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Gregath Publishing e-zine
Volume 7, Number 10
October, 2008
Helping writers, genealogists and computer users of all kinds
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Please note that while an effort to generalize much of this text has been made, some references to "we, our, etc." still occur and much of the information provided applies to The Gregath Publishing Company and may not with other printer/publishers. ALWAYS double check with your printer/publisher on every detail.

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Table of Contents
You may click on each department below to go directly to that article. At the end of each article (if supported) is a link back to this contents.

What's It Mean?
Design Inspiration
Book Manufacturing Concepts
Marketing Advice
Genealogy Ideas
Computer Help

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What�s It Mean?
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Specification "spec" sheet: A book's "road map" - instructions for font type and size, for captions, heading, text, etc, placement of illustrations, captions, etc. for the typesetter or manuscript preparation professional.

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For other printing, publishing, marketing lingo, check our glossary at
http://www.gregathcompany.com/gloss.html and
http://www.gregathcompany.com/glosswrite.html
Run across a word that you don't understand? Try us - e-mail us your word, term or phrase and we will see if we can shed some light on the matter!
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Design Inspiration
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Do add other things besides text!

Text items beyond your data:

This date in history...
Factoids, did you know, and "trivia"
newspaper items - both actual news and advertisements
"academic" history - history that influenced but not directly touched the family

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This section is drawn from
http://www.gregathcompany.com/publish/design/elements.html
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Book Manufacturing Concepts
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When you have text that covers more space than you want in a manuscript, what can be done?

For more space savings, you may be able to work with the spacing before and after - yes they can be set to negative numbers. This is generally not as easy to work with though.

Note: When working with script or special fonts (such as brush script, comic sans, etc.) you can play with the "at" in a much larger range. Some scripts you can go half the point size even. When in doubt, try it and then print that page out to see if the letters all print fully.

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This section is also published at http://www.gregathcompany.com/FAQ\manuscript.html
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Marketing advice
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Consider the cost of your shipping and the "hidden cost" of handling, when establishing your advertising. USPS flat rate priority mail weight restrictions: 70 pounds for all domestic shipments - International 20 pounds for boxes and 4 pounds for envelopes.

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This section is drawn from
http://www.gregathcompany.com/bookselling.html
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Genealogy ideas
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Use Funeral Homes When Researching

Genealogists are fascinated with cemeteries. Besides being the final resting place for ones ancestors, cemeteries provide vital information. Tombstone and cemetery records often reveal more than death information. Cemeteries, however, are not the only sources of information regarding the deceased. Do not forget funeral homes.

Funeral homes are another resource for providing family information. Their records often contain biographical information not found on the deth certificate or in the obituary. They may also have a copy of the funeral program, printed eulogies, as well as a copy of the death certificate and obituary.

Funeral home records are private business documents. You do not have a legal right to view them. They are not covered by the Freedom of Information Act. Most funeral directors, however, are individuals who are more than willing to help genealogists.

Many funeral directors have allowed their records to be microfilmed. Often genealogical societies have published the records. For example, the Tulsa Genealogical Society has published 12 volumes of funeral home records. The Lawton Ritter-Gray funeral home records to 1994 are on microfilm and available at the Lawton Public Library.

If you do not know what funeral home was used, the death certificate or obituary should provide this information.

If you are looking for a list of funeral homes and cemeteries currently operating, go to www.imortuary.com. Select by location or browse the state and town. The address, phone number, web address and location on a map are given.

That web site is a quick and easy way to locate funeral homes and cemeteries throughout the country. Memorial parks, such as Sunset Memorial (Lawton) are listed under funeral homes and not cemeteries.

The site does not list all known cemeteries for an area. Not included are rural, inactive, family and small cemeteries. For example, Highland Cemetery (Lawton) is listed, but not the cemeteries in Cache, Indiahoma or Elgin. Local funeral homes can often provide you with a list of local cemeteries. They are experts on this subject.

The National Yellow Book of Funeral Directors and The National Directory of Morticians, both published annually, are excellent print guides to funeral homes. Arrangement is by state and town. Genealogy libraries, including the Lawton Public Library, often own a copy.

What if the funeral home is no longer in business? Again, ask the funeral home still in business as it may have the records of the old funeral homes or know where they may be located.

(This information was taken from Paul Follett�s column Tree Tracers published in the Lawton Constitution on December 10, 2007.)

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Have a tip? e-mail us
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Computer aid!?!
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Create a gutter margin in MS Word

Microsoft Word (all versions) If you are preparing a camera ready digital manuscript of any length at all, you probably want a binding margin - commonly called a gutter margin. In MS Word, you add the extra gutter space through mirror margins. With the file you want margins for open, select "File" at the top of your screen to get the pull-down menu; select "Page Setup"; if not already visible, select "margins"; set "Top", "Bottom", "Left", and "Right" all the same size; set gutter to add the extra binding space to your taste; choose gutter position to fit the orientation of paper - left for long edge binding; under the pages/multiple pages setting click the arrow down and choose mirror - this will alter the preview at the bottom of the box - showing the gutter in crosshatch; select OK or "Default" then "OK". If you are (going to be) working with multiple files, select "Default" before closing this dialog box. Also, if you are setting margins on a file that already has text in it, make sure "Whole document" is selected in the "Apply to:" dialog box. When you have typed in your headers and footers, print out a page and use a ruler to be sure all four margins are where you thought they'd be. If it is not, repeat this process changing the settings that are not the right size. Different versions of word, as well as printers and fonts will impact your best settings.

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This section is drawn from
http://www.gregathcompany.com/publish/design/margins.html
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Note: All references to "click" are using the left mouse button unless otherwise noted.
Have a question or tip? e-mail us We may be stumped, but either way you'll get a personal reply.
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About this e-zine
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Gregath Co. is pleased to present information that may be of help to authors and genealogists on a monthly basis in this format.

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