The Jollett Book Is In

When the mailman handed me the plain cardboard box with the tell-tale blue Blurb logo, I could hardly breathe. Why is it that when you most want to rip open a box, it has the strongest packing tape? I was eager to see whether my positive review of BookWright would hold up. Would I be thrilled or disappointed?

 

Without a doubt, I’m thrilled. Even though I did not opt for any upgrades, my book about Fielding Jollett still looks and feels professional.

Cover image is the Jollett Cemetery
in Jollett Hollow, Page County, Virginia
Cover is maroon but reads red in this photo.

Spine is easy to read.

The cover is an image wrap hardcover. Dust jackets are available, but I find them to be a nuisance, so I did not order that style. The cover feels slick. My one risk was using the light grey for the main title and white for the subtitle. What a relief to learn that what I saw on the screen both in editing and in preview is true to how it looks in person. A last minute decision to boldface the title on the spine was a good one. One small regret is that I did not look at covers in the Blurb bookstore to see what others had produced; mine is very simple, so next time I will spend more time designing a GREAT cover.

I went with Standard paper even though I did not know what the standard was. Again, I am satisfied with this choice. The paper has a semi-matte finish and is slightly slick, not as slick as photograph paper though.

In a recent review comparing Blurb’s standard paper with its ProLine Pearl and Premium Lustre upgrades, the writer said there is SOME bleed-through on the Standard. I saw nothing like that in my book. She had made a photo book, so her pages were photo-heavy whereas my book is more text than images. At worst, I can see a slight shadow of the next page, but if I had not read this review, I would not even have noticed. I would stick with Standard paper on another book. 

When pages are flat, you can see a bit of the
print on the other side, but it is barely noticeable.
It does not interfere with reading.

If you hold the paper up to the light,
you can see the other side.

The census image is clearer
in the book than on my computer.

The quality of the images really impresses me. Some look sharper and cleaner in the book than they do in real life.

End pages are grey by default but can be upgraded to a color for a fee. Maybe because the grey looks good with the cover color, it does not look like I took the cheap way out. Likewise for a fee, the Blurb logo can be removed. The logo does not bother me. 

Left page is white; right is the grey endsheet.

One thing I’m REALLY glad about is that I followed Blurb’s advice and ordered only one book even though I have plans to buy more. Despite all my efforts to proofread carefully, I still found 2 typos and several inconsistencies in style (such as “Page Co, Virginia” when most of the time I used “VA”). I also remembered someone I forgot to thank on the dedication page.

So now I have made my corrections and additions and uploaded the revised version. With an order of at least 10 copies, there is a discount of 10%. But there are other coupons available (through June 29, the code for 15% is SUNNYJUNE). Blurb did not tell me that – a Google search did. The regular price for my 134-page book is $60, but with "SUNNYJUNE" the book is $51, slightly higher than what I paid for my first copy using the Father's Day coupon which has now expired.

As for the structure of the book, it is divided into 5 parts: 1 – an introduction to Fielding and a family chart, 2 – Fielding and family with his first wife (stories include the William Jollett/William Boyd mystery), 3 – Fielding and family with his second wife (stories include Fielding in Chancery Court and the search for his wife’s parents), 4 – brief stories and family charts about Fielding’s brothers and sisters, and 5 – the Jolletts whose positions in the family tree are not yet confirmed. I included an index of names.

Blurb came through for me. I will be proud to give copies of Fielding Jollett and Early Jollett Families of Virginia as gifts to my family and to donate to my pet historical and genealogical societies.

© 2015, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.