Author: Chris Stevenson

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Deadlines #2

This is a repeat of a post I did last December. It is so important that I feel like I should repeat it.

This time of year, I am reminded of the importance of deadlines as well as the lack of importance of deadlines. That my sound a little funny, so let me explain. First, I think that it is common knowledge that we need deadlines to push us over the top to finish projects. A couple of examples that I can think of is how many sports teams really push hard to get ahead in the last two minutes of a game. And how students study extra hard and long just before a final test. We definitely need deadlines to help us.
But there is another side of deadlines when it comes to publishing a family history. Every year I have some people ask me when is the last date that they can finish writing it and have it published for Christmas. We discuss the different deadlines and then I usually say something like this, "I just want to remind you that it is wonderful to have you book completed for Christmas, but your book will be around for a hundred years and so it is more important to have it just right than to meet a deadline." This is wisdom that I learned from my father. He used deadlines to help propel him forward, but he never cut corners. Maybe that is the perfectionist in him.
Keeping deadlines in their proper perspective is so important as we do these very large projects, like writing and publishing a family history. Use Christmas, a family reunion, or other occasion as a deadline to work towards, but remember that your book will be treasured for years to come. Make it a legacy that you will be happy with and not one full of regrets.
Chris Stevenson   cs@sgenealogy.com    www.sgenealogy.com

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Thanksgiving

I am so grateful to be involved with so many wonderful people in preserving and sharing personal and family histories. I feel very blessed to have the job that I do where we make people happy every day. I love my job. Thanks for making it possible to do what I love.

Here is something to think about as you spend time with your family. Last week, one of my good friends told me his number one regret is that he didn’t sit down with his parents and get a record of their life stories. All he has of his father’s history is three paragraphs that he wrote many years ago. As you visit with relatives during this busy time of year, take the time to ask about and record their stories. You won’t regret it. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Chris Stevenson  cs@sgenealogy.com  www.sgenealogy.com

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Hooks and Sinkers

Making the story interesting isn’t just for novels, it is important for family histories, too. One of the main reasons that we write and publish personal and family histories is so that others will read them. If they are dry and boring then few people will enjoy reading them. But if we go the extra step and create curiosity and interest, then others won’t be able to put the book down. One of the best ways to create interest at the beginning of each story or chapter is to write a sentence or two that will hook the reader. These are easiest to write after the story is all typed and you are reading through it again. Look for something unusual in the story that you can refer to at the very beginning. You can even put it in question form like, “Did you know that grandpa was in Paris at the same time as grandma, but they were both with someone else?” So, look to add a “hook” at the beginning of each story so they won’t “sink” to the bottom of the reading pile.

Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com www.sgenealogy.com

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Family Photo Calendars

Each fall I start thinking about calendars for the coming year. Many years ago I started making photo calendars with family pictures and birthdays on them. Then I saw an idea that I really liked, it was to add the birthdays of ancestors to the calendar. That way I am reminded of my ancestors on their special days and I find that I think about them more during the year. Several genealogy programs can print out calendars with the birthdays inserted so all you have to do is add the pictures to the pages. (I use RootsMagic 4.) If you don’t like the formatting of the calendars that your software prints out, you can transfer the names to a preferred layout. We make hundreds of photo calendars each year for people and we would love to help you if you don’t have a source already. (click here)

Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com www.sgenealogy.com

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Grammar Checking

Even the best of writers have particular grammatical weaknesses in their writing that need to be corrected before their books are printed. If your word-processor has a grammar checker, it is a great idea to use it before you finalize your book. It will help you spot potential problems like over-long sentences, awkward syntax, missing verbs, and other errors. The latest versions of Word have very good grammar checkers which I find very helpful. One warning, just because the word processor suggests it, don’t accept it on face value because they don’t work with certain technical manuscripts. But even with their limitations they can be a very helpful tool. Keep writing!

Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com www.sgenealogy.com

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Reflow Problems

When transferring files from one computer to another, it sometimes changes the page layout of the book. The most common problem is called text re-flow. Re-flow is the sliding or shifting of text and pictures from the page that you had them on to a different page. Different font settings for various printers are usually the cause of this shifting, but there are other software reasons also. Sometimes the typist may insert several hard returns to finish a page and move to the next chapter instead of using a hard page break at the bottom of the page. Hard page breaks are inserted by positioning the cursor at the bottom of the page and pressing the Ctrl and Enter keys together. It is highly recommended that this be done when you reach the end of a chapter or want some extra white space at the bottom of a page. Hard page returns are not necessary when submitting a PDF file because PDFs won’t re-flow.

Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com www.sgenealogy.com

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Happy Anniversary

It was one year ago that I started this blog. I had several people suggest to me that I record many of the tips that I have learned over the 30+ years that I have worked on family histories. So from those suggestions came these helpful tips. My passion is to help people record and share their life stories; therefore my hope is that this blog has been helpful to you.

Keep reading and I’ll keep writing.

Chris Stevenson  cs@sgenealogy.com  www.sgenealogy.com

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Hyphenation Howlers

If your book is done in columns or with a small page size, then it is usually better to hyphenate words. Your right hand margin will be more even and your page layout will look better. Most word processors will automatically hyphenate words for you, but you need to proofread your book carefully to be sure that the hyphen didn’t end up in an unfortunate place. There are a few words that when split in the wrong place make two separate words, like ‘the-rapist’ and ‘thin-king’. While these “howlers” could be funny to some people, they could be upsetting to others. It is better to be safe than sorry, so look for the hyphenation howlers before you approve that final proof copy.

Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com www.sgenealogy.com

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Widows and orphans

In laying out your pages, avoid creating paragraphs which start on the last line of a page or which finish on the first of the next. These isolated lines of text are called ‘widows and orphans’. The solution to this problem is to set your word processor to control the number of lines on a page so as to push the text forward (turn on the widows and orphans feature). You can also move the paragraph to the next page manually, but do this last thing before you publish the book. It will leave an extra-large gap at the bottom of a page but that will look better than an isolated single line of text.

Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com www.sgenealogy.com

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Chapter Titles

Your chapter titles should stand out on the page. It will make it easier for someone flipping through your book to find the chapter they are looking for as well as add a visually appealing layout to your book. Select a font that is relatively easy to read, but is different from the body font. Don’t go too crazy with the font for your chapter titles, you want them to add to the appeal of your book, not be distractive. Newspapers usually use San-serif fonts for the headlines and serif fonts (like this font) for the text. (Click Here for Wikipedia about serifs.)

Here are some samples of pages that I like:

CooperKeithChap

HamiltonMelvinChap

Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com www.sgenealogy.com