Forwarded from another list for those of you who are interested in submitting articles to The Heritage of Dallas County. This is NOT from the Dallas County Committee but is general information. B.J. Smothers ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Regarding the HERITAGE BOOKS, so many of you have emailed individually, and on the web, requesting more information. This will be fairly general, so if you need more specific information, please contact me directly and I will attempt to help. Just for the record, I am a volunteer committee member and am not receiving any kind of pay -- nor do any of the other committee members for any of the books. For all of us, it is strictly an endeavor/labor of love for, and interest in, the history of our counties. Even though this is "general," it will be fairly lengthy. I apologize, but I don't know of any other way to answer all the questions you have been asking. Again, you may contact me directly, but if you think you may be interested, please SAVE and/or PRINT this for future reference. Although the books are compiled on an individual county basis, the Heritage of Alabama Series contains 68 volumes (one for each of the 67 counties with a comprehensive index for the 68th volume). Each book is also individually indexed with every surname which appears in it. The books are 9 x12, hard bound (with gold stamped covers) and on acid-free paper. They are being put together by unpaid volunteers, mostly drawn from the local historical societies, using information submitted by people like you and me. Proceeds, at the vote of each committee, generally benefit historical/genealogy society projects and/or libraries. You can submit family history to be published FREE OF CHARGE with NO OBLIGATION to buy a book. The committees for the individual counties are handling all the submissions, as well as prepublication (has a lower price) sales of the individual books and should be contacted directly. Printing of the books is staggered so that some are already out and in libraries, others are in the various stages of being processed and printed, and still others are just getting started and are actively taking submissions. I can supply individual county addresses, or you can write the state coordinator at: Heritage Publishing Consultants, P. O. Box 67, Clanton, AL 35046-0067. The books are real treasures -- about OUR Alabama families and history -- and not some generic listing. Librarians tell us they can't keep the books on the shelves because folks are so eager to see/use them. Submitting your family/community stories and history is a wonderful opportunity to get your families represented -- and share things you would like to pass down to grandchildren and for future generations. Many of you have asked specifically about CHILTON COUNTY. There IS still time to get your information in. From what I understand, April 20 will be the very last day to do so. Submissions, and any orders, should be sent to: Chilton County Heritage Book Committee, P.O. Box 714, Jemison, AL 35085. Alabama's largest county, JEFFERSON COUNTY, has just gotten started and is actively seeking and accepting submissions. Articles with any connection to Jefferson, past or present, may be sent to: Jefferson County Heritage Book Committee, P.O. Box 190034, Birmingham, AL 35219. For actual details about submitting material, read on and I'll try to give an overview: The books have two sections, Family and Topical. (A.) FAMILY -- generally includes family members' names, dates and places of births, marriages, deaths. It may include how and when an ancestor came to this country and the county -- or anything that fits into "family history." This can be in a simple narrative form, or put together in the context of a story that fits that individual's life. The tree-type charts, and tabulations, cannot be accepted. (B.) TOPICAL -- includes just about anything other than direct family history. Examples are: old or current, homes, churches, schools, communities, organizations, landmarks, jobs, holiday and/or family traditions, special memories -- anything you think future generations might want to know about. You know how thrilled WE are when we discover any little tidbit about our ancestors, how and where they lived. You can also cross-reference an article. For instance if you have a Civil War era ancestor and a letter he wrote about his experiences, put his family history in a "Family" article, and within that article, reference his Civil War experiences, which you can put into a "Topical" article. The publisher requests that all material be typed, double spaced. If someone does not have a typewriter, most counties have volunteers who will do the typing. "Professional" writing ability is not a requirement -- these are grassroots histories and the fact they are written by real people actually enhances their value. Please include, at the end of each article: (1.) The NAME and ADDRESS of the submitter. (2.) SOURCES used (such as census records, family Bibles, oral and/or family history, etc.) This will be printed so that future queries can be addressed directly to the submitter. (3.) PHOTO CAPTION -- if a photo is included, the caption should be written at the very end of the article -- after the name of the submitter. That way the typesetter will have it when he works with the article. Photo captions do not go on the back of the actual photo. (4.) WORD COUNT -- committees are also requesting that the approximate number of words in an article be added immediately at the end of an article. Do not count words in the title, or from the submitter, source, and photo caption information. Word count will not be printed in the book, but is for bookkeeping purposes and figuring actual cost involved with the printing, etc. -- more than most folks care to hear detail about; but if you do, let me know. LENGTH of articles/stories: For "current" subjects, each household is encouraged to send in a 500 word family history and one photo. If the ancestor/subject was in the county previous to 1890, they qualify as "pioneer" and get an extra 500 words and a second photo (or a single photo printed double size = full column wide). Additional words are 15 cents each and additional photos are $12.50 each. This is so that one person doesn't submit a book-length manuscript and dominate the book to the exclusion of other families. However, if you happen to be the family repository for all your family lines, for conformity, these may be basically put together by you but submitted under another family member's name. The idea is to get as many families represented as possible and if you have the information for several families, that would not constitute "unfairness" to another submitter -- so send it on. If there is any problem, the committee will notify you. PHOTOS: The publisher will take any size up to 8x10. Photos can be 35 mm, color or black and white. Good laser prints on photographic paper are acceptable, but no Xerox-type photocopies or faded Polaroid prints. Photos will be returned if the submitter sends a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Please do not send an original of a family keepsake photo -- the publisher and committees cannot be responsible for any loss or damage. Many people (to keep these original photos from ever leaving their possession) have copied them on one of the self-serve machines at discount store like Walmart or K-Mart, or at copy stores like Kinkos, Office Depot, etc. Those machines don't give you a negative, but the copy prints are very good and are inexpensive. Whew! What could I have left out? RESTRICTIONS -- Articles cannot harm or embarrass anyone. Committees reserve the right to delete spurious material. And, you do not lose any copyright rights to your original material. So, if you chose to publish later and use the same material, that is not a problem. Believe me folks -- the above took me longer to organize and write than it will take you to organize, write and submit your articles. If you have read this far, PLEASE do not procrastinate. There have been a number of instances when someone called or mailed in their article(s) just after the book contents had gone off to the publisher. They were disappointed and we are all poorer for not having that valuable history. HAPPY WRITING! If you need additional information, please email me. Patricia Crim Dietlein Heritage Book Committee