Part III - Publishing and printing
Formatting
Now that I have all my text and illustrations
assembled the next task to think about is the
layout. I normally use an A4 page, and if you do
the same you will need to consider the number of
columns, the size of text, the margin size and
the headers and footers. There are a lot of other
things you can also think about but I like to
keep it as simple as possible. Of course these
are mainly of use if you are using a computer or
word processor, but even for a hand written
document you will probably want a page number at
the bottom and a chapter title at the top.
If you are handwriting your story, or using a
typewriter, you can skip the next few paragraphs
and continue reading at 'Quality Control'.
Options available for the number of columns
include one, two, three or four columns per page
- I suggest looking at a magazine to see what
format you prefer. I find a single column tends
to be too wide to read comfortably in A4, whereas
using four columns results in a lot of broken or
hyphenated words. The format I prefer is two
columns with a fairly wide margin on the left
hand side. Illustrations can then be placed in a
column or run across columns, or even overlap
into the white space of the margin. It is worth
experimenting to discover which format you like
best.
Another consideration is what font (type of
lettering) and the size of the text to use. A
serif font is usually more pleasant to read for a
lot of text (a serif font is one where each
letter has little lines on the top and bottom).
Times New Roman is a frequently used serif font
that is available on most computers and 12 point
is quite a good size for general reading. lo or
11 point allows more text on each page and tends
to be better where 3 or 4 columns are being used.
14 point is less of a strain for older members of
your family who may read your family history. I
like to use a non-serif font for headings and
subheadings as the letters stand out more. Arial
and Helvetica are two commonly used non-serif
fonts which I use at larger text sizes than for
the normal text.
I have found from experience that it is best
to start with something simple and to experiment
once confidence has been gained. PCs have
thousands of fonts to choose from but it can be
quite time-consuming experimenting with different
combinations until you find the ones you like
best.
I now define 'styles' for chapter, section and
sub headings and for normal text in the word
processor and use these styles when writing. By
using this approach if I decide to use a
different font at some time in the future I only
have to change style and the chapter is changed
automatically.
For example:
CHAPTER HEADING: Arial 16 or 18 point,
capitals, bold
Section Heading: Arial 14 or 16 point,
first letter of each word capitalised, bold
Paragraph heading: Arial 12 or 14,
first letter capitalised, bold text: Times New
Roman 12, normal
However, this is probably one complication too
many if you are only just starting out and you
may prefer to make your heading by using the
'Bold' button on your normal text.
Quality control
I am now ready to assemble my first section.
During this stage there is a need to convert it
from a set of standard paragraphs to a readable
narrative. This is where a friend or relative can
help. I start by taking the 2 or 3 pages of
standard paragraphs and descriptions produced
earlier and print them or write them out double
line spaced. I then read through it myself and
mark up changes to make it sound more like a
story, adding additional sentences if necessary
to make it flow. I make the changes and print it
or write it out again double line spacing and ask
a friend or relative to critique it, emphasising
that I am looking to them for quality control.
When selecting someone it must be somebody you
know well enough who will feel they can make
objective comments without upsetting you, and you
need to be open minded about any comments
received. The last thing you want is someone who
will read it and pass it back saying, "that
was nice" with just a couple of spelling
errors corrected. My wife does my quality control
for me which I find invaluable. (She will have
critiqued this article too by the time you see it).
Final assembly
You are now ready to assemble the section into
its final format. I decide where on the page I
want my illustrations to go. If writing by hand
or typewriter I suggest drawing a pencil
rectangle in the place the illustration will go,
so that you can write or type around it.
If using a word processor or desktop
publishing program on a computer then the first
step is to define your master page with the
number of columns and headings. The controls to
do it will vary depending on the program you are
using but they are all much the same. You will
need to specify the number of columns and then
type in the header (e.g. chapter heading) and the
footer (e.g. page number) that you decided on
earlier.
Next copy your corrected text into the pages
and position each illustration so that it appears
close to the text to which it relates. This may
be in the adjacent column rather than before or
after the text. Always start with the first
illustration and go through in sequence, as the
text will flow around the pictures as you move
them. If you do not yet have one or more of your
illustrations then put a rectangle in the page of
the same size as the eventual illustration. This
will usually be achieved by creating a new
'frame' on the page with a black line as a border.
Once your illustration is available you can
'drop' it onto the frame to include it in the
text.
You can now print your "final"
version of the section.
Part IV Collating and binding
Repeat parts II and III for other selected
ancestors in your family tree, creating a new
section for each one. Once you have a few
sections it is worth collating them into one or
more chapters. You can then bind them together
and send to relatives and friends.
Preparing the cover page and introduction
I like to create a chapter front page
containing information such as the date printed,
references and sources used in creating the
chapter. This is usually in three pages but can
be longer depending on references and sources
used. The first page has the chapter name on it
in large letters and possibly a picture or two.
The second page has a one paragraph summary of
what the chapter is about plus the date of
printing this version. For example one of my
chapters has the following summa : "This
chapter describes the history of the Parrott
family descended from Joseph Parrott, baptised in
Ringwood Hampshire in 1824". The third page
is a numerical list of references and sources of
information (using the same format used in books).
If using a word processor I have found it best
to now copy the front pages and each section into
a single document to ensure that the page
numbering is sequential. (You can achieve the
same effect by specifying the starting page
number for each section). Print off your Chapter
cover on thin (preferably coloured) card and
print the rest of the chapter on good quality
paper. A good quality paper may cost a pound or
two more per ream but the difference in
appearance is worth it.
If writing by hand or using a typewriter then
write or type your front pages, including your
cover page on card. Put your sections together
and once you are sure they are in the right order
go through and number each page by hand.
Binding the pages
The next stage is to bind the loose pages
together into a book format for the chapter. An
easy form of binding is the long plastic clips
which slide down the long edge of the sheets of
paper to form a spine for the book. These usually
cost lop or less from a stationery shop. Comb
binding and thermal binding are two other
relatively straightforward forms of binding. (Of
the two, I prefer the way comb binding allows the
book to open flat at any page, and extra pages
can also be added fairly easily). Both of these
forms of binding can be carried out by a 'copy
shop' fairly inexpensively. If you are going to
be writing and binding many chapters and
associated revisions it can be worth investing in
your own binding machine. I bought a comb binder
in a mail order stationery catalogue sale for
about £l00. Since buying it I have also used it
to bind together many odd sheets of paper which
might otherwise get lost (for instance the
information sheets from the PRO).
You now have the first chapter of your book
which you can distribute to friends and relatives
or others researching the same name. I like to
keep a list of recipients and which version I
sent them. This means that when I make a major
revision to the book e.g. add a new section, or
make significant changes to a section, then I can
send them a revised version.
Conclusion
I hope that by describing the approach I have
taken it will help a few more people to realise
their own ambitions to put their family in print.
In this article it has only been possible to
summarise many of the techniques I use. For any
further information feel free to contact me via
the editor.
