KDP – GenealogyAtHeart.com

Publishing Your Family Story Through KDP

Self-publishing with Kindle Direct Publishing is a breeze. First, create a free account at kdp.amazon.com. Then click the +Create button to get started.

Next, decide on the type of book you want to create. No worries, you can always change your mind later and even publish in more than one type (eBook and Paperback or Paperback and Hard Cover, etc.).

You also have size options! I selected 8 ½ x 11″ because I had many colored photos I wanted to share. Next you’ll have more options to consider:

Choose your language
Type in the book’s title. Don’t have a subtitle? Leave it blank
Not a series? Just skip this section.
Since this is the first edition, leave the Edition Number blank. One of the benefits of KDP is that if you revise your book, you can easily enter the 2nd (or 3rd, etc.) here so that purchasers are aware of which copy they are buying. This is perfect for when you finally get over that brick wall and can update your story.
Next, type in your name as you’d like it to be shown on the front cover.
If you didn’t work with anyone else on writing the book, leave the contributors blank
The description is important as it will tell buyers a little bit about the contents of your book. You can have your favorite AI proof what you come up with.

As family historians, copyright is always important, but the beauty here is that if you want to make your work available in the public domain, you have that option. Or, what I did instead, was copyright the book on KDP, but when I donated a copy to the Allen County Public Library, I signed a release that allows them to digitize the books for FREE to everyone. My goal was to get the information out into the hands of distant family who can benefit from it, and not make money from book sales.

You MUST select either Yes or No regarding sexually explicit content. If you select no, you can skip the reading age.

I opted to have my books sold through Amazon, but other options are available.

Categories are very important, and you can pick three with subcategories available. Genealogy is under the history reference.

Why select keywords? They help Amazon market your book to the right audience. Think hashtags! You don’t need to come up with 7, but you can if you like.

Since this is your first printing of your book, leave the selection at “Publication date and release date are the same.”

I will release my book for sale as soon as it’s available through KDP, but perhaps you want to wait for a special occasion, like a family reunion.

Click the yellow button, Save and Continue.

The next section is Paperback Content. Here is where you will upload the book cover if you’ve created one and the book contents. You don’t have to do this all at one time, either – once you’ve saved, you can go back to working on your selections any time.

I recommend clicking that you want KDP to assign an ISB number; if you plan on giving copies to libraries, this will be helpful.

Next, upload your manuscript. It does take a few minutes to process.

When it’s ready, you will receive a notice that it has uploaded successfully. Go to the bottom of the page to preview your book by clicking Launch Previewer. You will have to open and close your Word document numerous times if you have included a lot of photos and tables. What the Word .doc looks like is NOT how KDP’s software publishes it, so you may have to adjust your Word .doc 50 times (seriously) or more to get it to print right on KDP. This is the most tiresome and difficult part of the process, but know you are at the end of the journey,y so hang in there.

Now it’s time for the cover. See last week’s blog for the how-to on creating it. I use a photo I have taken and add a text box to it, format it, and upload it through Launch Cover Creator. I’ve tried the .pdf upload and wasn’t happy with the results. If you have no idea what you want for a cover, KDP will give you ideas through Launch Cover Creator.

Next, you’ll need to complete a survey about AI usage.

If you used it, click Yes, and you will have three items to complete – what tools did you use and how much of AI (some sections, extensive, etc.) from a drop-down menu; what images and what translations did you had help with.

When you are happy that the book is formatted properly, then click “Save and Continue” at the bottom of the page. Next step – Pricing:

KDP will tell you how much it is going to cost for them to print the book(s). You set the price after they give you their minimum. I want the books in the hands of people who share my ancestry, and I don’t want them to pay a fortune, so my royalty, as you can see on my latest book, is 3 cents. Yes, you read that right. I’m making 3 cents on every book sold. If you want to be paid for all the time and effort you put it, then adjust the price, but that’s not why I wrote my books.

I didn’t include the lengthy page info that follows, but it will show you how much it will cost in all of KDP’s markets using the type of money that is accepted in those areas. So, for Great Britain, it will display the cost in pounds, places in Europe, in euros, etc.

Obviously, you have to agree to the terms and conditions. I haven’t requested a proof book as I wait until KDP has reviewed it and is ready to publish it.

Next, click the yellow box “Publish Your Paperback Book.” KDP will review your book, and within a day, you’ll receive an email that your book is ready to publish.

Then, I request an author’s copy, which is the bare minimum that you can purchase the book for (so it’s less than the .03 cents of my royalty). I typically buy 3 – one for my husband and me, and one for each of our adult kids. I look through it, and if I’m happy with it, no changes needed, I then order copies for local libraries to donate. In the meantime, the book is available to the general public through Amazon. Just go to Amazon.com and type in your book title or your name, and it will be there for you to see. They also allow buyers to see some of the contents, the table of contents, and a chapter or two. If you don’t want to sell to the public, take the book off the market.

After KDP reviews the content, you can order Author copies:

That’s it! If you sell books through Amazon, you will get an email monthly that tells you what your royalty payment is. The money will be placed into the bank account that you authorized KDP to use. Any changes – edition updates, corrections, from paperback to hardcover, etc., can be easily made after logging back into your account.

What are you waiting for?! Time to get writing that family history you’ve put off.

Evernote…Ever so helpful

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 4 Feb 2016.

Back from my trip and I’m happy to report the first two generations of my Kinship Determination Project (KDP) is in draft form. Do you use Evernote? I use it on my Kindle to take notes at meetings but I’ve never used it while researching or for any of my other portfolio requirements. Maybe because I do use it at my primary job I had little trouble working on the KDP using Evernote on my Kindle. Who would have thought?! So now I have another place to access the document. I figure I can review it during down times where ever I might be. It’s getting to be quite long at this point so I won’t be able to review all of it during say, a lunch break, but my latest plan is to look it over daily and then devote the weekends to moving forward. My goal is to have the complete rough draft – all 3 generations – by the end of February and use spring break to seek out the few remaining records I’d like to find. They may not exist but unless I seek them out in person I won’t know for sure. I wouldn’t be meeting the reasonably exhaustive search of the genealogical proof standard without knowing for sure!

I’m becoming so involved with the family I’m writing about I feel like I know them, even though I never met any of them and I’m not related to them. I’m looking forward to traipsing around in their footsteps when spring arrives. I would love to find a picture of generation 1 and 2. I have one of the couple in generation 3 but to find the trifecta, that would be awesome! I have a vision of what they looked like but who knows how accurate that can be.

Help! Need Ideas to Obtain Baptismal Records

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 30 Jan 2016.

I’ll be traveling for my primary job over the next few days so I decided to save my Kinship Determination Project (KDP) in several places – the cloud (I use Dropbox), a thumb drive, my desktop, my husband’s computer’s desktop, and a hard copy. Yes, I’m a little paranoid that my hard work will disappear!

This trip could not have come at a worse time as far as the KDP is concerned. I was really on a roll with it and then company arrived last Sunday so I wasn’t able to spend as much time as I wanted to do. Had a very busy week of classroom visits and meetings, took a webinar, and was fighting off a cold so the KDP was put on the back burner. I really don’t want another week to go by without progress on it so I thought maybe I could edit the hard copy on the plane and make an update via the cloud when I land.

I resolved a few confusions – the first had to do with a death certificate not matching a tombstone; the second was too many people with the same name in the same place at the same time but they were all of vastly different ages so that was a quick analysis, too.

I’ve gotten a lot of the first and second generation written but I’ve identified two areas I need to do more exhaustive research in – I need to find a deed and a will. Other than that, I’m feeling good about the records I’ve uncovered.

So after awhile of analyzing records I decided I needed a break and I took a look at a different line that I’ve hit a brick wall with. Last month I found the obituary and it wasn’t very helpful. I’m trying to identify parents but it didn’t mention them; neither did the death certificate or the cemetery records. The obit did say the individual was a lifelong member of a church so I decided to contact the church to see if they had a baptism record that might list the parents. It’s been 6 weeks and I’m getting a little frustrated. I’ve emailed, called (several times), written a letter, and posted on their Facebook page. I’m feeling like a pest but persistence pays so I’m not giving up yet. How hard can it be to look this up, especially since I gave them the date of birth, too! I offered to pay. I sent a stamped return receipt envelope. Still received nothing. I know no one that lives in the area that could go in person on my behalf. I contacted the library, museum and the local genealogy society to see if they had any ins with the church. Nada! If anyone has any brilliant ideas for me I’d appreciate hearing!

An Update on Submitting the BCG Portfolio

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com 22 May 2016

I’m finishing up with my portfolio for submission to the Board for Certification of Genealogists and I have butterflies in my stomach! Officially, I have until late October but since I selected several papers that I had previously done for clients last fall and winter, I am about finished.

At the National Genealogical Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, I was able to view successful portfolios that were submitted. I also found it useful to be able to pick the brains of some of the Certified Genealogists (CGs) that attended the “On the Clock” dinner. So glad I was able to attend and meet several other “On the Clockers” and those on the other side.

Additionally, the National Genealogical Society conference enabled me to further refine my skills and now I pulled out the Kinship Determination Paper I finished last month and reread it yesterday. I caught one missing comma and changed one sentence. I’m satisfied with the content and the numbering so I just need to take another look at my footnotes. I had bolded a few that I knew weren’t quite right as I was so into the writing I didn’t want to stop and lose the momentum. I also need to make sure I’ve been consistent with my citations. The next few weeks I’m busy with other tasks so I probably won’t revisit it until mid-June.

I’m still uncertain if I should hold off portfolio submission until after an upcoming trip to DC this summer or not. On the one hand, I want to submit before I get extremely busy with my full time job in late July. On the other hand, I have this nagging feeling that the missing record in Pennsylvania will miraculously show up if I look one more time. The document was supposedly misfiled in the 1960’s and hasn’t been found since. Why in the world I think if I look again I’ll find it now I don’t know! I’ve already looked twice over the past 5 years AND hired someone to try to find it. Clearly the “3^rd time’s the charm!” as my mom used to say didn’t happen and a fourth visit would be beyond reasonably exhaustive. My thought process is bordering on irrational and I realize that. This certainly is like the tongue in cheek meaning of insanity – doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result!

Reflecting on my behavior I see this as déjà vu – I did the same thing when I was ready to submit my portfolio to the National Board of Certified Teachers several years ago. One morning I woke up and I knew that there was no more I could do so I just packed it all up and mailed it off. Even so, I stood in Office Depot and just stared at the box. The clerk was nice, though I’m sure she thought I was nuts. She told me to take as long as I wanted. As soon as she said that, I was able to let it go.

Now I have to decide if I’m going to send it snail mail or electronically. Decisions, decisions! Another way to procrastinate finality! Will keep you informed…

Learning Patience as I complete by KDP

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com 31 March 2016

Spring Break has come and gone and I didn’t make my goal of having the rough draft of my Kinship Determination Project (KDP) completed. I’m not complaining, though, as three events occurred that threw me into a tizzy!

First, less than a month ago, I received 30+ years of a diary written by the sister-in-law of one of the individuals I’m writing about. It is a genealogical gold mine! After reading and rereading I took notes based on individuals and then by types of events. Spent the last three weeks incorporating the information into the KDP as it was quite useful and enhanced the paper. Long term plan is to create an index of the diary for future use.

Second, our desktop system bit the dust. I had my work saved in numerous places so that wasn’t awful but instead of a double screen I was back using (and sharing) an old laptop. Really slowed the process down.

Last, I had changed my mind about taking a trip during my week’s vacation and instead, I had decided to spend that week working on the paper. Plans changed when my husband fell off the roof. Miraculously, he’s fine, however, we spent the week quite differently than expected.

Since he’s okay, a co-worker’s son was able to recover the data on our crashed system and the new information I added gave the paper more character, I’m fine with not meeting my goal. My revised plan was to finish by the end of March, put it away for the month of April, check out the portfolios that will be available at the upcoming NGS conference in Ft. Lauderdale, revise through June and after taking one more trip through the archives to make sure that I left no stone unturned, submit in July. Well, it’s the last day of the month and I’m not done. I’m still waiting for six records to arrive that apply to the last generation. Have to read through about 100 handwritten letters that are 100 years old to mine for details. New goal is mid April completion. That’s only obtainable if I work all day the next 3 weekends, spend at least 2 hours a night during the week AND get the records. Genealogy is definitely a study in patience!

The Kinship Determination Project and Its Emotional Impact

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com 24 Jan 2016

The Kinship Determination Project, aka KDP, has been looming as the last requirement I need to complete before submitting my portfolio for analysis to become a Certified Genealogist. I had started writing before I submitted my application but in November, a few weeks into being “on the clock,” I rewrote most of it. I changed from end notes to footnotes so the judges would have an easier time tracking citations, I wrote for many needed documents to give a more thorough look at the individuals’ lives. I added additional background data, too much, in fact, which I removed yesterday. Not to worry, it’s full of very interesting stories of the ancestors I’ll be focusing on later so I’m keeping it safe for another project. I think that it was good to start 3 generations prior to the 3 generations I’m focusing on as it gave me a better perspective of my main characters’ lives. We often become who we are because of the influence of our parents, grandparents and perhaps, our great grandparents.

Back in the day, meaning when submitting more than 3 families was permitted, my paper would have been fine but I’m trying to stick to the application guide. I had viewed Judy Russell’s webinar, “Kinship Determination: From Generation to Generation” which is free to view on the BCG site (click Skillbuilding, then click Webinars, then scroll down.) I loved Judy’s passion about her project! I share that passion when I start analyzing the evidence I’ve accumulated; the humanness behind the paper record is revealed and I begin to understand what occurred in their lives. Sometimes it’s something personal from my own life that I can relate to and sometimes, not. Makes me wonder how I would have reacted if the event had happened to me.

I just reread what I wrote about the first generation and I’ve very excited. I didn’t quite finish that first generation individual’s life but plan on doing so today after my company leaves. I want to get back into the story as there were two twists of compassion that I hadn’t known existed prior to analyzing the records. Although I can’t share much due to the requirement of submission, I will say that those tick marks on early census returns come alive when you attach a name to them. Pondering why you have extra marks is important – was their a child or two that died prior to being revealed in later censuses or other documents? Did other family members, an apprentice, an indentured servant, or a neighbor reside with the family the day the census was being enumerated? Did the family provide the enumerator misinformation, meaning the missing son was marked as a daughter or did the enumerator err? That’s a lot to think about and oftentimes, later records will help explain what was happening in the household.

The impact on a child when there’s a change in a household unit is important to consider. When community influences and national events occur there are additional effects. Such was the case with my generation 1. Now I think I better understand why the individual exemplified compassion, an interest in politics and education, and safety for future generations.

What really struck me was discovering that three of the siblings of the individual I’m focusing on relocated in the mid 19th century across the continent. I can’t imagine the anguish that must have been felt when communication was cut off. Strangely, I happened to visit 2 of the 3 places that the siblings had moved to this past year. I even blogged about one of the buildings in the town that I visited. Most likely, that building played an important role in the lives of the sibling’s children! It was such a strange feeling when the realization hit. I began to wonder how many times I’ve walked in the footsteps of my ancestors and never known it. It’s one thing to purposely go to a location you’ve discovered to visit. I’ve dragged my family on many vacations to visit homes where prior family members resided, ports they disembarked and battlefields where they were injured but I’ve never had the experience of visiting a place, feeling quite at home there, writing about it and then discovering months later that there was more of a connection then I was aware of at the time.

Today, I hope to make more headway on the KDP as next week, I’ll be traveling for business and won’t be able to work on it. My new goal is to try to get the draft complete by the end of February as I may be making a trip to obtain a few documents during my spring break.

I hope your week is filled with wonderful discoveries!

Becoming a Certified Genealogist – An Update

A FABULOUS FIND of 15 Jan 2016

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com 13 Jan 2016

The clock is still ticking and now that we’re in the new year I’ve got less than 10 months to submit my portfolio requirements. I actually accomplished way more than I thought I would during the holidays. My family kids me that I must be channeling the dead. I don’t know about that but I certainly had some awesome finds that propelled me forward. Here’s where I am and what I have to do:

1. Preliminary application was submitted in October 2015 – DONE

2. Signing the Genealogist’s Code – that’s easy!

3. Background Resume – completed but needs to be reviewed and possibly updated right before submission – Almost Done

4. Document Work – BCG Supplied and Applicant Supplied. All transcribed and written, just need to review and make a final edit. – Almost Done

5. Research Report prepared for another person – started this in late December. This was unexpected but I loved the hunt so decided to switch what I originally had planned to submit that was already finished. Completed the newly started report on December 31st and gave it to client on January 4th – DONE

6. Case Study – used a client’s second report I was working on instead of what I had originally thought I was going to do. I finished it over the holidays with some wonderful documents that simply showed up! Wish I could share this with you – a real twist and turn type of case. – Almost Done (haven’t given it to client yet but have appointment scheduled)

7. Kinship Determination KDP- have a great start but didn’t work on it much in the past month. I’m still assembling documents and my problem is I don’t live anywhere close to the areas that the family lived. I’m planning on a trip in March to one of the states but that still leaves me with a hole on the east coast and I wasn’t planning on being close to that area until July. So, it’ll be slow going with this item. I figure, unless a miracle occurs, I won’t be done with this until September and will just make the deadline but who knows? I put the rest of the requirements together in a much quicker time period than I planned so maybe this will come together, too. KDP 1/3 Done

In hindsight, I’m glad that I had a skeletal idea of what I would be submitting before I actually committed to the process. I’m also thankful that I took the webinar about what certification entails so I had clear expectations of what was expected.

Here’s an update on my 2 past blogs regarding Ancestry.com and member family tree’s that reported a co-worker’s mother as deceased when she isn’t – I received an email from Ancestry staff on Monday directing me to have the deceased email them with her request to correct the records and to provide Ancestry with the URL’s of the trees. I pulled the URL info and included it with the forwarded email to my co-worker who sent it off to her mom. I was impressed that Ancestry responded so quickly, especially after the phone conversations I had with their support staff. I didn’t think there was going to be any resolution! I’m also very pleased that Ancestry stayed true to their confidentiality statement and understood how the problem impacted the affected family. Kudos to Ancestry!