There are many details to consider before you are ready to publish your history. A title is important and can add interest, a hook to entice family members to read your bio. Is there a theme to your life? My biography’s title was “The Journey called ‘Life.’” A title or theme can help you tie in together the various chapters of your life and aid you to come to a conclusion at the end. Be creative in how you title your history, so it will motivate others to want to read it. Any nicknames or other unique qualities that make you “you” can be used. Also giving an indication of location and dates helps, if your history ever ends up in a library. In the case of my ancestor’s family histories I use their name, dates and places. i.e. “Our Icelandic Ancestors: Vilborg Thordardottir (1831-1924) Immigrant to Spanish Fork, Utah in 1874.” Just the title tells you lots about the subject of this history.
My husband’s title was “Bert Allen Floyd Jr: From Texas to Exploring the Wild West.” Of course a photo on the cover page can help create interest. I found clipart of the Alamo to illustrate hubby’s cover. On my cover I had a photo of me as a baby then one of me as a grandmother with my twin grand daughters as babies, showing my journey through life. Like any book, a cover can give a hint of what lies inside and entice the reader to look inside.
Photos are so important especially in a family history not just for covers, but throughout your story. Putting a caption under your pictures helps others not familiar with your family to know who the individuals are and their location. If you have few photos, take some or search online for historical photos. Most states have historical societies and you can contact them online or in person to purchase copies of interesting old pictures to add to your history. Be sure to always get permission to publish them and give credit in your history to all sources of unique photos. Taking your own photos can be done by visiting birthplaces and old homesteads, if they are still exist.
You are now editing as you add photos, certificates and other interesting visual images to your history. This is a good time to re-look at the beginning and ending of your story and make any changes.