Devon Noel Lee

7 min read

7 Design Secrets to Make Your Published Genealogy Book Unforgettable

Are you in the middle of writing a genealogy book but worried it’s looking more like a textbook than a story your family will want to read? You’re not alone. We’ve all been there!

Long blocks of text and dense family charts can easily overwhelm readers, but with a few simple design changes, you can make your family history book visually appealing, engaging, and even fun to read.

Here are seven ways to bring your family’s story to life on the page.

1. Break Up Long Blocks of Text

We all know the feeling—opening a book only to be greeted by a wall of text. It’s intimidating and, quite frankly, boring. Even the most fascinating family history can lose its impact if the reader is too overwhelmed to dive in.

What’s the solution? Breaking up long blocks of text into more digestible sections and using visual signposts.

Paragraph Breaks

First, split long paragraphs apart. You’re not writing a five (5) paragraph-essay for English class where long paragraphs are encouraged to thoroughly discuss a topic with an opening paragraph, three paragraphs to make your case, and a concluding paragraph.

Instead, break up long paragraphs into smaller chunks when a new thought, scene, or point appears in the text. If you’ll notice, this blog post does just that.

Text Elements

Consider adding interest by using visual elements like initial caps (where the first letter of a paragraph is enlarged) and bullets. The initial cap, which starts this paragraph, is common in many published genealogies, including this one for the Reinhold and Matthew Marvin book. While you don’t have to be as fancy as this example, notice the visual cue adds a little fun to a page.

Incorporate bullet points into your text for lists. Don’t limit your bullet points to lists of children. You can include lists of:

Residence changes in 20 years
Stops on a journey from Cornwall, England, to Silver City, Nevada
Rank changes during military service
College Football teammates
Political offices held

Sometimes, when you do not want to write every detail about an ancestor, you can leverage lists to do the heavy lifting in your story while adding a visual nugget to a page.

Sub-Headings

Many lifestyle pieces in newspapers and magazines lean on subheadings to break up long articles and keep readers engaged. Subheadings are visual road signs guiding your reader through your narrative. For example, if you’re documenting your family’s migration journey, use subheadings like

“Childhood in Ohio: 1850-1870”
“The Move West: 1871-1885”
“Settling Down With Samantha: 1885-1899”

Subheadings organize your content and make it easy for readers to jump to the sections they’re most interested in.

Boxed Quotes

"Don't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." - Babe Ruth

Have you read any self-help books in the past 20 years? I notice that such books use motivating pull quotes to start a chapter. The text is inserted under the chapter number of the title. It’s often set off in a font style different than the one in the body of the text, along with line spaces. Be careful choosing quotes that actually pertain to the topic of the chapter while also having fun inserting an interesting page element for interested readers.

Example of Boxed Text for Publishing Genealogy Book

If you’re a fan of Write Your Family History, you’ll remember my new favorite tool - Boxed Text. Let’s say you’re quoting an ancestor’s letter from the 1800s. Pull out an emotional or poignant line and place it in a visually distinct box.

For instance, “The days are long, but my thoughts are always with you,” placed in a box, can create a moment of reflection for the reader. It adds depth and breaks the monotony of standard text. Boxed text can also include side stories, explanations, and fun facts that don’t necessarily fit into the story, but readers can review them at their leisure.

Small Caps Vs. Mixed Case for Surnames

Have you ever wondered if you should capitalize surnames in your family history book? It’s common practice to put surnames in all caps —SMITH— but that can be jarring on the eyes. Small caps —Smith— are a more elegant option, offering emphasis without overwhelming your readers.

While some experts may suggest there is a standard to adhere to when stylizing a surname, the best advice is to format the surname for clarity.

Here’s an example to illustrate this difference. Imagine you’re documenting a family with a surname with multiple variations, like “DeVall.” You could write it as de Vall, DeVall, or DEVALL depending on the context and style choice.

While capitalizing a surname might make sense in English, it could alter the meaning in other languages or disrupt accent marks.

The key is clarity. Choose a style that emphasizes the surname without straining the reader’s eyes, and remember to be consistent throughout your book.

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Consistency: Dates and Place Names

When it comes to consistency, this is where the details really matter. Consistency in date and place formats will make your book easier to read. For example, which of these do you prefer for a birthdate?

21 Sep 1912
September 21, 1912
21st of September, nineteen hundred and twelve

Choose one format and stick to it throughout your book.

The same goes for place names. First, if you’re using modern place names, be consistent throughout your book. If you’re using historical place names, keep to that standard. You can use footnotes or parentheticals to help a reader know a boundary change happened between the past and the present. Just be consistent in your book.

Next, choose a style for writing the location and use it consistently. You can write the name of the town my family is from in America in many ways. Which of the following do you prefer?

Columbus, Franklin, Ohio
Columbus, Franklin, Ohio, USA
Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, United States

There is no official ‘correct’ location style here. You need to make the choice and use it consistently throughout your piece. However, that doesn’t mean you must use “Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, United States” whenever you mention this location. Instead, you can use first and second references.

For example, in the story of my ancestor Lewis Brown, when I mention the first event in his story (I started with his birth), I would use my preference style of “Columbus, Franklin, Ohio.”

The next time I mention an event in his life that happened in this city, I can use “Columbus” or “Columbus, Ohio.”

However, if another event in his life occurred in the city of Columbus but in the state of Georgia or Texas, I would use the full location name to denote a town with the same name in another location. For example

Columbus, Muscogee, Georgia
Columbus, Colorado, Texas

Using a consistent format makes the story easier to follow and keeps visual clutter to a minimum.

To view examples of the design tips, watch 7 Design Secrets to Make Your Published Genealogy Book Unforgettable on YouTube.

Use Indents Wisely

Indents might seem like a minor stylistic choice, but they play a big role in how easy your book is to read. Some people prefer every new paragraph to be indented, while others prefer to keep text flush with the left margin. Both styles are valid; the key is consistency.

For example, if you indent each new paragraph by five spaces, keep that formatting throughout the book. On the other hand, if you prefer a cleaner look, with the first paragraph of a chapter starting without an indent, ensure every chapter follows that same style.

Indentation also applies to lists. If you’re creating bulleted or numbered lists—like a timeline of births, marriages, and deaths—choose how much to indent the list and stick to it. This creates a uniform appearance and keeps the reader focused on the content, not the layout.

Be Strategic with Page Breaks

Page breaks are a small but mighty tool in the design of your genealogy book. If you have charts, tables, or images, keeping them together on one page is crucial for clarity. For instance, if a family tree chart breaks across two pages, it forces the reader to flip back and forth, which can be frustrating and confusing. Use the Page Break option in your document editor to ensure tables, charts, and significant sections remain intact.

This becomes even more critical in reports or lists of family members. Imagine a timeline of birthdates that splits between two pages—without a page break; your readers might lose track of who was born and when. Keeping everything tidy with page breaks helps maintain the flow of information.

Photo Placement

Photos are a fantastic way to breathe life into your family history book. But where you place them is just as important as the photos themselves. A well-placed photo near the related text can help readers connect with the story more meaningfully.

For example, if you’re writing about your grandfather’s military service, placing a photo of him in uniform next to that part of the narrative will deepen the reader’s connection to the story.

Add Visual Timelines to Published Genealogy Books

You can also get creative with photo timelines. Pictures showing a house over several decades or a person at different life stages can make history feel alive and relatable.

Identify Your Photos

Inserting photos is only half the battle—identifying them is just as crucial. Be clear about who is in each image by providing detailed captions. For group photos, be specific. Instead of saying “The Smith family, 1920,” go a step further: “Back row, second from left: John Smith.” This level of detail is especially helpful when future generations use your book for their research.

If the photo shows a location or an event, be sure to include the date and place. For example, “Lewis Brown’s house, Columbus, OH, circa 1890.” This context adds another layer of richness to your narrative.

For Forth and Publish Your Genealogy Book

A family history book isn’t just about documenting facts—it’s about telling a story. By making your text visually appealing, you help readers engage with that story on a deeper level. Whether using subheadings to break up text, strategically placing photos, or ensuring consistent formatting, these small design choices can make a big impact.

Ready to bring your family history to life? Start incorporating these tips today, and your book will not only be a great read but also a beautiful keepsake for generations to come!

7 Design Secrets to Make Your Published Genealogy Book Unforgettable