Family history research, boosted by computers and the Internet, has become one of our most popular hobbies. Thousands of Kiwis are afflicted by the bug – researching their wider families; joining family history societies; digging around libraries, archives and museums; and spending countless hours in front of computers checking out ancestors, lives and times, from Bluff to Birmingham and beyond.
For some people, research is the main point of it all. They publish very little, but enjoy many years of fascinating detective work and social interaction. For other people, research is the means to an end product: a book, or at least a booklet or two.
John MacGibbon is a professional writer and publisher, and in "Your Family's History" he passes on valuable tips and strategies gleaned from his own research, writing and publishing journey, as well as his work with other authors. It is expanded from talks he gave at the National Library of New Zealand in 2009.
This book is a general guide really ... the principles included are applicable to anyone worldwide, but as this is published by a New Zealand publisher, all of the examples relate to records in New Zealand, so for that purpose it is a good guide on websites and records that are available for New Zealand.
Contents:
Part 1. Doing the research
- Your family and other people
- New Zealand Society of Genealogists
- Family history societies
- Genealogy courses
- Libraries and archives
- Researching on the Web
- Special interest internet groups
- Books and journals
- Genealogy software
- Supporting acts: backing up, a blogsite and 'Evernote'
Part 2. Writing the book and sorting out the graphics
- Limit your horizons ... really
- What will confuse or bore your readers?
- Footnotes and bibliographies
- Plan your book content
- Assemble and sort your research material and notes
- Obtain and prepare your graphics
- Getting down to writing
- Do an index - please!
- Publishing a separate family tree
Part 3. Publishing and promoting your book
- Doing it yourself
- Using an established publisher
- Promoting and selling your book
Index
