When To Start

The research and writing should begin at least one year before the scheduled publication date. Time is needed not only for research, writing and editing, but also for picture selection, design and production. A two-year start, or more in the case of a complex or lengthy history, is preferable.

When a rush schedule cannot be avoided, a relatively simple book can be written and produced in six months or less assuming everyone involved in the project moves quickly.

Archives and Interviews

Some families and companies compile archival materials and ask the writer to work primarily from them. While archival materials (if they exist) are important, interviews can be even more valuable because they generate anecdotes and add a human dimension to the story. I have never interviewed fewer than 30 people for a company or family history. Typically, I interview 50 to 80. The most I ever interviewed was 140 for a history of insurance broker Johnson & Higgins.

Begin the Interviews as Soon as Possible

If you are considering publishing a history, I suggest starting the interviews as soon as possible. Every company and family has older people who provide a link to the past and have wonderful stories and memories (and perhaps documents and photographs) to share. If these individuals are not interviewed, once they are gone their stories will be lost forever. Even if you decide not to publish a book, the interview transcripts will themselves be a valuable resource for your company or family.

Simple Rules for Interviewing

When you contact someone to arrange an interview, describe the project you are working on and explain the subject areas to be covered so the person can prepare.

Review all relevant documents and other materials prior to the interview. Stand back and think about the most important information you need to obtain. Reduce that information to five to 10 subject-area bullet points, or more if necessary, to guide your questions.

Be relaxed and friendly during the interview. Be specific in your questions, ask about details and satisfy your curiosity. At the end of an interview, I always sum up the major points that have been covered. This summing up sometimes prompts an outpouring of additional information, interesting perspectives and colorful anecdotes. Some people relax once the formal interview is over and start sharing their best stories if given the opportunity to do so. I have even had situations where we walk together to the door, and the person suddenly says something highly quotable just as I am about to leave. Don’t put away your tape recorder prematurely. Sometimes the best material comes after you think the interview is over.

Joint interviews with two or more people sometimes work well, especially if the individuals are close friends who have shared many experiences. I once interviewed five cousins who had been close all their lives. They regaled each other for two hours with family recollections and stories, and I got terrific material for the book. On the other hand, one person may dominate a joint interview to the detriment of the others. If a joint interview does not produce the information you need, re-interview each person separately at a later date.

Simple Rules for Taping

All interviews should be taped, but always ask the subject for permission to do so. Find a comfortable location with little or no background noise. Some people are intimidated by speaking into a tape recorder, so place it to the side, out of direct sight.

For group interviews, consider using a video camera. This makes it easier to identify individual speakers when the tape is played back.

Double-Check All Facts

Information obtained in interviews can be unreliable. People’s memories fade. If an interviewee says such-and-such happened in 1967, maybe it really happened in 1964 or 1969. Check all information against authoritative sources.

Other Research

In addition to interviews and company or family archives, some of the resources I use include:

Historic newspapers – Some major newspapers (such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune and Times of London, as well as the old Brooklyn Eagle, once one of the top papers in the United States) have been digitized and are fully searchable back to the mid or late 19^th century. I use the computers at the New York Public Library for this research. Other searchable databases at the NYPL include a collection of more than 200 early American newspapers (“Early American Newspapers, 1690-1876,” available at many libraries) and an array of magazines and journals.

Many libraries have back issues of local dailies and weeklies. For newspapers and magazines that are not digitized, ask whether there is an index.

Library of Congress – The Library of Congress in Washington has one of the world’s premier collections of genealogical and historical materials. This includes online access via the library’s computers to the ProQuest historical newspaper database, with full-text articles from the Atlanta Constitution, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, dating back to their first issues. If you can’t get to Washington, ask your local library whether it has the ProQuest Historical Newspapers service.

The website of the Library of Congress offers a wealth of business, economic and other information accessible by home or office computer. Go to www.loc.gov, click on “Resources for Researchers” and then on “Databases, Electronic Resources.”

Federal documents such as immigration, census and military-service records, citizenship papers and passport applications – These are available at the nearest office of the U.S. National Archives (go to www.archives.gov for a list of locations) or can be searched online for a fee at a commercial service such as ancestry.com.

State and local documents such as business incorporation papers, birth and death certificates, wills and property ownership records – These are generally available at local courthouses or municipal archives.

Old city directories – Check your local library.

Specialized databases – Thousands are available at libraries or online, covering a wide range of topics. Examples include:

§         17,000 out-of-print and out-of-copyright books at www.gutenberg.org;

§         Economic and demographic statistics at www.census.gov;

§         Thomas Edison’s correspondence and notebooks at edison.rutgers.edu;

§         Immigrant arrivals at Ellis Island at www.ellisisland.org;

§         American history links at www.timepage.org/lnk/ahistory.html.

Genealogical organizations – Groups such as the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society often have unique resources. The Family History Library of the Mormon Church maintains one of the largest genealogical collections in the world, covering individuals of all backgrounds. The Library has branches, called Family History Centers, across the nation. Some of its genealogical information is available online at www.familysearch.org.

The Process

Start by putting one person in charge of the project with full responsibility for its successful completion. Then let that person, or a company or family committee chaired by that person, select a writer, designer and printer. Alternatively, you might hire a publishing firm to put together a writing, design and production team and manage the project. Several firms specialize in company and family histories.

It is important that the person in charge be well connected within the company or family so that he or she can guide the writer and identify people to be interviewed. My contact when I wrote a book for family-owned Menasha Corporation in Wisconsin was retired CEO Tad Shepard. For Kohler Company, I worked with Pete Fetterer, a longtime, highly respected employee. At the New York Stock Exchange, it was archivist Steve Wheeler. Each of them was well connected, helped guide me in identifying the subject areas to be covered in the book and was enthusiastic about the project.

Objectives and Audience

Be clear why you are writing the book. Are you celebrating a company anniversary? Are you honoring a family patriarch? Are you seeking to instill pride in your company or family heritage? Do you hope to convey a specific message, such as your company’s ability to survive and prosper in changing market conditions? Your objectives will help determine the book’s theme and content.

Define your audience. I wrote a 140-page family history that was targeted to fewer than 20 people. An influential family member hired me to research and write the book so that his children, nephews and nieces would appreciate the aspirations and values of their ancestors. The book describes the struggles and successes of an immigrant family in America at the turn of the 20^th century. Large corporations sometimes print tens of thousands of copies of their books for distribution to employees, customers and suppliers and for use as corporate calling cards and marketing tools.

Negative Information

Families often wonder whether they should include negative information, such as a messy divorce or legal problems, in their book. I believe, for the most part, that they should. Most family members will want to read the full story of their ancestry, including the blemishes, not a watered-down version. In fact, sometimes the blemishes are among the most interesting parts of the story. I would make an exception where negative information is likely to tear the family apart. It is not worth publishing a book that stands to destroy family relationships.

Many corporations do not want to include any negatives, especially if the book is being sent to customers and other outside audiences. Yet, a book that lacks candor may also lack credibility and risks being so bland that few will read beyond the first few pages. In my view, company histories should describe major past problems and challenges but not dwell on them. One of the companies I wrote a book for had been indicted in 1977 on criminal charges of price fixing. The company pleaded nolo contendere. This event, while painful for the company to discuss, was too important to ignore. The book devotes nine paragraphs to the indictment and its aftermath, emphasizing that the company took responsibility and moved on.

In any event, companies and families control the content in their sponsored histories and can include or exclude negatives as they feel is appropriate.

Developing an Outline

Draft a brief, preliminary outline for the book even before the interviews begin. This outline should highlight basic topics and events that need to be researched.

A full outline can be developed after the majority of the research has been completed. This outline – which might be anywhere from approximately two to 20 pages in length – should show the proposed chapter-by-chapter contents of the book. In the case of a corporate history, I recommend showing the full outline to senior management to make sure there are no serious disagreements before proceeding further.

Compelling Narrative

Good writing and design drive readership. If people aren’t going to read the book, why bother publishing it?

Lively and entertaining – The best histories have a compelling story line. They bring events and people to life through the use of pacing and anecdotes. They have interesting content. And they use simple declarative sentences and active verbs.

Humanize your book – Tell the story from the viewpoint of people. Don’t say “the company” made such-and-such a decision. Tell which individual or individuals made it; explain some of the factors they considered; and quote them if possible.

Tell the story in context – Your family or company story fits into the larger picture of events in the nation and the world. The best books interweave the story with these larger themes and, in doing so, provide unique insights. A simple example is the rise of technology and how your company has influenced, and been influenced by, technology – and what your company’s experience says about the benefits, limitations and opportunities of technology.

Use photo captions to summarize your story – Of all the content of a book, only the chapter titles are likely to generate higher readership than the captions. Yet, captions are often the least developed element in the mix of words, pictures and design. Each caption can be used not only to identify the subject of the picture, but also to summarize an important point made in the text. Those who skim through the book and read only the captions should come away with the highlights of your story.

© 2006 Richard Blodgett