How to make a family history book from your family tree

The parts of the book

Most family history books use the same few building blocks, and each one answers a different question a reader will have.

Cover and contents. The family name, then where each section starts.
Person pages. One page for each person: name, parents, spouses and children, with the dates and places you have. Giving every relative a page number lets a reader jump to them.
Family groups. Each couple with their children in a table, so you can see a whole household at once.
A descendant chart. Boxes and connectors showing who came from whom. On a large family it runs over several pages.
An index of names. Everyone listed by surname with page numbers. It is what turns a stack of pages into a reference book.

Decide who the book is about

Pick a starting person. A Descendants book follows that person's children, grandchildren and onward, which suits a book for one family line. An Ancestors book follows their parents, grandparents and further back. For a whole family, start from its oldest person and choose Descendants.

Start from a GEDCOM file

You do not have to retype your research. Every major family tree site and program can produce a GEDCOM (.ged) file. Here is how to get one:

Check before you share

Look for people who may still be alive. Family books get passed around, so the Kinvolume preview shows possibly living people by name only, with no dates or places, unless you turn that off. Then skim the person pages for gaps: a missing parent or a date in the wrong century is easiest to spot on the page.

Printing

Printed copies are coming soon: an 8.5 x 11 inch hardcover, $49 black and white or $69 colour, shipped in the US. They are not on sale yet.

Then make the book

Open the free preview, choose the .ged file, pick the person the book starts from and choose Descendants or Ancestors. The file is read in your browser and is not uploaded.