Creative Alternatives to Publishing a Family History Book

Devon Noel Lee
Apr 29
8 min read

Updated: May 1

We often imagine a thick book filled with our ancestors' names, dates, and stories when we think of writing about and sharing our genealogy. That can feel overwhelming! Maybe you've thought about writing your family history, but feel stuck because you don't want to write an entire book.

Why a Family History Book Might Not Be the Best Option

The truth is, writing about our family history doesn’t have to mean creating a book. You might never get started if you’re waiting until you have time to write hundreds of pages! And if your relatives aren't big readers, a book might not be the best way to share your stories with them anyway. Fortunately, there are plenty of creative ways to share family history that are based on writing but don't require a traditional book format.

Book on coffee table with a family tree on it the cover

Creative Ways to Share Your Family History

Writing about family history doesn’t have to mean a traditional book. Here are several formats to consider, grouped by type.

Writing can take many forms, such as a blog, a handwritten notebook, a scrapbook, a social media post, or videos. The key is finding a format that fits your style and resonates with your family.

Alternative Written Family Histories

Blogging: Share Your Research One Story at a Time

If you enjoy sharing small discoveries as you research, consider starting a blog. Short stories, research insights, and even transcriptions of old letters or diaries can make for fascinating reading. A blog allows your family members to follow along as you uncover new details, and it can be easily shared with relatives near and far.

If you enjoy sharing small discoveries as you research, consider starting a blog. Short stories, research insights, and even transcriptions of old letters or diaries can make for fascinating reading, and a blog allows your family members to follow along as you uncover new details.

If you're looking for an easy-to-use platform to share your family history discoveries, consider popular options like Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Medium, or Blogger. These platforms offer user-friendly interfaces, customizable templates, and helpful guides to help you get started.

Here are some additional tips for blogging your family history research:

Write in a conversational style: Imagine you're sharing stories with a friend over a cup of coffee or hot chocolate.
Include images: Photos, maps, and documents bring your family's story to life.
Cite your sources: This adds credibility to your research and helps others find the same information.
Have fun! Sharing your family history should be an enjoyable experience.

Family History Newsletters

A printed or emailed newsletter can be a fun way to share family history in bite-sized pieces. You can feature ancestor spotlights, research updates, or even family interviews in a personal and engaging format.

Newsletters can be created using a variety of tools, both digital and traditional. User-friendly online platforms like Canva (for printed or digital issues) and Mailchimp or MailerLite (for email newsletters) offer templates and design elements to simplify the newsletter-making process. However, most word processing programs have newsletter templates you can use.

Here are some additional tips for blogging your family history research:

Write in a conversational style: Share short stories about ancestors. You don’t have to tell their whole life history, but different events in their life.
Include images: Photos of people, places, documents, and things bring your family's story to life.
Document the heirlooms and keepsakes: What better way to share the stories behind the treasures around the family home or in the deep storage than to document the heirlooms in a newsletter?
Request Feedback and Input: Ask family members to review the stories and offer feedback. Did you get something wrong? Could you improve the storytelling process? Do they know something you didn’t? Request feedback and highlight the relatives who read and respond..

Illustrated book with a tree design on the cover, text reads "Think Outside the Book" and "Download Your Free Guide," set on teal background.

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Family History Pictorial Formats

Social Media Picture Sharing

In today's digital world, social media has become a powerful tool for connecting with family members and sharing the stories that make up our family histories. Picture sharing is an excellent way to bring the past to life and spark conversations that can lead to new discoveries. Whether you're a seasoned genealogist or just starting to explore your family’s roots, sharing photos of your family history on social media can make your research more engaging and accessible.

Facebook and Instagram are both excellent platforms for sharing family history photos. Facebook allows you to create private or public groups for family members to share and collaborate. At the same time, Instagram's focus on visuals and hashtags helps curate and organize your family’s story more interactively and engagingly.

Tips for Effective Picture Sharing

Protect Privacy - When sharing family photos, especially on public platforms, it's important to be mindful of privacy. Avoid sharing sensitive information such as addresses or personal details without permission, and consider using privacy settings to control who sees the posts.
Caption Your Photos - When sharing family photos, don’t forget to add captions. Dates, names, and locations are essential for providing context. Adding a short story or memory behind the image can also make it more meaningful and engaging for others.
Share Milestones - Highlight significant milestones like anniversaries, birthdays, or notable achievements to create an ongoing story of your family’s journey. These can be great conversation starters and will inspire future generations to keep learning about their ancestors.
Engage Family Members - Ask your family members to share their own photos and stories in the comments. Creating a collaborative family history project is a great way to connect and ensure that no story or image is lost. Encourage family members to add their own memories or details to help piece together the full picture.
Use Hashtags and Tags - Hashtags like #Genealogy or #FamilyHistory help your posts reach a wider audience, especially if you want to connect with others doing similar research. Tagging people in photos helps relatives find shared connections and adds more depth to the story.

Timelines and Infographics: A Visual Snapshot of History

Sometimes, a well-designed timeline or infographic can tell a more compelling story than paragraphs of text. You can create a visual representation of an ancestor’s life, major migrations, or key historical events that shaped your family’s journey. Tools like Canva or even PowerPoint make it easy to design eye-catching visuals.

Tips for Effective Timelines and Infographics

Choose the Right Focus: Decide what story you want to tell. Is it the life of one ancestor, the migration of your family across generations, or a specific historical event that impacted your family?
Gather Key Information: Collect important dates, names, places, and any relevant photos or documents.
Use Visuals: Incorporate photos, maps, and illustrations to make your timeline or infographic engaging and informative.

Scrapbooking: A Visual Way to Tell Their Story

For example, creating a scrapbook page can help bring your ancestors to life. By including photos, documents, and memorabilia, you can weave a story that not only shares information about your family's past but also provides context and insights into their lives. I’ve done this myself, and it’s a great way to blend storytelling with visual elements.

For the sake of time, I’m going to direct you to the the scrapbooking blog posts.

Family History Audio Formats

Not everyone enjoys reading. Sometimes sound recordings can connect families to their heritage. In either of the following formats, record individual family members sharing stories, memories, and anecdotes. You can also include sound recording of musicians, singers, orators, and other audio-based talents of your relatives and ancestors. You can even include audio recordings of written stories in your voice (or another relative).

Create a Family Audio Archive

What’s great about sharing audio files in a file sharing platform is that you have control over who can access the drive to either add content or listen to recordings. The downside is that you might run out of storage space. Platform is that each family member can record their stories whenever they are ready, creating a collection of diverse voices and perspectives over time. You can share audio files for a family archive using cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive.

Add Audio Recordings to Genealogy Websites

Sharing family history audio files on genealogy websites such as FamilySearch and Ancestry can be a great way to preserve and share your family's stories. Many of these websites have features that make it easy to upload and organize audio files, including tagging individuals mentioned in the recordings.

Additionally, mobile apps for some of these websites allow you to record stories on the go and directly upload them to relevant ancestor pages. This makes capturing and sharing your family's memories easy, ensuring that they are preserved for future generations.

Podcasting: Bring Your Ancestors' Stories to Life with Audio

If you run out of storage space for audio file sharing, you should leverage podcasting platforms. You can publish a podcast privately or for the public (which might lead to cousin connections).

Some popular podcast hosting platforms that support private podcasting are apparently Podbean, Supercast, Captivate, Transistor, and Buzzsprout. I don’t have experience with these platforms, but if you do, let me know.

Some free and easy-to-use podcasting platforms include Buzzsprout, Podbean, Spreaker, Transistor, and Captivate. You can also leverage video podcasting platforms like Rumble, YouTube, and Spotify. You don’t have to have visuals for your spoke word, you can just have a static photo. But if your goal is to reach people where they are, consider posting on platforms where your family is.

For a helpful example of a family history podcast, check out Townsend Legacy.

Family History Video Formats

Videos can take many forms, from short social media clips to longer documentary-style productions. For instance:

Short Stories and Slide Shows: You can leverage Facebook, Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and other short form video platforms to share quick ancestor stories, fun discoveries, or even snippets from old home movies.
Longer videos: YouTube, Rumble, and Vimeo allow you to dive deeper into an ancestor’s life, adding narration, music, and historical images. If you have a performance of an ancestor, be mindful that you don’t run into copyright violations.
Video Family Newsletters: Instead of a written newsletter, consider compiling monthly or quarterly video updates where you showcase new research, highlight a family member, or present a story from the past.

No matter the length or platform, video is a powerful way to make your family history engaging and accessible to all generations. No matter the length or platform, video is a powerful way to make your family history engaging and accessible to all generations.

Keep it simple: Don't try to cram too much information into your video. Keep it focused and concise.
Interview family members: Sit down with your relatives and record their stories and memories. Ask open-ended questions and let them talk freely. A fun example of this is the Prairie Grove History Channel.
Use old photos and videos: Digitize them and incorporate them into your video. This will add a visual element and help bring your family history to life.
Add music and narration: Use music and narration to set the tone and add context to your video. Be sure to use public domain music or music you have a right to.
Share it with your family: Once your video is complete, share it with your family and friends. You can also post it online or burn it to a DVD.

A book with a family tree on it sitting on a coffee table

What’s Your Favorite Way to Share Family History?

Notice that ‘writing’ family history doesn’t have to mean a book. The important thing is to find a format that allows you to share your family’s story in a way that works for you and your audience.

I’d love to hear from you! What other formats have you seen that enable sharing family history with others? Drop your ideas in the comments! And if you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future videos.