Set yourself up for success with your next—or first—family history book project by answering four pre-planning questions before you begin. The post Top 4 Decisions to Make Before Starting Your Family History Book Project appeared first on The Creative Family Historian ..read more

Unlock the secrets to pre-purchase product description reviews to ensure you’re buying family history templates that you’ll love to use. The post 5 Simple Questions to Ask Before You Buy Any Family History Templates appeared first on The Creative Family Historian ..read more

Is your genealogy admin process all over the place, leaving you feeling like you spend more time trying to find your notes than you do on research? I’ve been there. I even bought the same certificate three times only to discover that all purchases were a waste of money because I already had a copy. […] The post How to Solve the Mystery of Your Out-of-Control Genealogy Admin appeared first on The Creative Family Historian ..read more

“I can’t write my family history stories because…” How would you finish that statement? Would it be that you can’t write your family history stories because you: Aren’t creative or a writer Don’t know where to start Have research discoveries but no stories Are overwhelmed by what’s required. Or maybe it’s all the above? You aren’t alone. Each of those points is something that thousands of family historians think or say when they contemplate writing their family history stories. I get it. Writing about your ancestors is a lot. You have to leave your happy place of digging through the archives ..read more

It’s easier than ever to produce a family history book. Not only are there many layout apps to choose from, but you can do everything without leaving your house. That includes printing in some cases. The downside is there isn’t anyone to help with production tips or suggestions. Until now. Because today I’m sharing tips on what to do before printing your family history. Read more on layout apps for creating your family history: 7 Apps for Creating Your Family History Books Why production tips matter A friend has been hard at work, compiling a family history for his Mum’s 80th birthday. He’s us ..read more

First of all, family history writing prompts are not new. Nor are they a secret weapon that will do the work for you. However, they are a tool that can make it easier to complete the first draft of your family history. Let me set the scene for you. Family historians have skills. A lot of skills. And many of those have to be learnt as a part of their genealogy journey. Something no one tells you when you set out to discover your ancestor’s story. You need to learn to be a researcher, analyst, historian, interpreter, translator and archivist, just to name a few. But you aren’t done yet. When it ..read more

Let’s talk about Family History templates and why you must complete a pre-purchase review before buying one. When it comes to family history templates, people typically consider how something looks first, the cost second and then the software compatibility and functionality. Sometimes the last two aren’t considered at all. And it’s not that they aren’t essential criteria; they are. However, people aren’t always aware of what they need to look at or ask to ensure they’re purchasing something that is the right fit for their needs. Templates are often low-cost purchases, but it’s still frustratin ..read more

Is your genealogy admin process all over the place, leaving you feeling like you spend more time trying to find your notes than you do on research? I’ve been there. I even bought the same certificate three times only to discover that all purchases were a waste of money because I already had a copy. For years, I resisted creating genealogy admin processes and implementing systems because I thought they were a waste of time. I believed I’d also be able to remember everything I needed to. Well, that turned out to be a costly lesson. I turned my hot mess non-system into something that saves me tim ..read more

A popular question to pop up in my inbox is when do you have enough information to start to write your ancestors stories. Is one discovery enough? Two? Ten? And this is family history that we’re talking about. We both know that when it comes to genealogy research you don’t always know when you’ll find out something new. So maybe you’ll discover more — a lot more — and it certainly feels like you’re hot on the trail of some incredible stories. Plus time is precious. You don’t want to waste energy and effort writing engaging anecdotes that need to be rewritten because you discovered the importan ..read more

3 Tricks to Deal with Microsoft Word Styles Hey, do styles in Microsoft Word confuse you and seem to have a mind of their own? You keep applying — and reapplying — the style, but nothing changes, yet it still doesn’t look quite right. You’re the first to put your hand up and say you don’t understand styles. But no one else seems to either, so maybe this is just a case of it is what is. Therefore the only choice you have is to shrug your shoulders, pretend you don’t see the problem and just move on, right? Nope, not at all. You can quickly and easily see what is happening with your Microsoft Wo ..read more