Tech Day Spotlight: Publishing a Family History Efficiently with Dina C. Carson, MA

Join us on Saturday, 20 January 2018, for the first-ever SLIG Tech Day. A full day of classes, hands-on workshops and mini-labs being held at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center before SLIG week begins.

 Dina C. Carson, MA will be giving two classes that day. The second one is entitled, "Publishing a Family History Efficiently: The Right Tool for the Right Job", will be held 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM.

From Dina:

Publishing a family history can be an enormous project so why not employ some tools that make the job easier?

When you are just starting a family history, what's the right organizing tool? How you organize your genealogical research is largely a matter of what works for you. However, some organizing tools are better than others for writing a book.

Is there one take away from the planning stage of a book project that will save you an abundance of time and effort later on in the project? Yes, there is. This one key tip is worth hearing this lecture!

Most family histories include images. If you're like me, gathering and preparing the images can be as time consuming as writing the book. Is there an easy way to organize images while you write? Yes, there is.

Many family histories follow a timeline of events. Following a time may be the simplest way to tell your family's story. Are there timeline tools that make writing easier? Yes, there are.

A family history is only as good as the sources used to compile it. Are there some research tools that make including sources in your family history easier? Yes, there are.

Many family histories are written by collaborations between family members. Are there tools that make collaborating on a family history project easier? Yes, there are.

Are there writing tools that makes the job of writing easier? I don't know of any writing tools that will put the words on the page for you, but there are many tools that make the job of writing and editing simpler.

It would be a shame to work so hard to create an incredible family history and then not make it look its very best. Are there tools that make designing and laying out a book easier? Yes, there are.

Every family history requires an index. Are there tools that make indexing a manuscript easier? Thankfully, yes, there are.

The younger generation is much more likely to want to read a family history in an electronic form, than the older generation. Are there tools that make converting a manuscript set up for print to an eBook format easy? Yes, there are.

Are there tools that will make a book interactive? Yes, there are, and they're easier to use than you might think.

Most family historians have boxes of photographs, documents and memorabilia that should be included in a book. Are there tools that make creating a digital files from those objects easy? Yes, there are.

Many old family photos could use some editing or enhancing to make them look their very best. Are there tools that make fixing old photographs easy? Yes, there are.

There are many, many tools available to help creating a fabulous family easier. Come to the lecture on SLIG's Tech Day to find out what they are!

You can register at www.slig.ugagenealogy.org