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Family Book Creator Workshop

Categories: Family History Books
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About Course

A 5-month virtual workshop that walks you step-by-step through the process of producing a family history book using the Family Book Creator plug-in for Family Tree Maker. Each month you will learn new skills you can put to work before our next monthly session, so that you will have a complete chapter by the end of the workshop — and the tools and confidence to finish the book yourself. See the Course Preview for details and FAQ.

This course is an excellent exploration of the topics explored in Leaving a Legacy: Turn Your Family Tree into a Family Book and its companion workbook. You do not need to purchase them for this course, but they can be helpful. You may also wish to join my Facebook group.

 

Schedule

Presentations will be the first Monday of every month, from September 2024 through January 2025, at 6:00pm Central Time (US) (looking for a time zone converter? Try here). Bonus help sessions will be mid-month, at a time to be determined based on participant time zones, in an effort to make sure everyone has a chance to ask questions live. After enrollment, you can view the calendar on your course dashboard.

All sessions will be live and virtually presented directly on this website via Zoom. Simply click on the presentation link for each month to join the meeting. Recordings of the presentations will be available for the length of the course.

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What Will You Learn?

  • Preparing your Family Tree Maker tree for the process
  • Collecting media to add context and visual flair
  • Customizing your settings in Family Book Creator
  • Deciding what to include in your book and how
  • Choosing how to format and style your book
  • Adding "front matter", like title pages and dedications
  • Writing and incorporating narrative biographies
  • Arranging photos and text on the same page
  • Adding "extras" like word clouds and maps
  • Designing a cover
  • Getting your book printed
  • Sharing your final masterpiece

Course Content

Course Preview
See descriptions of each month's content

Laying the Groundwork: Planning & Research
Our first step is deciding what type of book you want to create, who it will be about, and how you are going to bring it to life. We will talk about cleaning up the applicable branches of your tree in Family Tree Maker before you begin, and fleshing out your research to find the images and stories that will provide context to your tree.

Diving In: The Power of FBC
Putting pen to paper is often the hardest part. Not anymore! I will hold your hand as you get started with Family Book Creator, choosing the settings you need to turn your data into an initial narrative with the click of a button. You can edit it, add to it, or just use it as a reference for your own writing.

Taking it a Step Further: Adding the Extras
Now that your book has a foundation, you can go a little further with some optional add-ons to your book. I will show you how to add things like word clouds, maps, and other images. We’ll also discuss incorporating your own writing (with pictures!) and design ideas.

Finishing Touches: Printing & Distribution
Let’s get this book off of your computer and onto your bookshelf. We will talk about finalizing your book and turning it into a PDF. Then we will step through the process of using print-on-demand publishing using Lulu.com. Finally, we will talk about ways you can share this book with your family.

Let’s Celebrate! Student Showcase
You did it! You created a family history book! It doesn’t have to be perfect; the goal is to gain confidence with the process. During this session, we’ll show our books (optional), celebrate everyone’s progress, and share ideas for future projects. Previous participants remarked on how surprisingly helpful this session was in demonstrating the wonderful variety of what is possible.

Student Ratings & Reviews

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Rebecca Shamblin
Rebecca Shamblin
4 months ago
Reviews from previous participants:

Mary P.: "I loved feeling welcome no matter the experience level. I loved the reassurance that we can do this and that it doesn't have to be perfect. I loved the spacing of the sessions to give us time to absorb the information. I absolutely LOVED the combination of handouts, the Facebook group and the help sessions in between as well as having the videos available to go back and watch again. It really made it feel like I had places to go when I had a question. When I first saw the photos of your book that you shared on one of the Facebook groups I am in, I thought of it as the Cadillac of family history books and if I was lucky, my book would be a Chevette. But now I have confidence to create a book that will be meaningful and beautiful. I learn more by watching and listening over reading so this study group saved me hours and hours of frustrating trying to figure it out myself. You made it all achievable and I will be forever grateful."

Pamela P.: "Your PowerPoints were very informative and helpful. Your willingness to share your work with everyone is very considerate and appreciated so much! I honestly think it was one of the best Study Groups I have been in. That coupled with your Facebook page where the group can post questions and/or pictures of their progress was very helpful and inspiring!"

Susanne H.: "Really appreciated the step-by-step method of working on my family history book. Each class was filled to the brim with details that made my progress easier to follow and helped keep me from making major mistakes."

Stan W.: "I loved that you encouraged us to just do it now, it may not be perfect, but at least there will be a book, which is way more than saying "some day I will make a Family History Book. I also love the method of making the story with text and photos together, this was always my reason for not moving forward. It just never looked professional with a text story followed by a bunch of photos. I am really excited to create an ancestor book for my granddaughter. This will push her to learn more about her mother's Korean family."

Anonymous: "Your enthusiasm for the topic was very evident. Your pace was good and your handling of any and all questions was refreshing. I learned that with a little effort, anyone can create a very good book for others to enjoy."

Mary K: "I learned so much and am so happy with the results that my memory is filled with only positives. If you are having trouble with publishing your family history, take this class. After finishing the class, you will have a book to be proud of, and will know how to publish whatever you want."