means the last option, is creation of a website. If you have good computer skills you can find many places on the internet that will allow you to build a free family website. Alternately, you can enter your information into one of the many genealogical databases across the net and then tell your relations where to find it. If you use social networking you can easily share the information with your circle of friends and relatives. This is the best option if you have a very large tree and lots of information to share as it would be the least expensive. However, this option will not produce a hard copy that you can give away as a keepsake. You may consider also, that it is not the best option for older relatives who may not use a computer on a regular basis or who feel that technology is too complicated for them. It took us 5 years to convince our parents to get a cell phone. Today they still have no interest in computers and would not even know how to turn one on.
There are many, many options for keepsakes aside from a book style. Some of these might include:
A Photo Cube with a calendar on one side
A mug, cup, or other ceramic with a photo imprint
A tee-shirt, sweat shirt or other apparel
A simple framed print of a completed family tree chart
A composite family photo with as many family members included as possible
A beautiful card signed by family members who include their birthday and anniversary information. You can include a group photo suitable for framing
and the list can grow and grow. Do a search online for personalized gift items and you will find more options that you can imagine. Surely one of them will be just right for you and sure to bring tears of joy to your loved ones as they embrace the love that went into making just the right choice.
I am Barbara Cagle and for over 20 years I have been working and playing online.
I began my genealogy research in 1986 and have discovered relations as far back as 950AD. Over the years I have been able to utilize my computer skills to do a lot of my research. There are many sites available to help you. When you decide you are ready to share your findings and all those old photos, consider a website of your own.