My New Book: 500 Best Genealogy & Family History Tips

My latest ebook - 500 Best Genealogy & Family History Tips - 2015 Edition - is now available in PDF format from Legacy Family Tree! And to celebrate, Legacy has created a special coupon for my fans and followers! Click here and use promo code 500best10 to get 10% off your copy today! This coupon is good through Sunday 15 March 2015.

500 Best Genealogy & Family History Tips was released on 25 November 2014 as an Amazon Kindle ebook (click here if you want to buy the Kindle version). It has frequently been on the Amazon best-seller lists in the genealogy category and has helped many genealogists with their research.

More About 500 Best Genealogy & Family History Tips

500 Best Genealogy & Family History Tips could best be described as a “brain dump” of me, Thomas MacEntee, and my many years of knowledge about genealogy and family history. Basically what I’ve done is to extract my favorite tips and tricks from over 85 presentations, 10 books and numerous articles. In addition, I’ve reviewed the social media posts and conversations from Facebook, Twitter and other platforms to highlight those issues most important to today’s genealogists.

What will you find in this “best tips” guide? Everything from practical ways to use Google, advice on protecting your privacy online, information about secret or little known resources for genealogy research, and more. The best way to use this guide is to browse the Table of Contents to find a topic of interest. Also simply search the book when trying to find a solution to a problem, such as how to cite a source or locate an app to generate bibliographic information.

500 Best Genealogy & Family History Tips covers a wide range of topics including:

• genealogy research methodology and strategy

• how to use websites such as Google and Internet Archive to find your ancestors

• realizing the power of Facebook, Evernote and Pinterest for genealogy
  preserving family photos and stories

• staying safe using social media

• how to secure your genealogy data on your computer and in the cloud

• and more!

©2015, copyright Thomas MacEntee.  All rights reserved.

My New Book Now Available In Print

I'm happy to say that my "proof" copy of my new book, Approaching the Lectern: How to Become a Genealogy Speaker, arrived, approved and now you can purchase the book in print at Lulu.com.

Click here to learn more about the book at The Connected Genealogist and get a sneak peek at the table of contents and a few sample pages.

© 2010, copyright Thomas MacEntee

My Next Book? Perhaps Self-Publishing for Genealogists

After this roller coaster of a week - and mind you, it is only Wednesday - I think I've discovered the topic of my next self-published book: self-publishing for the genealogist.

Seriously, this entire process of writing a book, getting it self-published, converting it to epub format for the Amazon Kindle, etc. has been a learning experience.  And one of the best ways to write a book is to base it on your own experiences and the knowledge you've picked up on the way.

The response to Approaching the Lectern: How to Become a Genealogy Speaker has been overwhelming and I really appreciate the heartfelt and constructive feedback from my colleagues in the genealogy community.  Now that the book is written, here comes the hard part: printing, distribution and marketing.

Some insights for those considering self-publishing:

• Proof, proof, proof. Funny, this is one of my admonitions in the section of my book on creating presentation slides. It seems that no matter how many times you proof a book you've written, something will get by, only to be found by a reader.

• Educate yourself on the process.  This is where my new book would help.  There are things I wish I had know before I even started writing my book such as: write it for epub (Amazon Kindle and e-book) formatting and then create the fancier print version. Also there is quite a bit I've learned about graphics, resolution, etc. which I thought I already knew.

• Tap into the marketing machine.  Book marketing has its own process and methodologies. Then add the genealogy book market factor. Many members of the genealogy community have given me good advice on how to get my book reviewed etc. This is also important info that I need to compile and put together for future self-publishers.

So is it worth it? So far, I think so. And not just from a financial standpoint - there really is something satisfying about having your hard work in print.

© 2010, copyright Thomas MacEntee