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FAMILY STORIES-4-U |
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You can give this priceless gift to your family. Familystories-4-U makes it possible for you to do exactly this. Familystories-4-U offers you a unique opportunity to tell, record, print, and preserve your family story for future generations. We will interview you, transcribe the interview, scan photos or other memorabilia you provide, and present you with a high-quality, attractive book with a four-color cover. We take your words and present you with the finished product. We will return the tapes to you so you have a voice record also.
Even the mundane and ordinary will be of interest for those who will read your story decades from now. What was it like to grow up without television? indoor plumbing? telephone? How do you go about this process? First, we will conduct a personal interview or a telephone interview, to get acquainted and to determine what direction your interview should take. Later, you will receive an extensive list of questions in advance that will help you remember events from your life and be prepared to discuss topics your family would be interested in. These questions can be as extensive and lengthy as you wish. You decide what you want to share and how long you want the interview to be. You are in control of the interview. The interview will consist of your being asked these questions and your responding. This interview will be taped. The interview can be done either in person or over the phone if you do not live in the Nashville area. After the interview, you will have the opportunity to read and add or delete topics. We will edit the manuscript according to acceptable grammatical standards and index major topics, names, and events.
Pictures can be handled in several ways. You can send them to us by registered mail, and we will scan them and return them unharmed to you. Or if you have the capability to scan them, we can accept your scans. However, they must be scanned at 300 dpi to look good in your family story. Likewise, we can accept digital photographs. But these must be shot at a minimum of 3.5 pixels. Anything less than this will not result in a quality story. How long does it take? From the time you complete the interview, normally we will return the first draft to you in six weeks. The length of time it takes to complete the final book will depend on how long it takes you to read and make corrections. From the time we receive the final approval for the manuscript, we can provide you complete copies in about six weeks. What will my finished book look like? It can look almost like anything you wish. Our experience has shown that 8-by-11-inches is the best size for your book (although other sizes are available if you prefer). This size allows space for photographs to illustrate your comments, and it costs less to print. Your personal history will be printed on quality 60 lb. paper. The inside will be black and white (although color is available if you prefer), and will be completely indexed. The cover will be printed in four-color and will be of card stock. It will be perfect bound (glued). If you want a hard cover, that is available at additional cost. You family story will compare well with any softbound book in any bookstore. How do I pay? We require one-third of the cost at the time the initial contract is signed; one-third at the time you return the corrected manuscript; and one-third before the final books are shipped. What will it cost? Costs for the complete process will vary with the length of the interview. A usual interview lasts two hours. Longer interviews will increase the editing costs as well as the printing costs. But we will work with you to help you achieve exactly what you want to tell in your family story and how you want it to look. The only way we can give you an estimate of the cost is to talk with you and plan what you want to include. Costs will vary from $2,000 to $25,000. Please contact us and we will be glad to give you an estimate. Familystories-4-U is staffed by Jim Taulman who brings 35 years of writing and editorial experience to your family story. He has written and published five books, over a thousand articles, edited numerous religious periodicals and historical journals and materials. His desire to help others do their family story came as he worked on his own story and realized that he was too late to get the stories from his parents so he could pass them on to his children. For twenty-five years he was a pastor, and now he considers this as a continuation of his ministry. How to contact us You can contact us by any the following methods: Jim Taulman E-mail: jetaulman@comcast.net www.familystories-4-u.com
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One
of the most priceless gifts you can give your family is to tell them your
life story and record it for future generations to pass along. Far too
many people wait until it is too late to get this information about
grandparents, parents, or even their own story. To think how priceless
your own family story will be, ask yourself: What would I give to have a
story from my favorite grandparent, parent, or family member of past
generations? What do you think your children or grandchildren would give
to have your story fifty or seventy-five years from now? Your story will
be priceless to them! 
This
is not a genealogical study. Other excellent sites will help you do that.
A hundred years from now, someone can likely trace your genealogy. A
hundred years from now, no one will be able to re-create your family
story. If you have a family tree, this can be included in your family
story, but Familystories-4-U is primarily concerned about helping you
record what life was like as you grew up, went to school, took a job, and
developed your family. What fun stories did you hear your grandparents
tell? What exciting experiences did you have? What tragedies did you
suffer?
How are the pictures
included?