Self-Publishing Your Genealogy

Will anyone ever appreciate the family history you’ve worked so many years to build? We ponder the question, but perhaps it’s the wrong question. Almost certainly, relatives will be born who could appreciate what you have discovered about the family. The question is this: Will they find your work?

Anything that remains locked away in your own home will be of little use to them. Your paper files will not survive natural disasters, and likely will not survive your children’s processing of your estate after your own death.

Interested kinspeople might find your work if you are uploading to a site like Ancestry.com. But we can’t guarantee Ancestry.com will always be there.

If your family history has become a published book, however, there is a hope your kinspeople—the ones who inherited the DNA that predisposes them to love genealogy—will someday find your work there. They might find it in the Library of Congress long after we’re gone–long after the software we used for our genealogical research is obsolete and unreadable.

Fine, you’re thinking. Like I can just get a book published.

Of course you can. You simply need to take your book to the one publisher in the world who really gets what you are trying to do and believes it is worth the investment: YOU.

Oh, that’s not REAL publishing. Is that what you’re thinking? Someone has convinced you that self-publishing is cheating? Or desperate? For losers?

I wonder if Walt Whitman regretted his decision to self-publish Leaves of Grass. Did Edgar Allen Poe have regrets? Mark Twain? Charles Dickens? How about E. L. James? James Redfield?

And then there’s me. My third self-published book is now in the works. I didn’t self-publish because I had no other options. In fact, I work in publishing, and doors are open to me.

I self-published my first book because I wanted to own the process. And I enjoyed the process so much, I self-published my second, which I enjoyed even more. So if I sound like I’m pushing self-publishing with missionary zeal, know this: I believe in owning this power.

So where do we start?

There are many blogs devoted entirely to self-publishing, and I don’t pretend I can cover the subject entirely in a single post. My goal today is to get you to think about the possibility—to ask whether you are ready to take this very exciting leap.

This is your nudge.

Why self-publish, rather than going the traditional route?

Don’t get me wrong. Traditional publishers are doing remarkable work in this world—tough work—and I admire what they produce. But publishers have limitations. They need books that will sell in numbers that can pay for their overhead—buildings, staff, and equipment. They have to invest upfront money to print and store books. They’re always looking for the book that can cover what they lost on the books that are not selling in their catalog. They need books that bookstores and libraries are going to lap up.

Very few publishers are going to be willing to publish The History of the Mayberrys of Bibb County, Alabama, 1830–1865. They are not equipped to find the “Mayberry market.” 

You are far more able to locate the people who might want that book.  And you can operate lean. You probably already have the software you need. You probably have an internet connection. And if you use the publishing environment that has worked for me—Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)—you won’t have to print and store books. They will print a book “on demand,” after someone buys it, and send you a royalty.

I won’t promise you there’s a fortune in it, and I doubt most of you are looking for that. You’re more concerned that you don’t lose money. And you don’t have to.

How much does self-publishing cost?

It’s possible to publish a book for nearly free. With a publishing environment like KDP, you don’t have to invest anything up front, except a few dollars for a proof copy. There may be services you want to pay someone else to do—so the price tag goes up from free—but it’s up to you.

The costs depend on these factors:

• Do you have the skills to create and package the book?
• If not, are you willing and able to learn the skills?
• If not, can or will you recruit friends or family to do things you don’t know how to do?
• Or, can or will you hire out the work to skilled people?

The further down the list you get, the higher the price might go. Here are some recent estimates of the costs of hiring out the work: https://blog.reedsy.com/cost-to-self-publish-a-book/ .

Just remember, the more you spend, the more books you’ll need to sell to cover your costs. And YOU are the seller. Don’t expect your book’s presence on Amazon to sell it.

But here’s a secret we all need to know. Traditional publishers have a very hard time selling your book without you, too. They’ll tell you…if you want your book to sell, you need to get out there and talk to people about the book. So you’re the seller, either way.

What are the steps to self-publish?

The degree of skills needed to do the tasks below depends on what level of complexity and quality you demand of your book. If your main interest is in just making your research available to family members, and you don’t care if it’s fancy or perfect, and you don’t care about selling it, you might be able to do the book with little help. Simple text, simple cover, simple description, posted under the KDP label. Done.

The basic tasks of self-publishing through KDP are these:

• Write the book. (I use Microsoft Word.)
• Edit the book to correct errors and refine the text. (If you’re weak at writing, you might want to hire someone here.)
• Design/format the book. (I use Microsoft Word.)
• Add any images. (I prepare images in Photoshop, but there are simpler and less-expensive tools available, like Canva.)
• Design a cover. (KDP has a basic cover creator tool, if you’re OK with a formula look. I use Microsoft Publisher, because I’m not OK with formula.)
• Complete the information required by KDP, including the sales information that will appear on Amazon. Pick your price and sales keywords.
• Upload the cover and manuscript, adhering to KDP’s specifications, and make any changes if it is kicked back.
• Order a proof copy, make any changes, and submit it finally for publication.

That’s it. Your book is on the market!

Is self-publishing really that simple?

It’s relatively simple at the high level, yes, but not always easy. There are any number of ways you can expand and complicate the process in the details—and the extra work can be worth it. Here are some things you might do:

• Rather than letting KDP be listed as your publisher, you put your own business name on the book (as I have). This does add a cost—purchasing an ISBN, which is pricy when not bought in bulk—$125 at present. And if you are establishing a business that is not your name, there are usually government regulations to work through.
• If you want your book considered for inclusion with the Library of Congress, you will need to apply for a Preassigned Control Number.
• If you want a lot of images in your book, especially if you want them layered on top of each other or including fancy graphics, book design can be tricky. You also cannot get layered things to pass KPD’s approval process intact. The layering has to be done in another software package and exported as a “flat file.” (I recommend keeping your images simple, unless you are experienced with graphics or have help from someone who is.)
• If you want a hard-back book or want specialty paper, you will need to pick another option than KDP, which does paperback on cream or white paper. Check Barnes and Noble Press, if you want a hard-cover book or unusual colors or types of paper.
• You may want to turn your book into a Kindle book or one of many other e-book options. KDP offers Kindle options, and you can check Smashwords for other possibilities.
• The list could go on and on, depending on what you want your book to be. Learning to make money at self-publishing is another skill set in itself, but valuable, once you have a book with reasonable market potential.

How to learn more about self-publishing

Self-publishing books, blogs, podcasts, videos, classes, services, and consultants are available in huge quantities. Google the word “self-publishing” and, as of today, 653 million entries will come up. The answers to every question are available—as is every variation on the answer.

My recommendation is that you start with Kindle Direct Publishing’s Help Center page. The Community on that page answers most questions the main documentation does not.

I know it must seem overwhelming at first. But know this. Many of us have managed to do this, and most do not have publishing experience. You will be stretching your skills and knowledge, but it’s a delicious stretch.

For a genealogist, here’s the further beauty of it. You upload the book to Amazon, and it’s available to anyone who wants your family story. And rather than you mailing information or emailing it, as we’ve done to kinspeople forever, they order it shipped to their address, or download the Kindle, at their expense.

Give it some thought. And if you have questions or want to share your own experiences, please comment below.

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