SERVICES
HOURLY RESEARCH
This is where uncovering your family history begins.
Family History Writing conducts thorough, evidence-based research and produces professional reports consistent with industry standards.
We start with an initial consultation to determine your genealogical research question. After we discover your research needs and agree on the hours needed, Family History Writing will provide you with a research plan.
After we find and analyze all the sources available to help answer your genealogical problem, we’ll provide you with a research report. The report documents everything we discovered (including what we didn’t find), an answer to your research problem (if applicable), dead-ends, and/or suggestions for further research.
FAMILY NARRATIVE
If you’re ready to go beyond the research phase and create a genealogical narrative that your family will be excited to read, Family History Writing can help. Whether it’s a biography of an especially colorful ancestor or documenting an entire branch of your family tree, Family History writing can help you tell your meaningful family stories.
Maybe you’ve always wanted to write a family history, but the hectic reality of daily life has limited the time and resources you have to dedicate to writing. Or, maybe writing isn’t your thing, but you still want a family history you can share. Family History Writing can help you tell your family’s unique story so that you can preserve it for generations to come.
Family History Writing offers packages for family narratives about an individual, family group, or an entire family line.
EDITING
If you already have a genealogical narrative that needs some polishing, Family History Writing offers content and copyediting services.
Content editing involves reviewing a family history narrative for structure and organization, format, writing style, tone, and clarity.
Copyediting covers spelling, grammar, sentence syntax, punctuation, and issues like checking the numbering of footnotes or endnotes.
Typically, content editing resolves any big-picture issues before the nitty-gritty of copyediting.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will it take to complete my genealogy research project?
The number of hours needed to complete a genealogy research project depends on what you want to discover about your family and how complex it is to find the answer. Finding the maiden name of your great-grandfather’s first wife could take an hour or two to twenty or more, depending on the sources available, how accessible they are, and whether it requires more in-depth cluster research.
We recommend increments of five hours for smaller research projects. For more involved projects, we’ll negotiate the hours necessary to conduct the research and prepare a genealogical report. If the research and reporting are finished in fewer than the authorized number of hours, you only pay for the actual time spent on the project.
I have a specific question that I want help answering. What is the research process like, and what will I get from it?
Before any research begins, Family History Writing will develop a research plan and make sure that you understand what the research entails and how long you can expect it to take.
As the research is in progress, we’ll keep you updated on any major discoveries or developments. If anything changes along the way—the need for additional records, fees for copying, etc.—we’ll contact you and obtain your authorization before any kind of expense.
At the end of the process, Family History Writing will provide you with a complete, thoroughly analyzed and documented research report, including suggestions for further research.
Can you guarantee that you can find an answer to my family history mystery?
One of the joys of genealogy is finding answers to long-held questions about our family history. One of the not-so-fun truths about genealogy is that the answer can’t always be found. If, for instance, your ancestors tied the knot before their home county started recording marriages, or if the courthouse where the marriage records were kept burned or were destroyed in some other disaster, sometimes the sources just aren’t there.
What Family History Writing can guarantee is that we will use the full range of our knowledge and skills to discover all the relevant documents that can shed light on your family history question. We’ll record our searches and sources, including what we didn’t find. Knowing, for instance, that an ancestor wasn’t where you expected them to be can open up a whole world of research possibilities.
I’ve already done tons of work on my family tree. Can you write a family narrative based on my research?
That’s great! Researching family history is rewarding, but wrangling all that information into something people are excited to read can be daunting. During our initial consultation, we’ll review everything you’ve found—genealogical sources like birth, marriage, and death records; letters and photographs; and even family lore and heirlooms.
To determine if we have enough information to create the fullest and most factual picture of your ancestor’s life, Family History Writing will develop a timeline of all your genealogical research. If there are areas that need to be filled in or other inconsistencies, it may be necessary to do additional research.
Our ancestors were complicated people; following their lives can take twists and turns.
I’m in the process of writing or have already finished writing a biography or family history. Can you edit my manuscript?
Absolutely! Family History Writing offers content and copyediting services. Check out our Services page to learn more!
