HALLELUJAH!!!
Three years ago I had an epiphany while I was taking an oral history editing class: I wanted to start a business interviewing people about their lives. I wanted to make books out of the histories. So I decided that first I needed a sample to sell people on my business. Andrew and I decided to offer my services for free to someone to get experience and a final product. We chose a man in Andrew's old ward. Anyway, we spent hours interviewing him--it was such a neat experience! This man is so incredible. I edited and designed the majority of the book right after we interviewed him. (Andrew's incredibly fast-typing mom transcribed the whole interview--THANK YOU!!) Then something happened. I didn't work on it very much after I started remodeling our house, and then I had Kate...*insert additional excuses here*. There really is no good excuse why this has taken me so long. But I am here to say that it is DONE!! I ordered the books for his family this week. The picture above is the dust cover for his 6x9 hardcover book. The green at the top is cropped off.
The subtitle started out being "A Hardworking Country Dog" because he joked in an interview that that's what he wanted written on his tombstone. But, by the end, we opted for a more traditional title that ties into promises in his patriarchal blessing. The picture on the back was a picture Andrew took a long time ago in Zion National Park. Ferril's family has a tradition of going there--so it worked well. The book ended up being 115 pages. The picture of the first page of the chapter is just to show you how the book looks/reads (click to see larger).
Three years ago I had an epiphany while I was taking an oral history editing class: I wanted to start a business interviewing people about their lives. I wanted to make books out of the histories. So I decided that first I needed a sample to sell people on my business. Andrew and I decided to offer my services for free to someone to get experience and a final product. We chose a man in Andrew's old ward. Anyway, we spent hours interviewing him--it was such a neat experience! This man is so incredible. I edited and designed the majority of the book right after we interviewed him. (Andrew's incredibly fast-typing mom transcribed the whole interview--THANK YOU!!) Then something happened. I didn't work on it very much after I started remodeling our house, and then I had Kate...*insert additional excuses here*. There really is no good excuse why this has taken me so long. But I am here to say that it is DONE!! I ordered the books for his family this week. The picture above is the dust cover for his 6x9 hardcover book. The green at the top is cropped off.
The subtitle started out being "A Hardworking Country Dog" because he joked in an interview that that's what he wanted written on his tombstone. But, by the end, we opted for a more traditional title that ties into promises in his patriarchal blessing. The picture on the back was a picture Andrew took a long time ago in Zion National Park. Ferril's family has a tradition of going there--so it worked well. The book ended up being 115 pages. The picture of the first page of the chapter is just to show you how the book looks/reads (click to see larger).
Now that it is finally done, it makes me want to do another one. Crazy, I know. But if I was actually paid to do this--I would totally be motivated and love it. I did really love working on this history. I will probably never meet most of his family, but I know an awful lot about them!
6 comments:
I want to be the first to congratulate you on finishing this project! I was lucky enough to read an early draft of a few chapters, and I loved it. It's the perfect Christmas gift for Bro. Losee and his family. Your editing talent, coupled with Andrew's stunning photo on the cover, make for a distinctive outcome! I say go for another one. Love, Mom
What an awesome keepsake for his family. I am sure they will be forever grateful to you.
Jenn, I totally enjoyed helping you work on this as I had pretty much "grown up" with the Losee clan. I'm glad to see its fruition!
Amazing. A.maz.ing. I think you have a REALLY great thing here--I can't wait to see where you take this! Seriously, my mind is reeling right now! If you ever need any feedback or just someone to bounce marketing/design ideas off of, CALL ME!
seriously amazing. don't know how you do the things you do...
you're welcome to do my fascinating life story if you can't find another subject... :)
I didn't know you had projects like this -- it looks fantastic and yes, I'm sure that family will be so grateful to you. I read that first page of the chapter you posted and am really curious how that all turned out (besides, of course, that they got married). I'm glad that the writing skills of your youth (those fan letters were hilarious) are still being put to good use.
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