FamilyYearbook

The extract from the article below was the inspiration for our Family Yearbook. Betsy's magazine is still going strong. She has been avery active in the literary field and is happy to have contacts from anyone interested in her poetry, books or family magazine. See Links below to view her page.

We have had some changes in content over the years, below are some of the popular sections. One of the family is a Genealogist and provides all the information on the Family Tree and the Ancestor Profile. See Links below to view her Page. We have attained complete originality of poems and stories. Some members of the family have regular entries** such as Best Books, Jim's Jargon, The Useless Farm Girl & Cracks in the Pines.. See "Past Editions" & "The New Years Edition" to see these. Also "Past Editions" shows some clips of the 14th edition. The New Years Edition gives the hightlights of the 15th edition.

Below I provide some hints for organization and production. I have found it is important to encourage all members of the family to contribute especially the younger ones as they are our future. The last few editions have had the rule that each contributer presents their pages/articles (25 copies) ready for collation to minimuse costs for the editor. The editor does the front cover, an editorial and epilogue, and collates, binds and posts out. We started with a book price of $10 each however, due to our recent review have had to raise it to $15 per book to ensure the editor is not out of pocket. Most families doing a Yearstory have chosen a name that has stuck over the years, eg "Short Stories", "Snippits from the Smiths", "Maudsley Matters" and many more.

'Our family magazine was born 11 years ago. I wrote some poems for a reunion and someone said, "We should do something like this every year"....We have a routine. About early September I send questionnaires to family members seeking contributions...About mid to late November another letter goes to stragglers...We find the family magazine is a great way to keep in touch and to keep the family history together. It takes a bit of work each year...but I know it is well worth the effort'.

Betsy Chape

Note: Betsy has recently had another article about her Yearbook appearing in the magazine "That's Life". Issue 5 February 5th, 2005.

Editorial
Family Tree and Family History
Ancestor Profile
Individual Family Year Stories
In the News
Poems, Jokes & Short Stories
Favorite Recipes
Best Books/Book Review
New Arrivals
Special Events
Other Celebrations
In Memoriam
Generation Y/Z
Regular individual articles mentioned above **
Epilogue

Publish once a year.
Have one co-ordinator but share the editorship, eg rotate yearly.
The co-ordinators role is to organize eg send action plan.
The Editor is responsible for all production.
Encourage all to participate.
Keep as original as possible
Condense layout to minimize costs.
Ensure photos are scanned to enhance production.
Announce the next year's editor in the Epilogue of the Yearbook.
Introduce each section with a cover page.
Conduct reviews on production issues each year.

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