Would you rather just have your genealogy book printed, or be the author of a published genealogy book?

Etcetera Publishing/GenealogyBookPublisher.com has published a number of wonderful family history books and genealogical research books.  Each is unique, unusual, and a great source of pride for the author.

But for many genealogy or family history authors, there is a danger lurking.

The danger is that you may find inexpensive book printing and assume that a “printer” is the same as a quality “book publisher,” when nothing can be further from the truth.

Most printers will take your manuscript or computer file, sometimes just your finished pages, then use the information to produce, print and bind your book.  Most printers never look for ANY mistakes, not even common, obvious ones.  They are printers, doing what they do best, and their job is to print what you give them to print.

On the other hand, some publishers will take your manuscript, put it together into a finished product with nice fonts and a good-looking cover, and print your books.  Most will do an adequate job, and this is an improvement over what a printer can and will do.

Then there is the kind of publishing Etcetera Publishing/GenealogyBookPublisher.com does:

We begin with your word processor file, then …

  1. Assist you with editing and proofreading (please note that this does NOT mean we will rewrite your research, only that we will help you look for obvious misspellings and errors that would cause you future embarrassment)
  2. Scan your photos and add them to your manuscript where you want them to go
  3. Design and lay out the pages with good-looking, easy-to-read fonts, and paginate the book
  4. Develop a custom original full-color cover using your photos or stock photos, if you don’t have your own
  5. Send a proof copy for your approval before we print
  6. Print your books and ship them to your door

Everything we do is 100% custom, just for you, and every book is an original.  There are no “templates.”

We specialize in offering “the complete publishing experience,” assisting every step of the way so you don’t feel like you have to figure this out all by yourself.  We have a working partnership with our authors.

We want things correct as much as the author does, because our name, and our reputation, is also associated with the book.  Quality is our primary product!

Recently I saw a newly-published family history book.  Understandably, the author was very proud.

Imagine my shock when I flipped through the book and noticed that not only were there numerous misspelled words throughout, there was a misspelled word on every single page of the book, in the page header.  Not only was it a misspelled word, it was a name.  I was embarrassed for the author, but there wasn’t a thing I could do.

We all make our share of errors, and it is rare indeed when a book (or anything else, for that matter) is absolutely perfect, no matter how hard we try.

But would you trust the research in a book when there are obvious errors? Most genealogists with serious interest in your book will be skeptical of the quality and the caliber of your research if the book contains errors that could have easily been prevented.

So how do you keep this from happening?

  1. First, it makes sense to proof, proof, and PROOF again.  If proofreading is not your strong suit, ask someone you trust to carefully proof the book after you complete it.
  2. Second, don’t just hire a printer to print your book.  A printer will print what you give them.
  3. Choose a quality publisher, one who puts quality ahead of price and profit.  Don’t allow price to be the only consideration in who publishes the research you have worked so hard to complete and share.

Quality adds value to your work that you can’t put a price on.  Read our testimonials and decide for yourself.

Remember, your name is on this work, and in most cases, your family name is on it as well!

Sometimes a published book actually costs less than a “printed” one.

After years of research and hard work, will you choose to have your research published, or just printed?

Etcetera Publishing would like to be your genealogy book publisher!