The Many Faces of E-books and Self-Publishing

Posted on June 5, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

Yesterday I talked about printed books. Today lets jump into e-books. There are so many e-book formats and it is rather overwhelming. But I came across this article, “3 General types of eBooks”, that brings some order to the confusion. If you divide e-books into groups by function you have:

basic: this is an e-book in its simplest form, basically just an electronic version of a print book
embedded: this type of e-book can have sound, video and animation as part of the content
interactive: this is the ultimate type of e-book, more of an app than a book in many ways.

So how does all this effect your decisions in creating your own story project? I would think that many book story projects could easily been converted into basic e-books. There are many cost and sharing advantages to this. In its simplest form exporting your finished book to a pdf document takes just a few seconds in most software that you have created your book in. This works great for view the book on a computer but not so great for tablets or e-readers. This is where things get more complicated. You will need to pick an e-book format depending on what platform your book will be read on.

Doing an embedded e-book means developing more content than a printed book. You will want to add sound and or video etc. While an interactive e-book takes a whole new set of skills to complete. Not suitable for a first story project or even a second unless you already have the knowledge or the resources to tackle that project.

For “My Grandma Mary” book, I plan to publish it as a basic pdf e-book shortly after the print version is available. Then I want to figure out how to format it for the iPad, Kindle and Nook. I know that Blurb has an option to publish your book to iPad for a fee. I’ll have to look into that too. Part of that project may be adding some interactive elements such as sound and links on the hidden images. I’m excited to learn about how to do this and I’ll be sure to share it here.

What are your feelings on the shift from print to e-books? Do you have an e-book story project in mind?

Printing Options for Publishing Your Story Project Book

Posted on June 4, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

So you have decided that your story project will be a book and you’re really excited about it and ready to take the next step. Pause for just a moment and think about how you are going to publish your finished book. There are more options for publishing a book than ever before. Here are the main ones that I can think of:

traditional – usually one place for printing another for binding
print on demand – on-line
local copy center
self printing from your computer with your printer

Each option has advantages and disadvantages and each one has requirements that you will want to keep in mind as you begin your story project. One of the most important reasons to decide which route you are taking is so that you will know what size and file format requirements your choice will have so you don’t end up with some unexpected glitch near the end of your story project. I won’t go into great detail here on each one but just give some of the pros and cons of each option.

Traditional Printing:

I don’t have direct personal experience with using a traditional printer but I’ve some indirect knowledge and what I learned in college. If you are wanting to print a large number of books upfront it is an option that should be considered. My books so far have a very limited audience so this hasn’t been a consideration. It might be an option for “My Grandma Mary” in the near future.

Pros:

low-cost per book
fully customizable

Cons:

print a large number of books to be cost-effective
slow turn around

Print On Demand

This is a great option for most story project books. There are lots of print on demand companies. My favorite is Blurb, but I haven’t tried all of them. The quality varies and the options vary from company to company so check around and find one that fits your needs and understand the size and format requirements. Print on demand sites are not flexible on how your files are uploaded to their servers.

Pros:

small number of books
quick turn around

Cons:

higher cost per book
limited number of options

Local Copy Center

Depending on your story project the local copy center might be a good alternative if you are doing a project in a standard letter-size format and are happy with the binding options they have. Don’t assume that this will be you.

Pros:

quick turn around
local business

Cons:

lower quality binding options
variability in knowledge, quality and cost

Self-Printing:

This is how I did the first few books I published for my family. It was a good way for me to get started but between the cost of the ink and the number of hours I spent baby sitting my printer I wouldn’t do it again unless it is for a project which is small in the number of pages and the number of books. A neighbor has told me about retrofitting his printer with a continuous ink supply system that I’m anxious to hear more about. It cuts the cost of printing from home dramatically. I’ll let you know when I learn more about it.

Pros:

total control

Cons:

binding options
not usually cost-effective
time intensive

There is no single printing option that is right for all story project books. So look at each project and pick the option that makes the best sense for that story project. Just make sure that you look at the options at the earliest stages of the story project.

What printing options have you used in the past? Do you have any words of advice for others?

Adjectives for Focus

Posted on May 30, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

Making a list of adjectives that describe what you want your finished story project to be can help you stay focused on the desired outcome. Think of the words not only as guides but also as inspiration as you move forward with your project. It would be a great to post your list of adjectives where you can see them and remember why you are doing your story project. You could add sketches or pictures or anything that helps to communicate the feelings you want your project to generate in those you will share it with.

Using “My Grandma Mary” again as an example, here are a list of adjectives for what I hoped to do:

appealing (I wanted it to draw the child into the story)
accurate (I wanted it be true to the known facts)
ageless (I hoped to appeal to many age groups for many years to come)
appropriate (I wanted the information shared to take into account the age of the target audience)
courageous (I wanted the courage of Mary and the other pioneer to be felt)
determined (I wanted the reader to understand that it took determination to reach Utah)
grandmotherly (I wanted the reader to relate to Mary Taylor as if she were their own grandma)
happy (I wanted the happy times of Mary’s life and journey to be present too)
hopeful (I wanted the kids to know that they can have hope even when things are at their worst)
hungry (I wanted them to understand how very hungry she was)
inspirational (I wanted Mary’s story to inspire them)
short (I wanted to keep the story short and easily read in a few minutes)
spiritual (I wanted the reader to feel Mary’s testimony)
thankful (I wanted the reader to feel Mary’s gratitude despite the trials of her life)

Another thing to keep in mind as you start on a new story project is who the intended audience is. With “My Grandma Mary” I kept in mind that I wanted it to most appealing for kids between 5 and 10 years old. Remembering this helped with many important decisions along the way.

Try making an adjective list about a new story project or one that you are already working on and see if the process is helpful for you.

The Many Mediums of a Story Project (tellingfamilytales.com)
My Grandma Mary

The Many Mediums of a Story Project

Posted on May 29, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

Let’s say that you’ve narrowed down your story project and have a good idea of what you want to do and why you want to do this story project, the next big question is what medium to do want to use to tell this story?

I’ll use my great-great-grandmother, Mary Taylor again as an example. I knew I wanted to do a story project about her and I had decided that I wanted to focus on her journey from England to Utah with the Martin Handcart company. I also knew that I wanted to do something that would be appealing to kids. I figured that if it was approachable for kids, adults would take time to learn about Mary Taylor too.

So looking at the 100 story projects post, and narrow it down. My first run through I deleted things that weren’t about her journey. That got me down to about 40 Then I deleted those that would not be very appealing to children. That took off about 20 more. Next I looked again at which ones would really tell the story of her journey and not just aspects of her experience and would appeal to kids ages 5 to 10. That got me down to the following list:

make a story book with illustration of Mary’s childhood and journey to Zion (did that – it is so close to being ready to publish)
make that story book into an ebook
make that story book into an enhanced ebook with sound etc.
make that story book into a video with narration and background music
make a coloring book about Mary’s life (I could probably adapt the illustrations from “My Grandma Mary” for this)
design surprise balls that tell a story about Mary Taylor
make puppets to act out stories from Mary Taylor’s life
make a video of the puppet show
put together a story box about Mary Taylor

Looking at this more focused short list you could do some more brainstorming and ask yourself are there some different media that I could use to expand this list. Here are some extra ideas that come to mind:

make an animated video using claymation or other media
make paper dolls for the characters in Mary’s story
instead of having an adult illustrate the book have a child or children draw the images after learning about Mary’s story

The first five could be grouped together, because in completing the first one (make a story book), much of the work is already done for the next three. It is sharing it and enhancing it in different ways. Using different media. In some ways the story box could be the final end of several story projects about Mary Taylor all with the goal in mind of creating a story box about her life and/or her journey to Utah in 1856. The box could contain the story book and/or ebook, video etc, a coloring book, puppets and a script or scripts to perform or a video, and a surprise ball as a kind of summary of Mary’s story and trinkets to remind the kids what they learned about their ancestor. That would be really cool.

I didn’t make this list when I started the story book about Mary’s journey, but if I had I would then need to choose which story project to do first. The story box would be out because it is more appropriate as a long-term goal. Someone with more experience with puppets and script writing might pick that as a first project. But since my experience is mainly with books I would probably still pick that as my first project. Even the color book idea is a natural extension of the story book. If I was more comfortable with video that could be the starter project and then the book would be taken from still of the video. There are lots of options and mediums. Which one or ones you choose depends on you, your talents, your interests and your resources. The story book project turned out to be perfect for me because my niece was on board to illustrate it.

Does this example help you to see how to take a long list that you have brainstormed and narrow it down. There is not one right answer for a story project. Follow your intuition and move forward. This can be a fun process so let it inspire you. Then keep that vision alive as you take the many steps to complete your story project.

I’ve been inspired by this brainstorming exercise, I hope you have too. Now it is time for you to do something similar for your next story project!

100 Story Project Ideas (tellingfamilytales.com)

100 Story Project Ideas

Posted on May 28, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

There are so many types of story projects. Let’s use one of my projects as an example. Many months ago I decided I wanted to learn more about my great-great-grandmother, Mary Taylor and share some of that with my family. This has lead to several story projects about her that I’ve already done and many more that I would like to do. I’m sure there are even more that I haven’t even thought of yet. Let’s see how many different story projects I can come up with about Mary Taylor:

go to Martin’s Cove for a hands on experience (did that)
make a video from our experience in Martin’s Cove
make a simple book to share with family about her life and her journey with the Martin handcart company (did that)
build a handcart replica
live for one day or even one meal on the rations that the Martin Handcart company had
reenact the journey of the Martin Handcart company from its start in Liverpool England to its arrival in the Salt Lake Valley
build a diorama of Coton-on-the-Elms
build a model of the ship Horizon
follow the journey of the Martin Handcart company day by day in 1856 (did that)
make a serial graphic novel based on the experiences of the hardcart pioneers
share it to coincide with Mary’s journey to Zion
travel to England the area that Mary grew up
write about my experiences and share it with my family
use google earth to take a virtual journey to Mary’s birthplace
use google earth to follow Mary’s journey with the Martin Handcart company
make it into a video to share with others
using google earth create a virtual scavenger hunt about Mary’s life and the places she has been
make a story book with illustration of Mary’s childhood and journey to Zion (did that – it is so close to being ready to publish)
make that story book into an ebook
make that story book into an enhanced ebook with sound etc.
make that story book into a video with narration and background music
using family members make a video about Mary Taylor
make a music video with Mary favorite song “The Handcart Song”
learn the Mary’s childhood song “In the Merry Green Fields of Oland” similar to “Old McDonald“
make an illustrated video of “In the Merry Green Fields of Oland”
make an illustrated children’s book inspired by “In the Merry Green Fields of Oland”
create a board game inspired by the handcart pioneers
learn and then teach how to play the game “Going to Zion”
learn to make simple toys from Mary’s time and share them with my family
make a video game inspired by the experiences of the handcart pioneers
Gather photos of all the known possessions of Mary Taylor and put them into a book form to share with family, including stories about each item
also share that book as an ebook
learn about cooking in the late 19th century in England and Utah
make how to videos to share what I learn
make a cookbook with recipes that Mary probably cooked
learn homemaking skills for the late 19th century
learn about dressmaking in the 1850s
learn about the French surge dress we have that Mary made
create a modern-day pattern for her dress
create craft and/or home decor ideas using Mary’s dress making skills
make a quilt about Mary’s Life
make a quilt about the Martin Handcart Company
make patterns for those quilts to share with others including the stories behind the blocks chosen
learn about the early history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when that Mary joined the church in England
watch “Seventeen Miracles” and/or other pioneer movies as a family
organize a Mary Taylor descendants reunion
compile all the descendants of Mary Taylor into a book
make a Facebook page for the descendants of Mary Taylor
design a charm necklace/key chain in honor of Mary Taylor
visit Mary’s grave site
visit all know locations that she lived
do a “decades” book about Mary’s life
do something everyday for one year to honor Mary
compile those experiences into a book
compile those experiences into a video
write a book about what Mary has taught me
design surprise balls that tell a story about Mary Taylor
create a memory jar in honor of Mary and/or my experiences learning about her
put together a story box about Mary Taylor
make a music cd inspire by Mary Taylor including “The Handcart Song”, “In the Merry Green Fields of Oland” and other songs from the late 19th century
make a shadow box about Mary Taylor (I’ve sort of done this with a tea-cup that was hers but there is much more that I could do)
make a coloring book about Mary’s life (I could probably adapt the illustration from “My Grandma Mary” for this)
give a gift basket inspired by Mary Taylor – include other story project like “My Grandma Mary” in the basket
make a memory wreath about Mary Taylor
make an old-fashioned Christmas wreath inspired by Mary Taylor with decoration from the late 19th century
make a doll house inspired by one of Mary Taylor’s homes
research the history of each of Mary’s last names: Taylor, Upton, Simmons and Robinson
put together a book about Mary’s names
find any coat of arms from Mary’s history or design a coat of arms inspired by her life
make t-shirts inspired by Mary Taylor
find and/or create maps about Mary Taylor’s life
make a calendar for the coming year with all the important dates in Mary Taylor’s life
celebrate Mary Taylor’s birthday
make a trivia game with facts about Mary Taylor and life in the late 19th century
make an audio record of stories about Mary Taylor – recruit family members to help with this project
make puppets to act out stories from Mary Taylor’s life
make a video of the puppet show
pick one of Mary’s home and research the history of that spot
make duplicates of the photo we have of Mary Taylor and make sure everyone in the family has a copy
create a collage about Mary Taylor
make a Christmas ornament with Mary Taylor’s photo
make or find Christmas ornaments like those common in Mary’s Life time
plan a Christmas meal similar to what Mary Taylor would have enjoyed
decorate your house and/or Christmas tree in the way in would have been done in the late 19th century
make flash cards about Mary Taylor’s life
make flash cards about the Willie and Martin Handcart companies
make a memory game inspired by Mary Taylor
gather family traditions from the late 19th century and choose a few to make a part of your traditions in honor of Mary Taylor
keep a record of your new family traditions so that future generations will know where they came from
set up a photo shoot inspired by the late 19th century and invite family members to get their photos taken
compile these photos into a book to share with everyone
make an advent calendar inspired by Mary Taylor and/or the late 19th century
make a puzzle with Mary Taylor’s picture or a collage or a set of puzzles from the illustrations in “My Grandma Mary” book
make a family tree that shows the connection between Mary Taylor and each family member
make a Christmas card inspire by Mary Taylor (did that)
make a time capsule with all the things we all the Mary Taylor story projects
write a song about Mary Taylor and what she means to me
make a family planner with facts about Mary Taylor and important dates in her life
make an infographic about Mary Taylor
have “Mary Taylor” come for dinner

Most of these idea could be applied to your ancestor and there are many more story project ideas that you could come up with. There is no shortage of ideas. The challenge is to choose one and make it happen. Remember to start with smaller simpler projects.

Did my list inspire you? If you don’t already have a story project you are working on, I challenge you to decide on one today.

Shadow from A to Z

Posted on May 27, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/872278/f2c1f2aa8ed1373b16ef4eac2835e781?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget

The sixth anniversary of our pet dog, Shadow’s, passing was just a few days ago so I thought this would be a good time to share this project. I put this book together a couple of years after Shadow died. It was my way of writing his life history but not in a chronological way. I used the letter so f the alphabet and chose words that described Shadow as the structure for telling stories about his life with us. This book was therapeutic for me and in many ways is a legacy for all the puppies we are now raising for Guide Dogs for the Blind. It is the precursor for all the puppyhood books I am doing for them. I used digital scrapbooking papers and elements on the pages.

Do you have a story project that would lend itself to the alphabet approach instead of the more traditional chronological approach?

Questorming for a Story Project

Posted on May 23, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

Today I found an article on questorming by Daniel Tenner on swombat.com. Here is what he said about applying questorming:

As the saying goes, asking the right questions is half the battle. This is what questorming focuses on: questions. The objective of the game is to ask as many questions as possible, in a free-flowing, unscripted way, about the topic. Much like with brainstorming, there are no bad questions in the initial phase – anything goes. As the storm of questions grows, it provides a map of your current understanding of the topic, and some clear next steps for deepening that understanding.

Daniel Tenner then gave an example of using questorming on “How can I write a book?” I’ve adapted his example to doing a story project because there are many similarities. Here is what I came up with:

How can I do a story project? or What should I do for my story project?

And free-flow from there:

How can I not do a story project?
Are there activities hat will increase the chances of me completing a story project?
Are there things that I absolutely must do to complete a story project?
Are there things that, if I do them, will guarantee I don’t complete a story project?
What are all those things?
Do I need anyone else’s help to complete my story project?
Is it possible to complete a story project without any help from anyone?
What are all the key things that need to happen before a story project is finished?
What does it mean for a story project to be ready?
Is a story project ready when I decide it’s finished, or are there other factors?
What are clear signs that a story project is not finished?
Are there some story project that can never be finished?
Can I do something to make sure that my story project will some day be finished?
What could I do to ensure that my story project will never be finished?
Why do I want my story project to be finished?
What do I want out of it?
How does that relate to whether it’s complete?
Who am I doing this story project for?
Do they have any impact on whether it’s complete?
Can I find out if it’s finished from the perspective of its audience, before actually publishing it?
Do I even need to publish my story project?
Are there ways to share my story project so that it can be improved repeatedly?
Are those ways better or worse than traditional ways?
Why?
Are there benefits to sharing my story project in the traditional way, vs a more modern approach?
Which is better to match what I want out of this story project?

I hope this give you some thoughts on your next story project? There are lots more questions to be questormed and not all questions that you come up with are actually helpful in moving your project forward but some of the questions you think of will be very useful in coming up with a meaningful story project.

Have you every used questorming? I haven’t yet but will soon. The closest I’ve come to questorming is talking with my dad about a book he read called “Change Your Questions, Change Your Life” by Marilee Adams.

So Many Stories, So Little Time

Posted on May 21, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

Are you one of those people who has tons of ideas for story projects but can’t decide which one to do first? I’d start with making a list of all the projects you are thinking about doing. You might also make a few notes or comments about each of these projects and what you envision. Next be honest with yourself about how much time and energy you have to spend on your story project. Here are some ideas on some question to ask yourself that might help you decide which story project to do first:

Which one would be fastest?
Which one do you have all the skills needed to complete it?
Which one do you have all the resources (images, documents, etc.) you need to complete it?
Which one sounds the most interesting?
Which one do you find yourself thinking about the most often?
Which one would need you to learn something that you have wanted to learn?
Do any of these projects involve interviewing a person who may not be around much longer?

If this is your first story project be careful about making it such a big project that you get overwhelmed and don’t get it done. If you have successfully completed a few story projects than maybe it is time to challenge yourself. My advice is to trust yourself and your intuition as to which story project is right for you at this time.

Finally share your decision with someone who will be a supportive friend in holding you accountable to completing your project. If you want you can share it with me. I’d love to hear about your story project.

But I’m Too Busy to Do That!

Posted on May 16, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

With today’s busy lifestyles it can be tough to add one more thing to your plate. Are you worried that doing a story project will just make your life more hectic than it is now? I believe that there are times and season in your life. Depending on the stage of life we are in effects that kinds of stresses and strains we have to deal with. The key is to pick a story project that works for your present schedule. A retired person can choose a much more time-consuming project that a single mom who is working and going back to school. Look at things you spend time in already and with some creative thinking you can come up with a meaningful story project that fits.

So the type of story project is very important. A project could be as simple as an oral story that you tell to your kids as bedtime stories. It may even be something that you could work on just by thinking about it as you commute or have downtime waiting in line or for an appointment.

The scope of your story project is also very important. If you have very little discretionary time make sure you keep each story project very small. Break a potential larger project into smaller pieces. Lets take the oral story telling idea mentioned above. A larger project might be to record a series of stories and add photos or illustrations and even music to make a life story. This larger project can be simplified into each individual story and perfecting the story telling style over the months and years of telling. Then down the road the stories could be recorded. And as schedules permit each audio could be combined with photos or illustration. Eventually when all the stories are done, they could be gathered into one cohesive collection. What a priceless treasure that would be with stories that your children grew up hearing at bedtime. What a legacy a long-term story project like that could be for your grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And all of it started by just decided to develop some oral stories from your personal life or the life of your family.

That is just one example. There are endless possibilities depending on you, your own life circumstances and your talents, interests and abilities. Over the next few days let your subconscious mind work on finding a good solution for you. Share your ideas here and you might just be the inspiration that someone else is looking for.

Update – revamping my blog

Posted on May 14, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

If you have followed the revamping of my blog you will notice that I’ve finished all the posts on the DOABLE approach to telling your family’s tale. So today, I checked back with my plan to see what was next on my list to do.

check revamp so far and adjust content plan if needed: Tuesday 14 May
move old content to new structure: Thursday, 16 May
move forward with new content plan: Monday, 20 May
start sharing with Google+: Monday, 3 June
start sharing with Pintrest: Monday, 1 July

So today I need to take a close look at my content plan and adjust it with my new structure and goals in mind. I also need to get started on moving my old content into the new blog plan. I think doing this could be very informative as to how my content plan needs to change. I want to make sure that all six step of the DOABLE plan has good ideas for how to carry out that step. With the set of posts I just completed there is some basic information but I’m sure there are lots more ideas and good information that would help in completing different story projects. I’m excited to have completed my revamp this far and anxious to see how the next steps develop.

How are you doing on your own projects? Do you have a story project in the works? I’d love to hear about it.