Young House Love

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How We Got A Book Agent, Wrote A Proposal, & Landed A Book Deal

We promised you guys a post all about the whole book-deal process back in March (when we spilled the beans about our upcoming book here).

how-to-write-a-proposal-and-get-a-book-deal

And the only reason I can think of that it has taken us this long to write is because we’ve been so busy actually writing our 260+ page book behind the scenes along with juggling the bambino and the blog and all of the projects that go along with those things. Haha. So forgive us for the delay. Many of you guys expressed an interest in how it all went down (a few years ago we never would have known how to navigate the waters of book proposals and agents and potential publishers to somehow “land” a book deal), so we’re happy to share. Here’s how it all happened, in bullet form (with photos of Burger acting out our emotions, naturally):

  • About two years ago (after blogging for about two years) we were contacted by a few agents & independent publishers about a potential book deal.
  • We went crazy for the idea (we love to write and share our projects).
  • We chatted with John’s sister about the folks who contacted us (she works in NYC with a large magazine publisher – so although she doesn’t do books she knows who’s who for the most part).
  • She gently explained that they were a bit less “legit” than some other folks that we could potentially work with if we held out, so we decided to just wait and see what happened.
  • We sort of forgot about it.
  • About six months later (a year and a half ago), we were contacted by a NY/Boston literary agency (Zachary Shuster Harmsworth) – so we asked John’s sister about them and she got really giddy and said they were highly recommended (their agency just emailed us out of the blue asking if we would like to pursue a book).
  • Uh… yes! We got excited. And naturally, we dove right in.

pringles-face

  • We immediately started working with an agent to put together a book proposal (this is what they send out to potential publishers to “shop” around a book idea and see who’s interested).
  • A proposal is typically 70-150 pages, so it takes a while to put together. The process starts with a book outline and you write an intro and a conclusion and explain why your book would be different/fun/exciting. You basically plead your case.
  • It took us a year to complete our book proposal. Not lying. It was a ton of work! And we kept tweaking things until we loved it (no sense in pitching a book that you’re only feeling so-so about, so we took our time developing something that we thought was fun and fresh and exciting).
  • After a year of work on that 100-ish page document we got to a place where our agent thought it was time to send it out. So she did.
  • Then she had a baby. So another agent took over after the “pitching” process. That was a little nerve-wracking but it was such an exciting time so we tried to just remember to breathe and eat and stuff. This was our nervous face:

pooch-adoption1

  • It turned out that after our literary agency pitched our proposal to about twenty publishing houses, seven of them were interested in bidding on our book. We were crossing our fingers for one or two (which we heard was typical – hey, you only need one!) so it was an insanely exciting and unbelievable reaction. We still get glassy-eyed when we think about that day.
  • After publishers indicate that they’re interested, there’s an “auction” (yes, it’s sort of like ebay – haha) and they each extend a bid about what they want to do/pay (everything from a book advance to royalties is indicated in their bid along with where they “see” the book going – so one publishing house might indicate that they see a giant expensive coffee table book while another wants a smaller less expensive handbook).
  • It was super helpful to learn which publishers wanted to do big expensive books and which ones were more of a small shop atmosphere who do a more customized look at a more affordable price point while believing in a lot of collaboration (obviously that type appealed to us a lot more).
  • By the end of auction day our heads were spinning as we compared the offers and picked a publisher. Our pick? Artisan/Workman. Workman is a huge publisher who is known for all sorts of best-selling books (like What To Expect When You’re Expecting) – but Artisan is their smaller boutique agency that manages a much smaller volume of books per year in a real hands-on way that’s full of collaboration. They understood that we didn’t want to create a giant $50 coffee table book and that we just wanted something fresh, fun, and affordable – and full of great ideas and great photos.
  • They actually offered us a two-book deal, which is especially encouraging because they were saying “we have faith even before your first book comes out that it’ll be great and we’ll want to do a second book with you” – so yeah, we were over the moon. We have no idea what the second book will be about (since we didn’t touch on that in the proposal) so it’s nice and open-ended now. Which we like (who knows what we’ll want to write about after the first book comes out).
  • About eight months ago we all signed on the dotted line to make things official (which is actually when we shared the book deal news with you guys – we couldn’t wait!). Then we… you guessed it… dove right into writing the actual book.

french-fry-face

  • After about seven months of nearly nonstop writing (behind the scenes while we continued to blog and love on Clara), we handed in our 100+ page manuscript outline, which felt pretty darn good. Although it’s around 120 pages now, when the tutorials and photos are added it should hit the 260+ page mark. This momentous hand-in day was over a month ago. We’re currently gearing up for the photography stage (working on the book’s layout, fleshing out all the tutorials, and beginning to secretly complete and shoot hundreds of projects with a pro photographer).
  • We’re also coordinating with a few other guest bloggers who we’d love to feature (you know we love to share the love slash eye candy).

butt-sniffer

  • Let’s just say we completely understand why the title of “author” is a full time job. It has been kind of crazy being stay at home parents to Clara, keeping up with the blog and the projects that we share, all while writing a book and doing secret projects for the book behind the scenes. But we couldn’t be more excited to see how it all turns out! And when we’re done we’ll probably sleep for at least five days straight.

flask-burger

  • The book is slated for release in the fall of 2012 (although there are occasional murmurings of the spring of 2013). Isn’t it amazing how much longer books take to make than blog posts? Especially since most of the content is already completed and the release date is still a year (or more!) away. All that pro photography and layout and production stuff takes time though, and we’re sure it’ll be well worth the wait!

As for what our book is about, the concept is that it’s an idea book. A giant compilation of over 250 ideas for showing your home some love (our tentative title is actually Spruce: 257 Ways To Show Your Home Some Love). The number might change as we continue to execute the projects that we have detailed in our manuscript (some might be awesome and lead to other ideas while some might fail – so it’s flexible). We just want it to be a fun book that you can flip through to see tons of numbered ideas, and then you can start on any page and do any project in the order that it appeals to you. Informal just felt right to us, and the idea that every project or suggestion could be altered a bit (so everyone can do their own spin to fit their house and their style) seems fitting.

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A decorating bible with explanations about boxpleats and start-to-finish home staging, it’s not. It’s more of a spark. A starting point. A junkload of ideas to pick and choose from and adapt to fit your home. Some are more involved, some are super easy. Some are free, some might be something that you have to save up for a little to take on. Basically it’s the blog. Only a book. And instead of getting a post or two a day, you get 250+ ideas with photos and checklists and tutorials and illustrations (along with a lot of extra tips, sidebars, and commentary) and a little dorky humor a la us.

stuffed-friends-burger

Oh and virtually all of the 250+ projects/photos/illustrations will be new for the book – so it’s nothing regurgitated from YHL or anything. Some of the ideas might be the same (ex: paint a piece of furniture or reupholster a bench) but those general concepts had to be included – so we decided we’d execute them in a fresh way (instead of seeing the same bench that I painted three years ago for the blog, you might see a dresser painted in a completely different way that we secretly completed this winter). Sure it’s extra work, but we really want the book to look fresh and be full of different “takes” on a ton of decorating ideas – both classic and unexpected (and pretty much everything in between).

So there it is. A big ol’ rundown of the book process, what we’ve been up to, and how it all went down. I would definitely encourage anyone who is looking to be published to work with an agent (if they don’t email you, I’d definitely try emailing them a proposal to see if they’d like to take on your project). Let’s just say that I can name fifty times that having an agent to help navigate the contractual terms, timeline, and general process came to the rescue – so it’s definitely something we probably couldn’t have gone without.

Does anyone else out there have publishing tips to share with others who are hoping to get into author-ship? Has anyone actually tried to author a book in the past? Any self publishing experiences to share (we were too scared to go that route, but hear it can work too). As for book ideas, waaaay before John and I were bloggers we tried to write a proposal for a hilarious pet naming book (say the people who named their dog Hamburger) but after realizing how much work it was… it just sort of fizzled out. Maybe someday we’ll give it another go. We owe it to Burger. Haha.

Update – Some of the most frequent requests that we get are for info about professionally blogging (how we made our site, how we grew our following, how we make money, etc) so we shared all of the details about how we started a blog, grew our traffic, and turned it into a full time job. 

Comments

  1. LaMadre says

    This is so exciting! I look forward to enjoying it. It will be fun to read the blog once the book is out – will we see 272 new items and projects suddenly appear around your house? And, thank you for not using previous blog posts for your book content – that would be so disappointing.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It helps that some of the 250+ projects will actually be illustrated, so we aren’t doing allll of them (although we’re doing a ton of them because we love glossy pics and want to be sure all the projects actually work when you do them- haha)! We like that some of the steps will be more easily explained in an illustrated format, and it means that the book will have a fun mix of photos and cool illustrations (we’re trying to get an illustrator that I love to come aboard for the project!). Cross your fingers for us! We’ll hopefully find out if we get her within a few weeks. She does work for Real Simple, so she’s amazing!

      So we might have a few favorite items pop up around the house but we’ve been chatting about doing some fun giveaway with the rest of the project items when the book comes out! So our readers score get some homemade by us stuff!

      xo,
      s

  3. heather says

    Aww, congrats you guys! This is so sweet. You have a lot of fans who will be chomping at the bit for this book, so I’m sure it will do fantastic. Way to put in the man-hours to make it happen. It makes me dizzy thinking about balancing it all. Then again, we’re starting a Christmas Tree Farm so I guess everyone has their thing they love doing so much it doesn’t matter if it gets crazy!

    Reply

    • heather says

      I am so excited for it that it’s ridiculous. It’s my husbands dream to run one. One of his first jobs ever was actually working on a tree farm. I love the idea of taking care of the business side of it, and running a shed (or in the barn) a shop selling local crafts, wreaths and giving guests hot drinks. Because the location of it is in a field behind the pasture, where the cows aren’t allowed, we’re thinking of doing cut your own tree and giving hay rides to people to and from the lot.

      I might be slightly excited. This spring is going to be nuts. New addition on the house, chickens and planning our tree farm. The only downside – it takes between 5-7 years to actually have the trees large enough to sell as Christmas Trees.

    • heather says

      Lots of hard (and hot in the summer) outdoor work, but cozy for sure. We’re in the planning stages now and discussing the taxes with a CPA. I did the taxes for a tree farm but it was a few years ago, so we’re getting brushed up (and leaving it to a professional since I left the field). Hopefully by the time the trees are ready to sell we’ll have a kid or two to grow up around it and enjoy it.

  4. Shannon says

    This is so exciting. I’ll have mine pre-ordered as soon as it’s available.

    What I REALLY love is that it would’ve been much easier for you to re-package your blog posts into book form but you went the route of creating all new content. That is fantastic.

    Reply

  6. tara says

    Can’t believe we have to wait another whole year!! You can definitely count on a copy for me:) So very excited for you guys and all the success coming your way! You deserve it!!

    Reply

  7. Danielle says

    So exciting! I know you dont get to choose anything about your book tour, but please try to get to Grand Rapids, MI! I will for sure buy a copy…or 3. I talk about YHL all the time to my boyfriend when I throw out ideas for our kitchen remodel. Thanks for being a constant inspiration!

    Reply

  8. Britt says

    Wow! I just cannot get over how hard you guys work! And you are so gifted at staying true to yourselves (like not swooning over the idea of your own TV show or creating a big expensive coffee table book!) I can’t wait until it’s out!

    Reply

  10. kayakgirl73 says

    I can’t wait. I was just looking the other day on Amazon to see if your book was listed yet for pre-orders. Guess I have to hold my horses a while longer.

    Reply

  11. Kristen says

    First, I LOVE that you guys illustrated your emotions with Burger’s antics! Perfect. Second, you guys are always amazing and I can’t wait to buy your books! Third, here’s another vote for a funny pet naming book (from the same person who has cats named Pixie and Dixie…after cartoon mice from the Huckleberry Hound show). So clearly, there’s a market out there! :-)

    Reply

  14. Meredith says

    I try to keep an ongoing list of things that are upcoming that I’m excited about just as a reminder if I start to feel blue. This can now be added in big, fancy type as something to be SUPER EXCITED about! And Iowa definitely needs to make the book tour. Don’t you have a friend here, Sherry? You definitely have fans!

    Reply

  15. laura says

    That is a great post and very inspiring! Thanks for sharing the reality of what it really takes to do this…I also am in awe of everything you both accomplish and yet seem to have such a balance to your lives to each other and your daughter (and doggie!). Amazing. Do you sleep?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Only on weekends. Haha. Just kidding! But we do find ourselves working late into the night most evenings so we can have some time with Clara while she’s awake during the day. It’s a very “unorthodox” schedule, but it seems to work!

      xo,
      s

  16. Darcy says

    OOOMG!!!! I can’t believe that you just submitted your manuscript and working on secret projects, all while getting started with the big kitchen project and wall demo, and all the other great things you have been doing around your home!!!! I always thought you two were impressive with what you can accomplish, but consider me just in awe of you now!!!

    Honestly, I don’t think I could be more excited for you unless you were family!! You guys are so amazing and I wish you many, many, years of success and happiness. And I will be buying multiple copies of this book for myself and I think everyone on my christmas list, whenever it comes out!! And I hope you make it to Colorado on your book tour!

    Reply

  17. Cynthia says

    I hope it will release in Canada at the same time… !!!!!
    not only will the ideas be amazing im sure, but you both are so funny it will be a great sat. morning read for sure!!
    Congrats

    Reply

  19. LauraC says

    Hoping for a Seattle book tour here . . . my one and only chance to meet YHL! (Maybe I can even drag my mom and sister too; Jana said at Thanksgiving, “You talk about them like they’re your friends!” I replied, “They are!” ;-)

    Reply

  24. Marci says

    I’m not sure I can wait that long to see the book!! Are your family or friends, like BFF Katie Bower allowed to get a sneak peak of the book?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We got some initial layout ideas by email this week and checked them out with our family over Thanksgiving! It was so much fun! Maybe when KB comes to visit we can update her on things then too! We’re not allowed to blog about those specific updates, but we can show the family and friends who are sworn to secrecy! Haha.

      xo,
      s

  25. Jordan says

    Congratulations! So exciting!

    I have participated in NaNoWriMo(National Novel Writing Month) for the past five years. Basically you write an entire novel in one month. 50,000 words in 30 days. It’s a lot to take on but soooo rewarding at the end of the month when you can say, “Oh look, I’ve written a book!”

    I’m actually an intern for a publicist. Best job I’ve ever had and so fun. We deal with more mobile apps and things though, but it’s so cool to see the different ideas people have had for their apps. Some of them are REALLY far-fetched (pimple popping, really?) and fizzle out while others do really well. There’s always something new and exciting to learn though.

    Reply

  26. Izabelak says

    I will buy book #1 and book #2 so no worries, the publishing company was right on to offer you such a deal :) Hoping it comes out in 2012 as that is way sooner :)

    Reply

  27. Ashley @ The North Carolina Cowgirl says

    How cool that you are getting publish a book! I’ve been wanting to write a book about my life struggles in hopes it would inspire other young woman but I just can’t make myself sit down and do it. I feel like it’s just a lack of not knowing where to begin and some of the details of that time in my life are a little fuzzy now. But enough about that! Congrats guys! I’m super excited for you both and can’t wait till it comes out!

    Reply

  29. Melissa T. says

    I work in publishing (use to be with one of the big houses in NY), so I know the process very, very well and I could write a really long comment with tons of advice, but I’ll refrain from doing that because you guys seem to be quite good at marketing yourself and I know you have backgrounds in advertising and aren’t strangers to marketing. I think I’ve said this before (when you first announced the book deal) but you guys are basically dream-authors for a publisher to work with! I KNOW it will do well and I’m looking forward to seeing it unfold!

    I have to clarify, though, that you HAVE to have an agent. Most publishers do not take unsolicited manuscripts (which means they’ll trash anything that comes from an individual off the street and won’t look at it). So, you have to find an agent first!

    Good luck!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Great advice Melissa! We just mean that a few publishers came to us directly (after we had an agent and were developing our proposal) who wanted to woo us into just working with them directly, but we were extremely happy to have an agent to work with us throughout the process!

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, nah. We’re just hiding things in the playroom and the basement since they’re rarely seen. We still have a lot of other projects to go though, so stuff might spill over into the sunroom!

      xo,
      s

  31. Nicole says

    Oh, how exciting! When can we pre-order? I am kind of bummed that the giant console didn’t make the book. I LOVE the giant console and you guys convinced me to forgo the coffee table and get a giant console in our next house.

    Reply

  32. Erin says

    I’m so proud of you guys! And I can’t imagine how proud your parents must be! Do they recognize that you are “kinda a big deal?”

    Reply

  35. Leigh Anne says

    Congrats – this is super exciting, and I can’t wait to pre-order! Hopefully Kentucky will be on the to-be-determined book tour:)

    Reply

  36. Randa says

    All the love that is being sent your way via comments is well-deserved for all your hard work. After your book is done, take a vacation… or at least a staycation. :)

    And when your book comes out, I’ll be in the book signing line (like you were with Grace Bonney) and I’ll be sure to get a photo this time! :)

    Reply

  37. candace says

    So excited for you YHL!! I am constantly amazed with how much you manage to juggle each day – especially with this book on the sly! Can’t wait to see it when it comes out and the pics of Burger made me giggle!

    Reply

  40. Sarah says

    So exciting! Has it been hard to hide your finished projects from the blog? Like some mysteriously/suddenly painted new piece of furniture sneaking into the background of a blog shoot… You know those blog-stalkers who have your furniture memorized (so not me) would catch something like that!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, we just keep everything in the basement or playroom with the door closed since we rarely show those rooms! We’re not done yet so I’m sure we’ll have some overflow, maybe into the sunroom? So then we’ll have to be sure not to shoot any angles of things for the blog with that stuff in the background! Oh, secrets. So hard to keep!

      xo,
      s

  42. Jessica says

    So excited for you guys!!! You are living the dream! I know you’re hiding all your projects for now, but are the projects things that you will display in your home once the book comes out?? I guess I’m just curious if you are doing things just for fun or if the completed projects will be functionable in your home at some point too????

    Reply

    • Jessica says

      I should rephrase…..you are obviously not doing things “just for fun” hahahaha!! That was a silly comment….

    • YoungHouseLove says

      A lot of things are hiding in the playroom and the basement, but we haven’t completed everything yet so I’m sure they’ll spill over into the sunroom! As for if things are just for fun or for our house, we thought the book shouldn’t be just about stuff we needed personally for our house, but about as many ideas as possible that folks could use- so we’re definitely DIYing things we don’t necessary need but think will be the most helpful and inspirational to folks out there trying to make their house feel like home!

      xo,
      s

  43. Maggie says

    Oh my goodness, Congrats on the book deal!!

    I’m planning on buying my first house in August, so Fall 2012 is perfect timing! (I’m sure I’ll still have lots to do should the book be pushed to 2013)

    Reply

  44. Laura says

    That is so exciting, can’t wait for all the new tips and project ideas!! Oh, and I like your idea of the pet naming book. Maybe because my husband and I named our dog “Mango” – I always think how Mango and Burger would have an instant connection if they ever met over their food names :) The kids in our neighborhood get the biggest kick out of calling his name!

    Reply

  45. Elisa @ What the Vita says

    Thanks for the great tips! I hope to follow in your steps.. I’ve got a kids christmas story swirling around in my head.. just gotta put it on paper! Or digital paper.

    And your book is definitely going on my 2012 Christmas Wish List :)

    Reply

  46. Kelly says

    Congrats!!! So exciting! I am currently helping to do marketing and PR for a business book my boss wrote through McGraw-Hill (my day job). I’ve learned a ton through the process. One thing I can say is don’t leave it completely up to the publisher to do the marketing and PR of your book. Publishers are great but they have a ton of books to support…only you truly have your best interest in mind so you will need to do a lot of the marketing and PR yourselves. I’m happy to help if you are interested in discussing further!
    -kelly

    Reply

  47. Sarah says

    I think it’d be funny to give us a glimpse of your pet naming manuscript. Does it include a chapter on naming ceramic animals?

    Reply

  48. Kristi says

    If you do a signing please please please let us know way in advance! That way I can get a plane ticket and plan a fun vacation too. = ) So excited for you!

    Reply

  49. Erin @ Stumbling Tongues says

    So excited for you guys!! The concept sounds fabulous, and I can’t wait to hear more!

    Advice for others looking to publish… As a former editor for a major publishing company, I can’t stress enough how important book proposals are! Don’t expect a publisher to fill in the blanks for you. As a prospective author, YOU are the one proving that your idea is worthwhile and that you have what it takes to deliver an engaging and well-developed book. Know your niche and be familiar with other books on the market, so you can explain how your book idea will be different/better than what’s already out there.

    Reply

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