Author Topic: Book creation programs  (Read 5265 times)

Offline clancam37

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Book creation programs
« on: Tuesday 27 November 18 01:28 GMT (UK) »
Not sure if this is the correct section to place this question.

I'm looking for a low cost alternative to writing my family history in book form.
have used WORD 7 to write one book, it was a learning curve, however made a presentable book
with much reference to" F1 HELP " and frequent visits to "You Tube".  Was happy with the result, but making a TOC, Table of Contents was a nightmare.  Creating an Index was OK 
Have had a look at Scrivener Book Creator -- it seems involved.
Also  another that works in conjunction with Family Tree Maker -- although I don't like some of
the results using this method. For example it gives a partial Family Tree diagram with each generation. Can you erase this section?
Any ideas for alternatives?
Regards
clancam37 

Offline KGarrad

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Re: Book creation programs
« Reply #1 on: Tuesday 27 November 18 08:23 GMT (UK) »
Word can create an automatic TOC ;D

You just need to ensure you have used the Styles properly (Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, Title, etc).

I use RootsMagic for my trees - it has a Book Generator (Publisher), in which I can choose the contents of each chapter.
Garrad (Suffolk, Essex, Somerset), Crocker (Somerset), Vanstone (Devon, Jersey), Sims (Wiltshire), Bridger (Kent)

Offline GrahamSimons

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Re: Book creation programs
« Reply #2 on: Tuesday 27 November 18 15:06 GMT (UK) »
Agree - Word will do all you need. Table of contents, list of illustrations, index, all automated (but you do have to tell Word to update them - see the Help system).
Simons Barrett Jaffray Waugh Langdale Heugh Meade Garnsey Evans Vazie Mountcure Glascodine Parish Peard Smart Dobbie Sinclair....
in Stirlingshire, Roxburghshire; Bucks; Devon; Somerset; Northumberland; Carmarthenshire; Glamorgan

Offline Mart 'n' Al

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Re: Book creation programs
« Reply #3 on: Tuesday 27 November 18 15:54 GMT (UK) »
Slightly off Topic, but how do you write a family history without it just seeming to be like a long list of dates? My family tree program generates all sorts of reports that I'd like to incorporate, but it all seems so very clinical. I've considered slightly fictionalising it and changing black and white characters into coloured characters so to speak and possibly mentioning local and national contemporaneous events. I'd be interested to hear what other people have done.

Martin


Offline lizdb

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Re: Book creation programs
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday 27 November 18 16:41 GMT (UK) »
We've written ours as a story of the family - certainly not just a long list of dates!

So, it would read a bit like this (this is fictional, but shows the sort of style) -

After having 7 boys John and Sarah must have been delighted when baby Sarah was born in 1877 in Stevenage. She was christened on 24th June 1877 at xxxx church (Fig 23). The family must have moved within a few years of Sarah's birth as they can be seen on the 1881 census on the south coast in Worthing, baby Sarah seems to be known as "Sallly", I guess to distinguish from her mother. By 1891 the family are still in Worthing, with Sally now aged 14.  Sarah marries in July 1897 to William Bloggs, locally in Worthing - (the marriage cert can be seen at Fig 24) etc
Edmonds/Edmunds - mainly Sussex
DeBoo - London
Green - Suffolk
Parker - Sussex
Kemp - Essex
Farrington - Essex
Boniface - West Sussex

census information is Crown Copyright from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline mike175

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Re: Book creation programs
« Reply #5 on: Tuesday 27 November 18 17:13 GMT (UK) »
Slightly off Topic, but how do you write a family history without it just seeming to be like a long list of dates? My family tree program generates all sorts of reports that I'd like to incorporate, but it all seems so very clinical. I've considered slightly fictionalising it and changing black and white characters into coloured characters so to speak and possibly mentioning local and national contemporaneous events. I'd be interested to hear what other people have done.

Martin

Some years ago I started writing my family history in book form, but I'm afraid it has been on hold for a couple of years with the occasional brief addition. I found it best to use a proper DTP package, Serif PagePlus in my case, because you see the layout on screen as you write and can re-position items, adjust fonts, and include photos, charts, etc all in the same program.

The only way I could make it readable was to pick the more interesting characters and make them the focus of a chapter each, along with their near relatives. For example, one ancestor had a shipyard, so I made him and his family the the subject of one chapter and researched some of the local history and padded out the story with events of the time, adding in some national or global events that filled out the bigger picture.

There are a few snippets from my book on my embryonic web site http://www.stuttle-ancestry.org/index.php . . . also work in progress  ::)

[added] I have also included in the book the bare facts in the form of tree charts, etc. I will also include an index of names and, possibly, places which can be generated automatically in PagePlus.

Mike.
Baskervill - Devon, Foss - Hants, Gentry - Essex, Metherell - Devon, Partridge - Essex/London, Press - Norfolk/London, Stone - Surrey/Sussex, Stuttle - Essex/London, Wheate - Middlesex/Essex/Coventry/Oxfordshire/Staffs, Gibson - Essex, Wyatt - Essex/Kent

Offline GrahamSimons

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Re: Book creation programs
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday 27 November 18 17:31 GMT (UK) »
Slightly off Topic, but how do you write a family history without it just seeming to be like a long list of dates? My family tree program generates all sorts of reports that I'd like to incorporate, but it all seems so very clinical. I've considered slightly fictionalising it and changing black and white characters into coloured characters so to speak and possibly mentioning local and national contemporaneous events. I'd be interested to hear what other people have done.
Martin
I can appreciate the issue here - I use Family Historian and it will produce reports which can form the basis of writing, but they do need illustrating and developing, particularly when there is more documentary evidence or historical background to add. I've found that adding maps helps - and Google Maps allows you to add all sorts of things to the map, so for example I can show the places great-grandfather served in while in India. I've now accumulated so much that the book is enormous! I've attached a sample page here to show what I've been able to do.
Simons Barrett Jaffray Waugh Langdale Heugh Meade Garnsey Evans Vazie Mountcure Glascodine Parish Peard Smart Dobbie Sinclair....
in Stirlingshire, Roxburghshire; Bucks; Devon; Somerset; Northumberland; Carmarthenshire; Glamorgan

Offline Mart 'n' Al

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Re: Book creation programs
« Reply #7 on: Tuesday 27 November 18 18:04 GMT (UK) »
Good replies.  I hope we get some more as I think they will be of greater interest. 

Martin

Offline clancam37

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Re: Book creation programs
« Reply #8 on: Tuesday 27 November 18 23:44 GMT (UK) »
Hi Martin,
A good question.  Before I wrote my first FT Book considered this question.  I am only a novice, however, to solve this problem I looked at the history of the areas in which ancestors lived and reading History Books and the Web re  Happenings, Wars, conflicts, health -- epidemics, plagues for example.  Who were the leaders, PMs, Presidents, Kings/Queens of the period and where they lived. For example I found a British PM who was assassinated (shot) whilst in Office and this was mentioned in my Book. A very little known fact.
Lastly I examined clothing for some generations and featured pictures/drawings of likely attire my ancestors may have worn given their occupation and position on the social ladder.
Others may have other aspects to make an interesting read.
All the best with your work.
clancam37
Slightly off Topic, but how do you write a family history without it just seeming to be like a long list of dates? My family tree program generates all sorts of reports that I'd like to incorporate, but it all seems so very clinical. I've considered slightly fictionalising it and changing black and white characters into coloured characters so to speak and possibly mentioning local and national contemporaneous events. I'd be interested to hear what other people have done.

Martin