More than a guest book.

I’ve been publishing memorial and Celebration of Life guest books through Amazon KDP for several years, and recently I started looking more closely at which ones families are actually choosing.

Something interesting showed up.

The books that tend to sell aren't necessarily the ones with the most traditional memorial imagery.

  • A locomotive.
  • An old farm tractor.
  • A guitar.
  • A classic Chevy.
  • A motorcycle.
  • An old airplane.
  • A piano.

At first glance, they may seem like unusual subjects for a funeral or Celebration of Life guest book.

But then you think about it.

  • Perhaps Dad spent his life working on the railroad.
  • Grandpa was a farmer who could fix anything on a tractor.
  • Mom played piano.
  • Maybe Dad restored old cars.
  • Maybe his motorcycle was his pride and joy.
  • Maybe flying was his lifelong passion.

Suddenly, the cover isn't just a picture.
It represents the person.

That’s what has changed the way I think about these books.

A family doesn't necessarily want a generic book sitting on the table where friends and relatives can sign their names.

They may want something that feels like it belongs to the person they are remembering.
So we're expanding our collection around the things people actually loved, the work they did, and the passions that helped define their lives.

We're currently developing larger 8.5" x 11.25" hardcover editions with room for approximately 300 entries — giving family and friends plenty of space to leave their names, condolences, memories, stories, and personal messages.

It's been an interesting lesson in publishing:

Sometimes the best way to honor someone's life is to remember what made that life uniquely theirs.

That's what we're trying to do at Abiding Line Publishing.