We’ve dropped a few mentions of working on the book lately, so we figured it was about time for another post about the process. Our post two months ago mostly covered the journey to getting the book deal and the beginning stages of writing, but now we’re really in the weeds of things so there’s definitely more to share… and we don’t have to use pics of Burger to illustrate it this time! Sorry Burger.
At the time of our last book post two months back, we had turned in our 160-ish page completed outline and were beginning to coordinate the design process with our publisher. If you recall, the book is a compilation of 250-some ideas for “how to show your home some love” (everything from small art projects, little tweaks, and quick ideas to bigger makeovers involving paint & furniture). Things were trotting along nicely and our publisher, Artisan, was trying to figure out whether to keep our Fall 2012 release date or hold off until Spring of 2013. Sherry and I begged for the earlier date and they agreed – but it meant putting the pedal to the metal. So we buckled our seat belts…
- In a matter of two weeks (the two weeks that happened to fall over Christmas and New Year’s) we had to turn our finished outline into a completely written book. Yikes. But we put our heads down and two dizzying weeks later we had the manuscript done. Phew.
- When we turned the manuscript in to our publisher, she took the next week to read the entire thing and we braced ourselves for edits or rewrites.
- She finished without any major edits (really?!) so it went off to a copy editor – someone who would read it for nitty gritty stuff like grammar and punctuation. It spent a week or so there before coming back to us.
- As you saw in last Monday’s post, this baby arrived last Saturday as a hard copy. Our manuscript now officially lives as a printed document that has our publisher’s edits and the copy editor’s notes marked up in different colored pencils. Our task was to use our designated blue pencil (they included it in the FedEx box) to respond to any questions, agree (or disagree with) all edits, and make any final changes. Scary. Especially because as a single-spaced, single-sided document it’s 375 pages long. We thought it was really funny because we assumed it would all be done via email, so getting a giant chunk of paper overnighted to our house felt sort of official and old-fashioned, but that’s apparently how it’s still done these days! It’s actually a lot easier to absorb the info and catch errors while “really” reading it (as opposed to reading it off of a computer screen) so it ended up being really helpful.
- Once again, we hunkered down and plowed through. It was due back to the publisher by yesterday so we overnighted it to them on Saturday afternoon. Bless Sherry for having the focus to sit down for two days straight and do pretty much nothing but focus on that. It’s how she spent all of last weekend while I watched Clara (and did kitchen stuff while the bean napped).
- After 16+ hours (broken up over two days) just to read through the thing, we then scrambled to fill in some gaps and rewrite some sections just to further explain a few projects/ideas in the remaining four days. Then back to the publisher it went…
But the manuscript is only half of the book process adventure right now. It’s probably less than half, actually. Maybe a third? Because what’s really keeping us busy is prepping for the photo shoots that began yesterday morning. So here’s what’s been going down on that end of things:
- With the 250-ish ideas we’re including, about 100 are going to be photographed. Another 100 will be illustrated and the remaining ones are pretty self-explanatory tips that make sense without an image. So that means 100 of the projects/sets need to be done so we’ve got something to actually photograph. Can we say yikes again? Anyone with a blog knows that churning out enough projects to keep things interesting (maybe 3-4 a week?) is a pretty substantial task. But completing 100 secret projects on top of that? Crazytown. But things are really exciting and fun in Crazytown so we totally can’t complain. Or sleep. But sleep is so 2011. At least that’s what we’ve been telling ourselves as we whirl through projects into the early morning. At least we got to knock out a bunch of them leading up to the shoots, so some are already waiting in the wings to be shot.
- We didn’t really start full force on all of the projects until after the manuscript was turned in for the first time after New Year’s (we didn’t want to do a project that we or the publisher decided to later kill for some reason – but we did churn out a bunch that we knew would stay in). Not doing them all with a lot of lead time beforehand did mean that for those remaining projects, we did only have about 30 days to do them. Eeks. So on pretty much any night over the past month you could find us painting, hanging, sewing, cutting, and shopping for up to five projects. And that pace will continue for the next three weeks until shooting wraps (since many things have to get shot as “before” and “process” pics before being completed). But it’s fun because we’re transforming some pretty ugly things, like this old rusted thrift store table:
- As much work as it’s been, we’re not doing it completely alone. Our publisher hired a producer to help keep things organized (100 ideas doesn’t just mean 100 photos, since many have a before, process, and after shots attached to them – so it’s a lot to keep straight and schedule). We also have someone who has been a big help when it comes to gathering supplies for us. Sometimes it’s faster for us to just grab things while we’re out and sometimes we email her and say “ahhhh, can you help us get blank by such and such a date so we can sand and paint it in time to shoot it? Thanks!”
- And of course we’ve got a pro photographer who’s going to make everything look prettier than we ever possibly could with our little Nikon. So our “crew” of helpers aren’t exactly elves who do all the projects at night (we wish!) but it certainly takes a load off to have such a great team. Since we’re ultimately the people who have to choose all of the items, do all of the projects, decide what rooms/corners to shoot all of the photos, and style all of the shots, we’re still burning the midnight oil.
- As for where things for the book are coming from, we have a pretty modest book budget so we’ve been stalking craigslist, thrift stores, and even borrowing items from some of our favorite stores with their blessing (they’ll be returned in three weeks when shooting wraps). The nice thing about a modest budget is that it keeps us honest (there are a good amount of under $50, under $25, under $5, and even some free projects in our book, so that’s pretty exciting to cheap-os like us). And yes, sometimes Sherry gets hyper when we’re picking out accessories (our aim is to style things so they look fresh for you guys, since reusing all the things we already have around our house that you’ve seen a million times would be kind of stale).
- And our house? Well, it’s a mess. We’ve got projects at mid-completion here and there (we need to save some that are halfway done to shoot progress photos, so we can’t just knock them all out at once). We’ve got tons of thrifted furniture piled in the sunroom just waiting for a makeover. There are a bunch of fabric and frames and accessories stacked on the dining table. Paint cans pepper the floor. We even have frames missing from the hallway where we’ve repurposd them for book projects. Nothing is sacred. Haha. Again, in a word, it’s a mess. But it’s pretty exciting chaos.
- Being the over-sharers that we are, we’d love to tell all of the details of every project right now (#ohmanit’skillingus). But I’m not sure our publisher would be very happy with us ruining the surprise. So here are a few hint-y sneak peeks:
- Our guestroom has kinda become home to all of the completed projects. The dining room is home to all of the things in progress and the sunroom is where we’re housing all of the things we can’t touch until before photos are taken. Here’s sort of what they look like (well, as much as we can show ya)…
- So that thing that Sherry mentioned at the end of yesterday’s post that lasts three weeks is some pretty crazy-but-exciting book photography. Most of it will be going on from 8:30am to 6pm four days per week for the next three weeks, so nearly our entire February will be spent on a photography set. Well, actually the set is our house for the most part – so it’ll be three weeks of being in our house-turned-photo-studio. We finish just a few days before flying out to Oregon for the Portland Home & Garden Show, so it will definitely be a jam-packed month. Thank goodness it’s only 29 days long!
- Yes, we’re pretty much hosting a little crew of people in our house for the better part of a month so we’ll have to tell you how that goes! They’re all awesomesauce so far, and yesterday we banged out a ton of before photos and as soon as they left we were painting and upholstering and doing all the things we can now do since those “before” shots are in the can. Gotta tell ya, it feels good to get this thing going – and we already can’t wait for the book to be out so we can spill the beans about all these secrets. We’re taking lots of behind the scenes photos to share with you guys this fall when it comes out!
Update: Lots of folks are asking what we’ll be doing with all those secret projects/items once the book is shot. We’re actually hoping to do a charity auction/giveaway with some of them (not sure how shipping will work though) and some items have to be returned, etc. Maybe one or two especially sentimental ones will stay at our house, but they’re all “bonus” projects (we didn’t “design” any of them to fit into our house, which is actually really freeing since we can have fun with lots of color/fabric/textures, etc) so it should be fun to see where they end up!
So our apologies to anyone who left a comment yesterday and took a little longer than normal to see it pop up or get a response! We’re definitely juggling things over here when it comes to keeping the blog and the book (and the bean) attended to. And as nuts as the next month is going to be for us, we’re so grateful for the opportunity and so excited to share the whole crazy journey with you guys as we go. Anyone else dealing with someone visiting them for weeks on end? Or keeping 100+ secrets that are slowly burning a hole through their brains? Tell us about it. Or just tell us how crazy our house looks. Go.
Psst- Thank goodness our bean sleeps the night away so we can get stuff done (check out her technique over on Young House Life).
suzanne says
Congratulations!
I’m sure all your hard work and dedication will pay off. It sounds like it will be the perfect housewarming, wedding, first place etc, gift! Looking forward to hearing more of the details and of course buying the book!
Cheers from British Columbia!
Andrea S says
It’s quite possible this idea has already been suggested in the 441 comments already posted, and I apologize for not reading all of them to see if it is before I post it…. but what about doing a online auction or something like that with all those extra projects. Then you could donate the $ to charity.
YoungHouseLove says
We’d live to organize that! Will keep you posted!
xo,
s
Whitney says
You guys just never stop do you? :)
I loved this post! Can’t wait to see the finished product!
Andrea @ Our Little Gems says
this is awesome awesome awesome. i can’t wait to have my own little copy of your book. by the way – your line ‘But sleep is so 2011.’ is HI-larious. good one! :)
Becky says
I’m really impressed at how quickly you were able to go through the editing process. I’m an editor at McGraw-Hill and our final manuscript/copyedit stage usually takes weeks. Granted, the books I work on are accounting textbooks, so the manuscripts are a lot longer and needs to be accuracy checked but a week turnaround is impressive.
I hope you enjoy the publishing process! It’s so much fun to see everything coming together during pages, not to mention getting the first copy of the book.
allison says
Ahhh This is so exciting for you guys!! Congrats and dont forget to take a deep breath whenever you get a chance:)
Nancy Garcia says
Enjoy the ride guys! Sending you all lot of love from Union City, New Jersey, woot woot! Jerzey–Jerz!!
Madeline says
I seriously don’t know how you all do it! Soooo amazing and inspiring for when I am feeling overwhelmed and lazy!! I cannot wait to buy the book!! Those altered pictures of before, during, and after are such a tease! haha Remember take care of yourselves and relax between the 439023569 things you have going on :)
Monique says
Can’t wait for the book… I already have it on my to-read list with a note saying “Fall 2012” so I know when it comes out.
And seriously, when thinking about a book tour (which I know is going to be forever far away) you need to come to Maine… aka Vacationland!
Ashley M says
I thought our house looked bad! thanks for making me feel better! haha just kiddin just kiddin. we had to stop mid kitchen reno with cabinet doors all over the dining room because our heat broke so it is chaos. kitchen stuff all over the place!!! so I feel ya.
p.s. can’t wait for the book to come out :)
Bonnie says
Well so much for imagining full-time blogging as a laid-back, sleep all day and work in your pajamas type job! You guys work super hard!! Can’t wait until the book comes out – I’ll make sure to give it a great plug on my site. Please let us know when pre-ordering on Amazon starts!
Veronika says
You guys are amazing!!! Keep it going!! I cant wait to hold thag golden book in my hands and look through glossy pictures and imagine back to this post!!!
Oh and you should definately frame that super duper blue pencil!! It’ll be iconic one day!
Love u guys a bunch!!
XOXO
Roeshel says
Holy cow! You two are crazy DIY super heroes! I don’t know how you do it all (despite the description above) and can’t wait for the release! ;)
Amanda says
I am amazed at the energy you guys maintain! It is inspiring that you can do so much with only 24 hours in a day. I want to be you guys when I grow up:) congrats on the book, I cannot wait until I can run out and get one… Or 10 lol
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Amanda!
xo,
s
Ruth says
Hi, Congrats on writing a book you guys! No mean feat I’m sure, especially with Clara, Burger and the blog! I have a 17 month old and only work part time and would love to blog but have no idea how I’d find the time so hats off to you. Just wondering if the book will be available overseas as well as in the US (I live in Scotland UK)?
YoungHouseLove says
We believe it will be available at Amazon.com, so if folks can ship overseas from there then it shouldn’t be a problem to get in the UK. We’ve emailed our publisher to confirm. Thanks!
-John
Becky J. says
I noticed the chair in the photo shoot picture is identical (or at least very similar) to the one that Centsational Girl posted in her recent BOTB post! What a coincidence! http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2012/01/botb-1-29-12/#more-25539
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my, it is! Looks like our local thrift stores much have similar “suppliers.” :)
-John
Karah @ thespacebetweenblog says
Wow! How exciting…it’s so fun to follow along, thanks for all of the deets. :)
Maureen @ The Parkland Project says
Love the pic with the photographer and Burgs. He’s like “hey, what are you doing here…” with his ears flat back to his head. lol :)
Sara says
This is so exciting! I can’t wait to read the book! It would be cool to see you auction off the final products in support of a charity like Habitat for Humanity.
Holly says
So can’t wait to see all the projects when the book comes out!!! Glad you pushed for Fall 2012 release over the Spring 2013 one!
I was wondering what you would be doing with all the completed projects and it got me thinking of ideas (not that you all need any!!). Then I read that you would do giveaways, which was the first thing I thought as I was wondering and thinking :-) The second thing I had thought of, that could be fun, was doing some sort of auction of the items and donating the proceeds to a charity that is dear to you. It’s always fun to find ways to use your joy to give back and make an impact on the world. Anyway, just thought I’d share that idea.
Here’s hoping for a fast February with lots of progress, little complications, and a few hours of sleep!
Cheers,
Holly
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we’d love to entertain both of those options! Would be cool to do some of each even!
xo,
s
Heather says
I have been following you (sounds creepier than I mean it) since your article in a DIY magazine years ago (long before the blog became younghouselove). I can’t believe your progress in life, blogging, DIY, design and business. I look forward to reading your blog everyday and your book is on my ‘desperately want list’. I am so inspired by everything you do. Keep up the great work and keep sharing every detail!
-Heather (from Canada)
Erin, KS says
I am wanting to know what kind of Nikkon, or what kind of lens you guys use to take your excellent photographs. Like that one of Burger, with his face in focus and his body blurry – love that depth of field look!
Really enjoy your blog! – ER
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve got a Nikon D3000 and most of our shots are taken with the lens that comes with it, though that particular shot of Burger was snapped with the “Nifty Fifty” 50mm lens we bought last summer. We don’t use it a lot, but it does come in handy shooting in our dark house sometimes!
-John
Lisa says
Wow – your schedule makes me tired just hearing about it. I can’t believe you are keeping up with all of that while raising a toddler, AND blogging! Many kudos to you and thanx for all of your efforts. We all really love and appreciate you guys.
Lauryn says
Just wanted to say I am so happy for you guys and the book deal. Couldn’t happen to nicer people!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much Lauryn!
xo,
s
Kristina says
Oh my gosh, you guys are crazy! Do you ever sleep?!?! I look forward to your posts every day, but I would totally understand if you scaled down your two posts a day for a couple weeks so you don’t go totally insane! Good luck juggling everything!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Kristina!
xo,
s
Faith J says
I’m so excited! I can’t wait to preorder. :)
Leslie says
good luck on the book! I love the pillows on your couch in the picture of the wrapped manuscript…mind sharing where you found them? I’m on a pillow hunt for a new couch…
YoungHouseLove says
The one on the left is really old from West Elm (maybe two to three years old?) and the one on the right is from HomeGoods! Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Aissa says
It must be an unbelievable experience for you guys, and I can’t wait for your book to come out! I can’t even imagine how crazy things are around there. I know this is way into the future, but will you guys be having any book signings? Just a thought because if so, I would so be there! It could get a little crazy with little Clara.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we’d love to come everywhere on our tour and meet all of you guys! It’ll be so nice to put a face to a comment name! Haha.
xo,
s
Brooke says
That’s all so exciting. Especially your visit to Portland, OR for the Home & Garden show. Will you guys be doing any sort of expo – or just here to visit our awesome city? Warning: it will most likely be cold and rainy :-/ We put up with the rainy winters for the glorious summers!
YoungHouseLove says
We’re appearing/speaking at the Expo sometime on Wednesday the 22nd! Will post details as soon as we know more!
xo,
s
Amy says
I love how you put teaser pics in the blog post… looking forward to seeing what the ikat fabric becomes – the red one of course looks great as a cushion. Can’t wait for the book in the FALL!
Katelyn Made says
OMG, Burger is so cute, I can’t get over pictures of him. My yorkie was cut really short, and now he looks like a Chihuahua, or “triangle face” as my boyfriend calls him.
Lauren says
Is it weird to have a stranger say they are proud of you? Well…I am and I don’t care who knows it. :) Congratulations on the huge accomplishment of writing a book,for showing determination and dedication through the process and for being able to balance everything you have going on, while still providing excellent content on the blog! Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of your book in the fall!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks so much Lauren! We’re so excited.
xo,
s
Stephanie S says
I’ve heard you’re using my neighbors, Kip and Marci, to do the photography! So nice to use some hometown people. Excellent choice!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, they’re great! It’s a whirlwind of activity, but we’re having a great time!
xo,
s
Sherry from BC says
This is so much fun…..thank you for inviting us behind the scenes. Can’t wait for the book and to see all the projects……get some sleep somehow.
Sarah Kyle says
I am so impressed with how organized and productive you two are! Congratulations on all of the success and I hope you enjoy the process. Can’t wait to see the finished product!
cheryl says
Love your blog…Funny coincidence. I don’t know how I found my way here but I was taking a break after painting my gold bamboo mirror….The exact same one you have near your laundry room..Funny huh? I’ve had it for 28 Years and today, I jumped in to the deep end of the pool (out of my comfort zone) and painted it a pinky coral then distressed with a gray glaze. It looks great next to my Benjamin Moore “Dolphin’s Cove” blue walls. I might even stencil my stair risers….This is what you bloggers gave me…Courage to decorate…
YoungHouseLove says
Too funny. So glad you dove in and made it over!
-John
Laura says
I am catching up on your blog posts from this week, and just saw that you’re coming to my city for the Home & Garden Show! Are you exhibiting there, coming to demo/share ideas, or what? I’d love to stop inand see what you’re up to, hope you keep us posted! :)
Exciting updates on the book by the way, I can’t wait to read it!
YoungHouseLove says
We’re giving a talk in the afternoon and then doing a little meet & greet (along with other local bloggers) in the evening. The folks behind the show just posted about it on their blog today! http://www.otshows.com/phs/special-attractions/young-house-love/
-John
cara says
I can’t wait to buy your book! You have such great ideas!
Katie says
I loved seeing all of your projects around the house. It has inspired me to work on ours. We are no adding a patio enclosure to our backyard. Thanks for the inspiration.
Kate says
I’m super excited for your book to come out after having read your blog for the past 3+ years. I’m also glad I reread this post and looked closely at the pictures… The duvet cover in the guest room looks remarkably similar to your new upholstered headboard in your master bedroom. Sneaky. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we’re sneaky buggers! The funny thing is that it’s not a duvet in the book! Oh the suspense! Haha.
xo,
s
allan cool says
ahhh i cant wait this is going to be a-h-h-h-h-h-m-a-a-a-a-z—i-n–g-g-gg-g–gg—g-gg-g-g