A family history book service researches a family in the archives that hold its records, then writes the book and prints it. At Zichronos most commissions take three to four months. When a book is needed by a fixed date, such as the shloshim, a priority commission delivers printed copies of a first edition in time.
These are the questions families ask most often before they commission a family history book. The answers say how the service works at Zichronos, from the first conversation to the printed book. How we work sets out the eight steps in full, and the guides on hiring help, and what it costs compare the other kinds of service.
Key points
- A family history book service finds the records behind a family's stories, then writes and prints its history as a finished book.
- Every Zichronos commission includes the research, translation, writing and design, five hardcover copies and a PDF, with archive, copy and translation fees included.
- Most commissions take three to four months; a book needed by a fixed date is taken on as a priority commission, and a priority fee applies.
- Records that arrive after delivery go into an updated edition, and the book says plainly what is still unknown.
How a commission works, step by step
- A first conversation. We hear what the family knows and agree the scope: which branches, how far back, and any date the book must meet.
- A proposal in writing. It sets out the scope, the price and how it is paid, and the research begins once the family agrees.
- The family's papers. Everything the family has is read and transcribed, and relatives are interviewed.
- The records. We search the public collections and write to the archives that may hold more, and each record is transcribed and translated in full.
- The book. It is written with every fact tied to its source, designed with maps and family trees, and printed as a large-format hardcover.
- The later edition. Replies that arrive after delivery are read and added to an updated edition.
For the first conversation it helps to have some of these ready, though none of them is required:
Checklist
- The full names of parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, in every spelling.
- The towns they came from, as the family said them.
- Any dates, even approximate ones.
- Papers and photographs at home, photographed front and back.
- The relatives who remember most.
- Any date the book must be ready by.
What a commission includes
What does a family history book service do?
It turns what a family knows into a finished book, by finding the records behind the family's stories and then writing and printing the history. At Zichronos all of it is one commission:
| Part of the work | In a standard commission |
|---|---|
| Reading the family's papers, and interviews with relatives | Included |
| Searching the public record collections, and letters to archives | Included, with archive and copy fees |
| Full translations from Polish, German, Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian or any other language | Included, with translation fees |
| Writing, maps, family trees and design | Included |
| Printed copies | Five hardcovers and a PDF |
| Publication on Amazon, so relatives can order copies | At no charge, if the family wishes |
| Heirloom-bound copies, sewn and bound in cloth or leather, in a slipcase | In premium packages, priced on request |
| A first edition by a fixed date | A priority commission; a priority fee applies |
Can the family decide what goes into the book?
Yes. Where records hold sensitive matters, such as welfare files or medical notes, the family decides what is published. A family that wants the book to keep to the standards of an observant home, or to leave a subject out, says so at the start, and the written proposal records it.
Time and dates
How long does a commission take?
Most commissions take three to four months, from the first conversation to printed copies. Most of that time goes to the letters to archives and to reading and translating what comes back.
Can a book be ready for a yahrzeit or a milestone birthday?
Yes. Any fixed day, such as the first yahrzeit, a milestone birthday or a family celebration, can be met as a priority commission, with printed copies of a first edition in time for the date and a priority fee. A memorial book by the shloshim explains what thirty days can hold.
What happens when an archive answers after the book is printed?
What arrives is read and added to an updated edition, and any correction to the first edition is stated openly in it. In a premium package, the heirloom-bound copies are made from the updated edition. Some archives never answer, and the book says plainly what was searched and what is still unknown.
The research
We have very few papers. Can you still help?
Yes. Most families begin with very little, and a few names and places, even with dates that are only approximate, are enough to start. The archives may hold far more than the family does, and each new spelling of a name is searched in turn.
Which languages can you read?
Records are read and translated in full from Polish, German, Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian and any other language they were written in. The original of every entry that matters is read, since an index can misread a name or a date.
How do you get records from archives abroad?
By letter. We write to the archive or library that holds the files, with a specific request about one person or one kind of record, and work from the copies they send. Every message and reply is logged.
How are our family's papers and photographs kept?
Family papers shared with us are kept private and used only for your book. How originals are kept and returned is set out in writing at the start of each commission.
The book
What does the finished book look like?
A large-format hardcover, typically 150 to 300 pages, in full color. It holds the family tree with every spelling each name takes in the records, maps drawn for the book, restored photographs and documents set beside their translations. Every fact is tied to its source in the notes.
Can we see a finished book before we decide?
Yes. The example on this site is a family history in two volumes, 570 pages with 23 maps and 190 photographs and documents, and its pages can be read spread by spread on Inside a book. Family history book examples goes through what each part of a finished book holds.
Sources: How we work and Inquire on this site, October 2026; the figures for the example are from The Tarko Family, in two volumes.
Questions families ask
What is included in a commissioned family history?
Everything from the first conversation to the printed book: the family's papers read, interviews with relatives, a search of the public records, letters to the archives that may hold more, and full translations of the originals. The book holds the family tree, maps, the history of the family's towns and a plain account of what is still unknown. Archive, copy and translation fees are included.
Can a family history book be ready by the shloshim?
Yes, as a priority commission. Within thirty days the first edition is built from the family's papers and interviews and from the record collections that can be searched directly, and printed copies arrive in time for the shloshim. Requests to the archives go out at once. Archives answer on their own schedules, so whatever arrives later goes into an updated edition. A priority fee applies.
Do you need to be Jewish to commission a family history?
No. We work with families of every background, Jewish and not, with roots in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East or America. That includes Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrahi families, families with a convert among them, and families whose records are entirely American, from census pages to a county courthouse in Ohio. The research follows a family wherever its records are.
What should I expect when hiring a private historian to document my life?
A first conversation, then a proposal in writing that sets out the scope, the price and any date the book must meet. The historian then reads your papers, takes down your memories and finds the records behind them. Expect to be asked for names, towns and dates, and for every paper you have. A good book keeps your memories apart from what the records show.
How do family heritage publishers help in preserving family stories?
They turn what a family knows into a book that outlasts the people who remember. The stories are written down, the records behind them are found and translated, and the whole is printed so every branch of the family has a copy. A researched book also keeps memory apart from what the records show, so grandchildren can tell which is which.
What is the best way to publish a legacy book?
It depends on who will read it. A book for the immediate family needs a handful of good hardcovers and a PDF that can be shared. When cousins abroad will want copies too, it helps to publish the book where anyone can order it. We publish on Amazon at no charge if the family wishes.
How much does a commissioned family history cost?
Commissions begin at $10,000. Archive, copy and translation fees are included. The price of each book depends on its size: how many branches and generations it follows, how many countries and languages its records are in, and how much the family already holds. A priority fee applies when a book is needed by a fixed date. What a family history book costs compares every kind of service.
More in hiring help, and what it costs