If you own pre-1885 handwritten documents, upload their image and a transcript of the document and earn money every time a visitor purchases your image/transcript from AncestryBank.
The Process:
1. Register and fill in the required information to create a user account.
2. For each manuscript you own, use a high-resolution digital camera (for large documents) or scanner to create an image file of the document. The image should be high quality so that the person who downloads the image can see clearly defined words on the document. The image should not exceed 800K in size. If the document is more than one page, create an image for each page. You will be able to attach three images when you upload your manuscript. Beyond three, create a separate (2nd part) upload of the manuscript/transcript and indicate in the Description field that this is Part 2 of the document.
3. Use Microsoft Word to create a transcript of what the document says. Transcripts do not have to be translations. They should only convey the characters as they appear on the manuscript. Transcripts are a best effort attempt and by no means have to be complete. Try to use the underline ( ___ ) for words that cannot be deciphered. Uploading a transcript is optional.
4. Use the Browse button to attach your image file and word file.
5. Fill in the fields (Forename, Surname, Description, Year, and Language) to archive the uploaded document and transcript into the database for visitors to search.
a. Surname and Forename should be the last name of the main person whom the document concerns (if in doubt, use the
author).
b. Description should include all names contained within the document as well as any brief comment about the
setting/location. You may include any information you feel might be pertinent to someone doing a search.
c. Year should be the year the manuscript was written.
d. Language should be the language the document was written (e.g. English, French, Latin, etc.)
6. By uploading documents, you accept the terms of service, which gives AncestryBank the right to sell your uploaded image/transcript.
7. Click on the Upload Data button.
Once your image/transcript is uploaded and archived, you will have the ability to view your manuscripts in your user account. You will also have the ability to monitor your account to see how many times one of your images has been downloaded and how much money you have earned. AncestryBank charges $5 per downloaded manuscript. $2.50 of that goes to the document provider's account. After $25 has been earned, a check will be processed and sent to the payment address given in the user account. You will receive earnings from the uploaded manuscripts as long as they are on AncestryBank.
