Genealogy software allows you to explore and memorialize your family history as a book.
But what’s the best genealogy software for writing a book?
The best genealogy software for writing a book is Family Historian. The software is simple, user-friendly, and good for beginners. Family Historian offers a free trial. Family Historian also pairs well with book-writing software such as Jasper, Sqribble, Designrr, and Canva.
In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the best genealogy software for writing a book.
11 Best Genealogy Software for Writing a Family History Book
The best genealogy software can perform a variety of tasks to help you write your book.
For instance, create your family tree and keep track of pertinent details regarding your family members. Details like dates, dates, places, and relationships, among others.
All of these details are super important for writing your book.
You also want software that allows you to import your family’s information into the software program and export it out to book-writing software.
Here is my list of the best genealogy software for writing a book.
1) Family Historian
Family Historian is very useful for beginners just starting out in genealogy.
The most important feature is its simplicity of use—that’s why I consider it the best genealogy software for writing a book.
You can start using it immediately without reading the manuals or tutorials. Incorporating information into the application is simple and fast. The main screen in the application includes an ancestry chart as well as an information box that allows you to add details about each individual.
You can see the whole family tree picture even as you work on specific “branches.”
The smart tree feature allows you to expand or collapse the various parts of the tree according to your needs. Your screen doesn’t need to be filled with all the many parts of your family tree if you’re working on just a small area.
Pros
- Free trial for 30 days.
- Many support documents.
- Option to add relatives or people of unknown gender
Cons
- The download price doesn’t include research sources
- Not compatible with Macs
- Lacks phone support
2) Legacy Family Tree
Making an entire family tree starting from scratch could be quite a daunting task without the right software that stores data and searches databases online for information.
Legacy Family Tree offers the possibility of creating a robust genealogy that can reveal a person’s ancestors down to their last known relatives.
The program is easy to install, and there aren’t any extra requirements, except for an internet connection.
In short, the software is not difficult to set up.
It might take you some time to navigate the software due to the plethora of choices and functions from the home screen. But, once you use it for a while, you’ll likely get the hang of the program very quickly.
One feature I appreciate is the guided mode, where the software walks you step-by-step through creating a family tree.
The information you input is saved automatically and may be reused for various future input scenarios.
Pros
- Legacy Family Tree provides everything you might expect and lots of cool features that are brand new in the most recent version.
- The Compare Two Individuals tool helps when you have two records with similar names.
- The side-by-side display allows you to check them easily without flipping back and forth between multiple screens.
Cons
- On the flip side, the current version of the software does not allow tracking marriages between two people of the same gender. However, it is expected to soon change this functionality.
- The Legacy website isn’t as attractive as some of the others, and some users find the software over complicated. However, it still has a help section forums, forums, and many other user-focused features.
3) Family Tree Maker
FTM or Family Tree Maker is one of the best genealogy software for writing a book, which is why it is an extensively used genealogy software.
It’s been around for quite a while and is a very effective tool.
Family Tree maker offers many features of other genealogy software, plus some extras like photo editing. There are definitely a few advantages that you might want to test out for yourself.
Pros
- Up to eight colors for tracking your relatives
- It also comes with an image editor
- It connects with the Ancestry Family Search and Family Search websites
Cons
- Charts that are not as extensive compared to competitors
- Expensive
4) Heredis (Mac)
Heredis fits perfectly on this list of the best genealogy software for writing a book.
There are numerous reasons why.
It can assist you in constructing and quickly building the family tree. Heredis helps you keep a record of your family’s history for reference, or to explore the history of medical and illnesses within your family.
It is easy to add family members and their different data like the dates of their deaths, births, employment, and many more.
It is also possible to sync data between devices with ease so long as you’re running Heredis on all of them.
Pros
- Synchronizing is simple
- Simple interface
- Cross-platform
- There are a variety of sharing options for sharing
- Works on Macs and PCs
Cons
- Crashes sometimes
- It doesn’t open immediately on occasion
5) Roots Magic
RootsMagic genealogy software organizes and stores large quantities of data like wedding dates, health data, funeral dates, jobs as well as religious memberships.
The interface is intuitive and user-friendly.
It offers superb tools for research, and the helpful hints make it one of the best genealogy software for writing a book.
However, the quality of the charts isn’t great.
Pros
- The application FamilySearch is certified and lets you access information directly into one of the most extensive databases on the market
- One of the most popular software on the market
Cons
- It only earned a grade of C+ for the quality of the charts.
6) Family Tree Heritage
Family Tree Heritage comes with certain distinct advantages over some of the other programs. But it isn’t equipped with other specific features offered by some of the other programs.
Family Tree Heritage gives you access to endless tips to make the most of your research.
It also provides tools that permit the merging of two family tree families, which reduces the time you have to perform cross-checks and locate duplicate records.
The most appealing aspect of Family Tree Heritage is how it can make global changes, such as corrections to a misspelled word.
It will automatically correct the same error everywhere else.
That saves you tons of time in creating and writing your family history book.
Pros
- Includes tools to join family trees
- Easy to add news sources and link one source to many people
- Perform bulk changes at one time
Cons
- It does not come with an in-app browser
- It does not include an option to map
- Does not yet easily allow for same-sex marriage tracking
7) Master Genealogist
The Master Genealogist (or TMG) is an advanced genealogy software program designed to meet the needs of both regular users and professional genealogy researchers.
Its flexible interface allows users to easily browse, sort, and filter through a wealth of genealogical information.
At the same time, its sophisticated database for sources and citations enables users to record crucial details about their research findings with ease.
TMG also allows users to include media files such as photos, videos, and scanned documents in their research records for a more complete picture of their family history.
Not only does the software allow users to record complex genetic information about themselves and their ancestors, but it also provides special tools for exploring connections between different individuals based on shared DNA markers.
This makes TMG an ideal tool for genealogists who want to conduct research at a higher level.
Pros
- Make complex and good-looking genealogy charts
- Provides an X-DNA chart
Cons
- It’s a bit more difficult to learn for beginners
- Lacks support for same-sex marriages
8) Personal Historian
Personal Historian is by far one of the most reliable and exhaustive genealogy software available to trace your family tree.
Contrary to some other programs that simply manage the data that you already own, Personal Historian offers access to billions upon billions of data that you can search through to find your ancestry.
Personal Historian is, in essence, a giant pool of genealogical information.
Pros
- Numerous genealogical records
- The option to locate relatives via DNA
- No downloads required – Ancestry operates using a browser
- Smartphone apps are readily available
- User-friendly interface
- It is easy to collaborate with family members
- Export and import are simple functions
Cons
- Expensive
9) Reunion
It’s already a top choice for genealogy enthusiasts who use Mac.
Reunion jumps to the top of the line with the release of each new version. With its awe-inspiring power and versatility, along with a more modern interface, it’s equally suited for both power users and novices.
Enhanced web publishing and multimedia strengthen its already robust data entry and navigation features.
If you’re still on your PC, Reunion may be your reason to switch to Mac.
Pros
- A powerful tool to collect the data of your family members
- Innovative options for reporting and expressing data points
- Easy for mastering data entry and navigation tools
Cons
- The menu allows you to accidentally alter data viewed on the Reunion sidebar
- The reunion sidebar is situated in an odd place (in my opinion)
- There is no warning or undo button in case you accidentally delete media files
10) Family Tree Builder
Family Tree Builder makes it simple to keep track of your family’s history, make it available online, and access a massive archive of historical documents along with family tree information.
This makes it a great software for compiling your family tree book.
Even if you’re using another software, installing Family Tree Builder as additional software for accessing your online collection is worth trying.
Pros
- Free version
- Twelve billion records from the past
- Simple integration of MyHeritage DNA testing
- Automatically matches historical records
Cons
- Expensive
11) Gramps
This is one of the most advanced and feature-rich genealogy software.
It is undoubtedly the most effective large-sized chart-building program.
There is, however, a learning curve in figuring out how the program works, which is somewhat true of all the best genealogy software for writing a book.
The good news is that Gramps offers a lot of help right on the site.
Pros
- Tons of features
- Easy access to help
- Free to use
Cons
- Steep learning curve for beginners
7 Best Book Writing Software for Writing a Family History Book [Free and Paid]
Along with using the best genealogy software for writing a book, you’ll also need software to write the text in your family history book.
That’s where book-writing software can save you weeks of time, effort, and money.
Here are my favorite book-writing programs for writing genealogy books.
1) Jasper AI
Overall, the Jasper AI solution is by far my top recommendation for software that automatically generates thousands of words of text for you.
I use Jasper every day across multiple websites, blogging platforms, and to write genealogy books.
Jasper:
- Creates titles
- Creates outlines
- Writes full paragraphs
- Generates hundreds of words at the push of a button
- Produces original, highly-readable content.
Get the best price for Jasper.
Here is a good (and silent) video of me using Jasper to create content fast:
2) Sqribble
As a cloud-based service, Sqribble enables you to quickly produce eBooks (reports and whitepapers, for example) in seconds.
This software makes self-publishing your eBooks a snap by using ready-made templates and drag-and-drop design tools.
I’ve used Sqribble several times and have never been disappointed.
Get the best price for Sqribble.
3) Designrr
Designrr makes it easy to create professional-looking ebooks in a short amount of time.
They look good, are easy to change, and can be exported into PDFs or flipbooks.
This is an excellent option for anybody who wants to publish ebooks without dropping the budget or hiring a designer. The price is very reasonable, considering that it’s a lifetime license.
4) Canva
Canva It is an online tool for graphic design.
It can be used for simple photo edits to create social media-related images, flyers, and other documents. You can even create an entire book with it as I have in the past.
It’s loaded with features, and the pro version is available at an affordable cost of under $15 monthly.
It also offers a generous free plan, and the customer support is fantastic.
5) Crello
Crello is undoubtedly a quick and straightforward method of creating your own visual content.
All you have to do is create the idea that you would like to present, select the format you want to use, and then customize it to your requirements.
You can customize your designs with Crello quickly and without any hassle, even if you do not have any experience in graphic design.
It is one of the best book-writing software for writing your family history book.
6) Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word, a popular word processing program, is indispensable for creating documents at home as well as at work.
Its capabilities currently go well beyond text formatting.
However, it also includes options like instant translation and web page formatting, and 3D model introduction.
Microsoft Word is no longer just a word processor. The latest features make it a good, affordable, and accessible program for book writing.
7) Adobe InDesign
Adobe InDesign is a publishing and typesetting application that is ideal for creating digital content such as brochures, flyers, posters, newspapers, presentations, and ebooks.
InDesign gives you all the tools you need to create stunning layouts.
It assists designers in creating beautiful spreads and pages for books and promotional materials. You can also quickly preview the pages you’ve designed.
The big downsides are the cost and the time needed to learn the software.
Final Thoughts: Best Genealogy Software for Writing a Book
Personally, I suggest that you get Family Historian, Jasper, and Sqribble.
Those three combine to make the best genealogy software for writing a book. When you’re finished, hire an editor to clean up the copy (If you get Jasper, there won’t be much to do).
Then, publish your book on your website or a marketplace like Amazon.
Continue learning with these book writing articles: