Making a Club's Anniversary History Book — What It Costs and How to Do It Yourself

Making an association's anniversary history book used to cost €4,000–8,000 for an outside writer. Today a club can do it itself: you interview your long-standing members, and Vellu.ai transcribes the recordings and drafts finished chapters with AI. A printed copy for the celebration costs a few tens of euros each. The cost of the history book drops from thousands to hundreds — the working group's time goes into interviews and polishing, not staring at a blank page.

An anniversary history is one way to preserve a shared story as a book. For a broader overview, see our guide on writing a book about your own life, and for practical interview and structure advice see writing association history.

What is an association's anniversary history book?

An anniversary history book tells the story of a club, association or society — often compiled to mark a milestone year such as a 50th, 75th or 100th anniversary. It is not the same as the minutes: the minutes record what was decided, while the history book records what actually happened and who made it happen. At its best it captures the stories that live only in long-standing members' memories.

How much does an association history book cost?

Traditionally the biggest cost has been an outside writer, who charges around €4,000–8,000 for the work. When the club makes the book itself with Vellu, that cost disappears entirely. You pay only for the AI you use and for the printed books:

• 100 free credits on signup — enough to try transcription and your first chapters, no card required.
• Transcription costs 1 credit per minute of audio. Five hours of interview recordings is therefore about 300 credits; a finished first draft typically lands at 1,000–2,000 credits in total, depending on the book's scope. Recording, AI summaries, and auto-tagging are free.
• A book bundle covers the credits plus one printed copy: The Keepsake at €99 (1,500 credits + one softcover copy) or The Legacy Edition at €169 (3,000 credits + one hardcover copy). Both include a voucher for a book of up to 150 black-and-white pages.
• Extra copies for members print from €49.95 (softcover) or €69.95 (hardcover), with free standard delivery across the EU/EEA. All prices include VAT (25.5 %).

In practice the whole history book — the writing plus dozens of member copies — comes to a few hundred euros, rather than the thousands a commissioned writer's fee alone would take. That fits most clubs' anniversary budget without a separate grant application.

How do you make an association history book yourself?

The project moves step by step, and no stage has to wait for a professional writer:

1. Map your material. Minutes, annual reports, photographs and press clippings give you the facts and the timeline — when the club was founded, who led it, what was achieved.
2. Choose your interviewees. Long-standing members, former chairpersons, and founders' families carry the stories that appear in no document.
3. Record the interviews — even with a phone's own microphone at the coffee table. Let people talk freely; the best stories come spontaneously.
4. Transcribe and draft the chapters with Vellu. The AI turns recordings into text and assembles them into structured chapters. The working group doesn't need to know how to write a book — members only need to know how to tell a story.
5. Polish together. Both the transcript and the chapters are fully editable. Let the text circulate among active members before printing.
6. Print the book straight from Vellu for the celebration.

Where does the content come from — the minutes or the interviews?

Vellu's AI builds the book from audio. Minutes and annual reports are irreplaceable for checking facts and the timeline, but the story itself comes from speech. The natural way to use old documents is to tell their key contents aloud in your own words, or read passages into a recording — which turns even a dry minute book into lively narration. You can also write or paste text directly into chapters in the editor.

This is actually the strength of a history book: when a long-standing member leafs through an old minute book and recounts what really happened behind that decision, you capture exactly the content a document alone never records.

Who in the club makes the history book?

The best option is often a small working group (2–4 people): a long-standing member who knows the history and a technically able person who handles the recording and text. One person is needed to coordinate. Not everyone has to master the app — often a younger member or grandchild presses the buttons while an elderly founder simply talks. The same account works on every device, so you can record on a phone and assemble the book on a computer.

How many copies of the history book can you print?

A single print order covers up to 25 copies, and quantity discounts lower the per-copy price: 10 % on two to four copies and 20 % on five or more. For a larger anniversary print run, contact our support at hello@vellu.ai — we usually reply within one business day. A book of up to 150 pages fits the base price; a longer one simply adds a small per-page charge (€1.00 per 10 pages in black and white).

When should you start the history book?

The best time to start is now — don't wait for the milestone year. The longer you wait, the fewer of the founding-era members are still around to tell their stories. Start with a single interview: record one long-standing member's story and see how easily text emerges from it. You'll be ready in time for the anniversary if you begin early, and every recorded interview is valuable even if the book is finished later.

What formats does the history book come in?

• Printed book — the most prestigious and traditional form for an anniversary, in softcover or hardcover, delivered to you.
• E-book (PDF, EPUB or Word) — easy to share with every member digitally, at no extra cost.

An association's history book is part of a wider effort to record local history — a society's story always tells part of its area's story too.

Make your club's history book yourselves — start with a single interview and let the history speak for itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to make an association history book with Vellu?

An outside history writer typically charges €4,000–8,000 for the work. With Vellu that cost disappears: you pay only for the AI you use (transcription at 1 credit per minute, a finished draft typically 1,000–2,000 credits) and for the printed books. A bundle with credits and one printed copy is €99 or €169, and extra copies print from €49.95. The whole book usually comes to a few hundred euros.

Can you make the history book from old minutes?

Vellu builds the book from audio, not from document files. The minutes are still the backbone: they give you the facts and the timeline. The natural way to use them is to tell their key contents aloud in your own words, or read passages into a recording — which also captures the story behind each decision. You can also write or paste text directly into chapters in the editor.

How many copies of the history book can you print at once?

A single order covers up to 25 copies. For a larger anniversary run you can place several orders or contact our support at hello@vellu.ai. The quantity discount is 10 % on two to four copies and 20 % on five or more.

Who in the club should be responsible for the history book project?

Often the best option is a small working group (2–4 people) that includes both a long-standing member who knows the history and a technically able person. One person coordinates the project. Using the app doesn't require skill from everyone — a younger member can handle the recording while an older member tells the stories.

How long does it take to make an association history book?

With an active working group, a history book can be completed in 3–6 months. Most of the time goes into arranging and carrying out interviews; AI speeds up the transcription and drafting phases considerably. Don't let a long timeline put you off starting — every recorded interview is valuable straight away.