I know I’m supposed to be on a break, but a friend of mine called today to ask how she would go about getting TWO books (gifts for her grown children) published. She’s not interested in selling, but rather putting together keepsake style books, with photos, memories, and family recipes. I have no clue how to do something like this. Would she look for a local printer to handle it? Is there any way for her to contact someone who could format it for her? I don’t even know what her first step would be. *Hangs head in embarrassment, here*
It occurred to me that I might like to do this one day, too, and that perhaps some of you would, as well, so maybe this topic would make for a good discussion?
Any and all thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated, and might be useful to lots of us. THANKS!
The Write Stuff 
Just two books… hmm. I don’t know. I hope someone does!
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Me, either, though I DO know you can get books done like that at certain publishers/printers. I once made a 12 page book of poems for my granddaughter and it had printed and bound, but I can’t find any info on who or where did it. Probably need to do some online searches for local printers. OR … I could ask my cover designer. She used to work for a printing company, and might have some suggestions for us. I’ll get on that tomorrow, and share anything I learn.
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It sounds like a photobook might be the solution. There are lots of companies who print these as gifts, so I would recommend a Google search to see which offer the best prices.
For my hubs’ 50th birthday, I got a photobook of his windsurfing career printed. It contained text, photos, scans of postcards and all kinds of keepsakes in it. It took a little time to compile and format, but the photobook companies have page templates and Wizards which walk you through, so you don’t need any particular expertise. You don’t have to create the book in one sitting, you can save the project and come back to it later.
I hope this helps!
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Yes! Exactly what she needs! I will do a quick search myself, as I wouldn’t mind making one of these for my kids this year, too. The only one I did was a book of poems I’d written formy little granddaughter, so no pictures, etc, but that was more than 15 years ago, and I no longer remembered diddly squat about the process or source.
Thanks so much, Jackie! I really appreciate the input and will pass it along to my friend!
😊❤️😊
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No problem. Sorry I’ve not been able to reply earlier, I’ve had zero internet for the last few days. xx
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Don’t worry, Jackie. I always assume you are driving through an Internet No-Man’s Land when you disappear for a while. Always good to see you when you’re able to stop by, though! 😀 ❤
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A change of country, a phone update, and a new Montenegrin SIM solved the problem! 🙂
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Yay! Good news, for sure! 😀 ❤
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I agree about the photobook suggestion. You just need to have photos of the items you want to be included and you can resize and move stuff around in the templates until you’re happy with it. We use a company called PhotoBox here and they often have cheap deals. We did one for a friend’s mother to celebrate her 100th birthday. There were photos of her own grandparents, places they’d lived, letters and diary extracts, postcards sent from France during WW1, receipts for items bought when she was a child, her golden wedding celebrations, and right up to the newest family additions- she loved it. ❤
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Oh, what a wonderful gift, Trish! No wonder she loved it! You and Jackie have answered my question, and perhaps given some great ideas to anyone else who reads this post. I’m definitely giving my friend a call today, but I think I’ll do some searching for a link or two to send her first. (And to save for my OWN use, too!) WOOOHOOOO! You gotta love our blogging community, doncha? When folks can help, they do, and it’s such a wonderful thing. (Like knowing you have friends who’ve got your back!)
Thanks so much for sharing the info, my friend! 😊❤️😊
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And to put this into some kind of context, even I could do it… 🤣
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HAHAHAHAHAHA!! You are too funny! HUGS comin’ atcha! 🤗🤗🤗
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🤗
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Every year, I create a book of photos and descriptions through Snapfish.com. You can upload any type of picture and you can write as much as you want. They have all sorts of ways to organize the page. I just buy one book. I usually wait until the have a 70% off coupon. This might be something your friend can use to create her books. I’ve done this for every year of his life and will give all of them to him as a gift when he graduates. 🙂
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Snapfish is one I shared with my friend, Yvette, and I’m glad to hear you’ve used it successfully, too. Congrats on a great project. Someone is going to LOVE receiving it one day! 😀 ❤
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I was going to share the same info as “Worldwidewalkies,” but there it is. It’s a great idea. Another project in case you don’t have enough to do! Lol
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I started out looking for this info for a friend, but I do think it would be a fun project for me, too. If not this year, maybe next, when I’ve got more of my energy back. And I KNEW the good folks in our blogging community would have the answer. Thanks for being one who would have shared, too! 😀 ❤
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Finding the time is probably the hardest part.
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Of pretty much everything, I think! (Where does it GO???) 🤔😊
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I have no idea. I need to work on my “slowing down time” technique. Lol
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Let me know how that goes. Mine could use some work, too! 😁😁😁
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