Three editions. One standard of care.
Choose by the size of the story, not the quality of the book.
The editions side by side
| The Portrait | Recommended for most families The Heritage | The Legacy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $5,000 | $9,500 | From $18,000 |
| Length | 25,000–40,000 words | 40,000–65,000 words | 65,000–90,000+ words |
| Conversations, about 2 hours each | 4–6 | 6–11 | 11 or more |
| Size | 6 × 9, the size of a hardcover novel | 8 × 10, room for photographs to run large | 10 × 10 square, room for full-page photographs |
| Copies | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Start | Start with The Portrait | Start with The Heritage | Talk about The Legacy |
Your proposal sets the exact number of conversations.
Why we recommend The Heritage
Most lives have more than one chapter: a career that changed direction, a business built from nothing, a move across the country or across an ocean. The Heritage has enough conversations to give each of those its own room, and a larger page where the photographs can run big. If your family’s story is more focused, The Portrait is the better fit, and we’ll say so.
The Portrait · Classic Edition
Written around one life. It follows the person from childhood to now, through the people, places and decisions that made them, and gives real space to the stories the family already knows have to be in it.
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For many families it’s exactly the right book: a parent or grandparent whose story centers on where they came from, the work they did and the family they raised.
The Heritage · Heirloom Edition
Widens the view. With more conversations we can spend a whole session on a single decade, or on the parents and grandparents they grew up hearing about.
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The larger page gives photographs more room, with space for many more of them and for the letters and documents the family sends in. It suits a life with several distinct chapters: a career that changed course, a business built from nothing, a move across the country or across an ocean.
The Legacy · Generations Edition
Our largest book. It tells one life in depth and sets it inside the longer story of the family: the generations before, the branches that came after, and the business, farm or town that held them together.
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Relatives’ memories, letters and records carry more of the story. The square page is designed for full-page photographs and documents reproduced at a size you can read. The final price depends on the number of conversations and how much family history the book covers, and it’s set out in your proposal before anything begins.
An illustrative example
A grandmother came from Naples at nineteen with one suitcase and her sister’s address. Her grandchildren know she sewed for forty years. They also know she won’t talk about the crossing. Over six conversations, at her own pace, she talks about the village, the fabric shop and the first winter in Hartford. Eventually she talks about the ship. Her daughter chooses the biography voice, so the book can explain the years she skips.
What every edition includes
- Conversations of about two hours each, led by a professional interviewer and recorded, with the recordings available to your family
- A writer on our team who turns the conversations into your book, with every chapter checked by a proofreader
- Every chapter read and approved by your family, and a final proof you approve before anything is printed
- Every photograph you send, repaired, with the restored files returned to you
- Cover, dust jacket and page design
- Sewn hardcover copies for every household: 15, 20 or 25, depending on the edition
- A digital copy of the finished book on request
- One person coordinating the project, from the first call to delivery
How every book is made
The pages are sewn together in sections before the book is bound, so it opens flatter and holds together through years of being lent out, carried to reunions and read again.
The hard cover is wrapped in a textured cloth and stamped in foil. Over it goes a matte dust jacket printed with the cover design. Take the jacket off and the stamped cover underneath stands on its own. Inside, every page is printed in full color, so the photographs look like photographs.
Printing and binding are done by a specialist bindery in England.
The old photographs, repaired
Send scans or phone photos of the pictures you’d like in the book. The originals never have to leave the house. We repair tears, creases, scratches, spots, fading, and color that’s drifted orange or green, then place each photograph beside the part of the story it belongs to.
A copy for every household
Every edition comes with enough copies for each household in the family, all the same finished book. Additional copies can be ordered at any time, and we quote them once your book is complete.
Why it costs what it does
A photo book arranges pictures you supply. A self-guided service sends prompts and prints what someone writes in reply. Both are good at what they do, and both leave the asking and the writing to the family.
A BrightSide book is different work. A professional interviewer draws the story out over many hours. A writer turns those conversations into a narrative with a shape, and a proofreader checks it. Your family reviews every chapter, the photographs are repaired, and the book is designed and sewn. Nobody in the family has to write a word.
The right edition is easier to see once we’ve heard about them.
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