How important is the layout and design in your history? Watch this short video to see my opinion. Thanks.
Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy
Category: layout
Creating Your History Correctly
“What is the right way to make a book?” is a questions I frequently get asked. Here is a short video response to that. Hope it helps.
Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com
Interviewing Others
I interviewed Tom and Alison Taylor to get some tips about finding life stories about someone who has passed away by interviewing others. It is just a few minutes long so have a listen.
Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com
Uniform Design Elements
Create a sense of unity to your book by adding a few visual elements that you like, and then repeating them throughout. Look through some of your favorite books to see what they have used on their pages, you may get some inspiration. Perhaps a decorative ornament under the heading of each chapter, or a decorative drop cap to start each chapter might give your book a special look.
Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com
Page Layout
Page layout is a term which refers to the way in which text and images are situated on a page. The layout of your manuscript should be adjusted to look exactly the way you want to see it in print. Look at previously bound books for ideas. Check out several family or personal histories to see how they are done. When you see one you like then take note of the headers and footers, where the page number is located, how wide the margins are on each side of the page, and what fonts were used for the titles, text and captions.
Then you can setup your page to the same settings and see if it looks good for your book. If not then make some small adjustments until it is just how you want. This will become the template of your book and make it easier to set up the rest of the book to match. Save this layout as a separate file named something like “Book Template” and as you start a new chapter in a new file then open up a copy of the template so each chapter will match.
Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com
Avoid Reformatting Again
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 PDF files won’t re-flow.
Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com
Orphans and Widows
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 if you do it this way then do it 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
Presenting Genealogy Data in Your Book
Many family history books contain a great deal of genealogy data (names, dates, and places). There are a few different ways to display that information in your book. The first way is to use a family group sheet. This method is convenient for the reader to find the information that they are looking for, but it takes up a lot of room in the book. If you have just a few pages of family group sheets, then you could go ahead and use this method. But if you have more than just a few pages then this could add quite a few pages to you book making it more expensive than it needs to be. Another way to display the data is to put all the information into columns. This works but is difficult to fit all of the columns onto each line and can be hard to follow on the page. The method that I like best is called “modified register.” Many genealogy programs can organize and print the data in this format. This is especially useful for descendants and families. It is very easy to read the information and yet it is compact and fits on the page very well. Here is a sample of what it looks like.
Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com
Help The Reader See How They Fit
A few of the books that we have published have put a small pedigree chart at the beginning of each chapter. I thought that it was a good idea and for certain family histories, might be very useful. I’ll include a picture to demonstrate how this works, but essentially what you do is to create a small pedigree chart that shows the scope of the book. Then you use bold or a gray highlight to indicate where this chapter’s person is on the pedigree chart. It is a helpful way for your reader to be clear about who the person is that this chapter is about and how they fit in the family. I think that this would be extremely useful for families where names are repeated. You could also use this technique with a family group or a descendant chart. It may not work for your book, but I thought it was a good idea.
Here is an example:
Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com
The Layout of Your Book
Cookie cutters are great … for cookies, not for books. Part of the fun and adventure of producing your family history is developing your story the way that you like. Just as every person is unique, each book should be unique. Don’t think that you have to make your book look just like your cousin’s book (even though he is convinced that his way is the only way). The layout and design of your book, where you put the pictures, and the way you organize the information is part of the creativity and uniqueness of your book.
If you are at a loss at how to start, you can get ideas from looking at other printed histories from family, friends or fellow genealogists and see which style you like best. Here are some examples of ways to organize your book: chronologically, by generations, starting with you and working back through ancestors, or just dealing with cousins that are descendants from an ancestor. There isn’t anything wrong with getting opinions and advice from others, but most importantly, don’t be afraid to do it the way that you would like.
Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com