Hi everyone! I am currently working on my second book (a novel). My first started out as a family cookbook published through one of those cookbook publishers where you raise funds. As the one in charge of our 100th family reunion, I began to solicit relatives for their treasured dishes but since I am also an genealogy nut, the project quickly morphed to a family history book with some recipes in the back. I might add that most family histories are written as reference material (births, marriages and deaths) and that was not my vision. I wrote it to read like a novel and although I stayed true to the facts, I also fictionalized how those true events may have happened. At the same time, I knew I needed to include every birth, marriage and death so as not to leave anyone out. This resulted in a story with 270 characters! Fortunately, It has been well received by the family and I just ordered a second printing. As for my current project, I am anxious to learn who the best self publishing companies are as well as where to go to get copy editing assistance, all the while staying within my budget. Any advice or suggestions on which existing threads to read would be helpful. Thanks so much. I looked at several writing forums and this one looks like a lot of fun! 
