I'm planning on writing out my family history in a book with information about the times/places they lived in and reasons why they immigrated and things like that. I'm trying to figure out how a format for doing this. I would like the book to include all information on my ancestry. I was thinking for the first chapter, I would make it entirely on my family. For my second chapter I would have an entire chapter on my dad and his family growing up and then that would include my dad's brothers and sisters and their children (aunts, uncles, and cousins). Then I would do the same for my mom's side. After that I would make a chapter for each of my grandparents and then after that a chapter for each of my great grandparents that would include all of their ancestry. Please, if have you written a family history book yourself share the details on how you did it and how it turned out. (did a lot of people read it, how long did you spend writing it, did people think it a good read, etc.) Well, I'm not writing this to make money. I am writing for the different people in my family who are interested about learning about our family. I was thinking if I just did both my mom and dad's families in the same book, I could just tell my relatives which chapters they could read that will be about their ancestors.

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I have not written one, but I have read enough of them to know something. Your book is very ambitious. I expect it will be a long one. I have read smaller books that concentrate on specific surnames. I think you should divide this book into smaller books. You could still have the same first chapter in all of them and then write about one of the surnames and the allied families. I have a few books that are like that and it makes more sense. If these books were rolled into one, then it would have cost too much. These books cost only only a few dollars this way. One person wrote a book about one specific surname and that was it. It went back to one common ancestor and branched out to about 5 or 6 generations. I feel that is the best way to present one surname, but doing it your way might work too starting with your parent's generation. All I can say is good luck. My first book will start not with a surname, but a location where the families eventually all came together. Addition - It now makes sense that you are writing it for family. However, consider too that there might be long lost relatives that might enjoy your research. However, since it is your goal for family, then write it the way you mentioned. I still say divide into at least two parts, so each side can enjoy it, but it is still your decision. I hope it turns out fine. Writing history books can be tough. Good luck and enjoy the writing.

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I have not written one either, but I have read several that others in my family have done. How you do it depends a lot on how many people you have information on. If both your parents come from families that have a lot of children by everyone in every generation, you may want to do two separate books- one for your mother's family and one for your father's family. If a lot of the families you will be writing about are small (only one, two or three children), I think you could write just one. The idea of doing a chapter on your immediate family, then one on each of your parents, and so on, I think is a good idea. My cousin did it the opposite way when she wrote about the Poores. She started with the three brothers who came to Canada as boys, and traced their lines down to the present. She followed each one, from the oldest to the youngest, in turn so her book had only about four or five chapters-one for each of the Poore boys, and a couple for little information she had on their half brothers and sisters and their descendants. She had been able to contact many members of the family, and had obtained pictures that she was able to have in the book. This made it much more interesting. Good luck in your endeavor.