Hopefully, Donna Branch’s guest post last week inspired you to consider writing a legacy book. Pursuing a legacy project is as much about the journey as the product. I experienced this firsthand when I helped my parents write their memoir. I discovered more about my family’s story through the process, especially as we interviewed the older relatives from my great-uncle and my grandma. Helped me to better understand myself hearing what my relatives experienced that helped shape my parents and other family members.
Whether you want to write a full-length memoir or a shorter legacy book, the steps are similar.
Fourteen steps to write a family legacy book.
- Tell supportive family members about the project. Get them on board, so they can help you.
- Create a timeline for starting and finishing the project. This will help you stay on track. Even if you miss the deadline, just make another one that’s reasonable. You could post updates to family members about your progress if that’ll help you stay accountable.
- Find Your Hook. What in your legacy book represents your family’s unique identity? This is important to showcase. For my parents, it was their commitment to Christ that served as the primary hub.
- Make an outline. Write all the important topics you want to cover in the book. For example, each chapter could represent a family branch within the larger family tree.
- Curate your content. Depending on how you organize the outline, see what information you have and what you will need. You might not need to gather any information on your immediate family but need to for your aunt and uncle, grandparents, or parents. Then make a separate list of information you need from each family unit.
- Make an interview list. Make a list of people you need to interview and give a priority to each person. Contact them in order and schedule interviews.
- Write the book. This is fun because you can take the material and breathe life into the vignettes, anecdotes, and memories collected. They’ll have their own meaning that’s usually deeper than what you expected.
- Ask family members to read the first draft. Give beta readers a deadline for providing feedback and edits. Often, they’ll provide more details to important stories or add another important story or information you missed in the first draft.
- Make any necessary edits after the family provides feedback. Keep in mind that this is your project, so you are at the driver’s seat. You don’t have to follow every suggestion or edit your family provides. You make the ultimate decision. And be sensitive if a family member asks you to omit certain stories or information. You might confide in your trusted family members to provide a sounding board, feedback, and advice to help you navigate issues with other members.
- Submit draft to a professional editor or a grammar ninja. Once you’ve made edits after your family’s feedback, you want to get the manuscript into someone’s hands for editing. (Our eyes get so acquainted with the manuscript, they can overlook grammatical errors. Best to let fresh eyes review it.) If you’re considering publishing this book commercially, I recommend hiring a professional editor. If this is solely for your family, might ask a family member who’s the grammar ninja in the family (or ask a few to edit for you).
- Collect pictures. Make this fun as you contact your family members. Could make a contest where the first relative who submits the pictures first, or the most pictures, gets the first copy of the book when finished. Give everyone a deadline for submitting pictures.
- Make a book cover. Get creative. Maybe use a group picture from a family reunion, or display a family heirloom piece, or an object that serves as a metaphor representing the family or the hook.
- Publish the content. You could create an ebook, physical book, or combination. If it’s just for the family, then might not be unnecessary to upload an online or sell in a physical bookstore. You have many self-publishing options available. (All depends on the book format, your budget, time, and expertise.)
- Celebrate with family! Celebrate at a family reunion and provide copies. (Yes, we will gather in larger groups one day.)
Helpful tips:
- Be Organized. I kept all interviews, images, and the manuscript on my laptop. Whenever I’d interview my parents or a relative, I kept the content in one file on my laptop. The only minor hiccup was when I accidentally spilled water on my laptop. I lost one hour-long interview on my computer, but thankfully, I had stored the remaining interviews on a cloud. I was diligent to keep anything written like my dad’s five-page notes and written stories in a file folder. And if family members provide written letters, journal entries, or their memories on a note, keep those items from each relative in their own file so you can return to them.
- Backup your content. If using software on your computer or saving interviews on your computer, save everything in a separate location such as an external drive or on a cloud server. This is precious content, so always error on the side of caution and have backups.
- Lean into the journey. It’s inspiring and fun to discover the stories and lessons you learn when writing this book. This is a personal book, so allow yourself to absorb anything that touches you, concerns you, or teaches you something. Share these with a family member to give more voice to what you’re learning. Or maybe journal if you don’t want to share.
Do you have questions about any of these steps? If so, please share in Comments below. Thank you.
Featured Image by congerdesign from Pixabay