… birthing this book baby of ours! Seriously, somebody get us to Lamaze class. Yup, it’s coming in early November (our official “due date” is the 6th, although it varies slightly depending on where you look). Excuse me while I practice my deep breathing (hee, hee, hoooooo, hee, hee, hoooooo).
Perhaps the craziest part about it is that this might be the longest baby gestation ever recorded – over three whole years! Seriously. Labor of love could not apply more. So for everyone who has been asking about pre-order details, you can click on any of the logos below to pre-order from any of these affiliates. And of course don’t forget the local guys – the book will be available at your favorite bookstore, and if you stop by, many local bookstores can pre-order it for ya too. Fun fact – pre-orders don’t just score you a discounted price, they’re also good for us authors too. And we hear they can show up before the actual release date, so that’s another added bonus.
Speaking of a nice long gestation, this was John’s Facebook status almost exactly a year ago (and yes, that’s the Jamie you know from this post).
But today somehow we’re holding a 336 page mocked-up book full of hundreds of house-sprucing ideas that are about to go off to the printer this week to be made into a real life book. Like one you can hold in your hands and read and put on the coffee table. Actually lots of them since it would be weird just to print one. As for what it’s about, it’s definitely not a formal decorating bible with designer terms and upscale rooms. Please, we’re not that fancy. It’s more of an idea book for folks like us. A heaping portion of doable and affordable suggestions 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’d save up for. Basically it’s the blog. Only a book. And instead of getting a post or two a day, you get 243 ideas with photos, checklists, tutorials, and illustrations galore (along with bonus tips, sidebars, and added commentary). And a little dorky humor a la us.
Wait, and did we mention that we packed it with over 200 photos and 100 illustrations that have never been seen before on the blog? I guess we just did. In fact, none of the tips in this book are just regurgitated from our blog posts (zero cutting and pasting here!). Some of the general ideas and basic tutorials may be familiar (how could we not include must-have how-tos like painting furniture or upholstering a headboard?) but we wanted to present them in a fresh way. So instead of seeing the same table that I painted three years ago for the blog, you might see a brand new dresser makeover that we secretly completed back in January. Sure it was extra work, but we really wanted 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).
It’s so funny because we distinctly remember every single phase: signing on with an agent well before Clara was born, writing a 100 page proposal in 2010, pitching it to publishers and picking the right one for the job right after moving in 2011, turning our proposal into a complete book outline and then a complete manuscript right around New Year’s, shooting for three straight weeks in our house back in February of this year, and then refining and proofing and proofing some more, and finally – finally! – sending this baby off to be printed. Whew.
Whirlwind? Yes. Lots of fun? Yes. Lots of work? Yes. Still feels like it’s all a dream? Yes. One big, flipping-the-house-upside-down dream…
So needless to say, when we look down at the final layouts and triple check that we didn’t write something like “hang your fart” instead of “hang your art” (don’t worry, we have proofreaders) it really is sort of a chest-swelly moment. Not in that “we’re a big deal” way, but in that “we didn’t know we had it in us” way. I mean, of course when we signed on to write a book we thought we could do it, but as we went we kept saying “ooh, wouldn’t it be cool if we added this too?” – and every time we did we’d worry if we had just bitten off more than we could chew. But oh happy day we didn’t! We survived. We lived to tell the tale. We wrote the book we were dying to write. And I think it’s going to feel even more unreal when we’re actually holding it in our hot little hands. There might be tears the ugly cry.
And since the final cover has officially been pinned down, we thought it would be fun to chat about that process, since it was completely different than we thought it would be (as was almost every aspect of writing a book – did you know you edit the entire thing with a pencil on printed layouts over about five to six rounds of revisions – there’s no computer involved at all?!). I’d say the two overall most surprising things about writing this book were:
- how little the publishers changed the inside of the book (aka, the meat)
- how much the publishers have to do with the outside (aka, the bread)
Isn’t that funny? Every time we submitted outlines and even the final manuscript we expected tons of crossed out stuff and rearranged stuff and suggestions about what to move/do/change. But other than typos and grammar fixes, it was really all us. Which is kind of awesome. I mean, in the book we’re the same pun-loving weirdos as we are on this blog. I guess we somehow thought they’d try to “polish us” but they totally let us be us. Our freak flag is waving, baby. And we’re so grateful.
Then when it came to the cover, we learned that most authors actually only get to give “feedback” but the publisher always has the final say. Thank goodness we love our editors and they seem to like us back, so it was a pretty collaborative process in the end. First we shot some of their initial concepts amidst our three-week photography extravaganza back in Feburary, and out of all three cover concepts there was one that we did our darndest to wiggle out of: putting our mugs on the cover.
We just didn’t want to be sitting there (or standing there) posing in some styled room because… I don’t know… it just felt so… serious. We really wanted the cover to feel playful and happy and fun (it’s not a lofty book about box pleats, it’s a happy-go-lucky home idea book). So after we shot all three concepts, including some terribly awkward photos of us sitting on the sofa like this…
… we heard they officially weren’t going with the pose-on-the-sofa idea for the cover (they agreed that it was looking really forced). Wahoooooo! We celebrated. There might have been an entire box of Oreos that were sacrificed to the We’re-Not-On-The-Cover Book Gods (by way of our bellies). Then about a month later we heard they were going with a fourth concept that a new designer came up with (with us on the cover, but not as big, and not us posing in a room). Whaaaaa? Here was the very first draft they sent over just with initial ideas from their team:
We opened the PDF while holding our breath… and then we stared at it for a while. And then we realized that we kind of liked it. Not because we’re on the cover of course, but just because of the vibe. The playful look and feel of the different typefaces, the wood letters, the blue stitched spine detail, the paint can in the O – they were all fun and cheeky and definitely not stodgy or serious. Of course the designers asked us for feedback, so we gave it lots of thought, still kind of cringed at the idea of seeing our faces on the cover, and offered up a few general suggestions like:
- what if we made the spine more of a teal tone and less of a baby blue?
- what if we added some house keys hanging at the bottom from the “e” in the word love?
- what if we used wood letters in a chunkier, more modern font?
- what if we took ourselves off the darn cover? (this became a joke, how many times we tried to weasel our way out of it)
And they came back with:
- Sure! Color picks are just preliminary, so you can definitely weigh in on those!
- Sure! We love that idea!
- Sure! We’ll get them hand-carved by an artisan in the typeface that you pick and then shoot them in a studio so they look real and have real shadows (how cool is that?! they were made just for the book, and yes we have totally begged them to send them to us so we can keep them forever!)
- Nope, you’re staying right there. Everyone here loves that it makes it personal and it’s not a giant stiff looking photo so hopefully you’ll learn to love it too.
Oh and some other changes happened over those months of development. Some tips got changed to bonus tips instead of numbered tips (to help keep the page count – and therefore the price – from getting too high). So we ended up with 243 tips, which is our lucky number (it’s old pager code for We Love You, which we thought was fitting). The subtitle also got more specific thanks to some focus-group feedback. So here’s the final design – mocked up to look 3D:
Clean and still fun. Not too kid-ish, but still playful and cheeky with that awesome zing of color down the spine and a few more pops on the front and back. We also love how there’s a mixture of masculine (the wood letters) and feminine (the scripty ones). And everything from the stitched spine to the paint can and the house keys feels – I don’t know – homey?
Just for kicks, here’s the front, spine, and the back (the back is so much fun up close since our website’s heart background is subtly worked into some of the colored boxes):
Thanks to that teal spine, we think it’ll look so cute on a coffee table, or even stacked between our horse head bookends with the other decorating books that we love. Can’t you picture it squished in here?
As for why the book cover doesn’t look like our blog header, we actually thought that wouldn’t be a good idea since:
- It’s kinda boring if it’s a direct lift from our blog
- The book isn’t just repackaged blog stuff, so we didn’t want the cover to look so much like our blog that people assumed it was just the same stuff (all of the projects that we photographed were secretly done just for this book, so they’re all never-before-seen images)
- We love to redesign the blog every few years, so we didn’t want the book to look dated (to us and our readers) once we outgrew the current design
- It’s actually a really fun process to see what a professional book designer can do with your “look.” They know what they’re doing and have so much interesting reasoning behind certain choices that we never would have even thought about. And it’s not everyday that you get to see yourself through a book designer’s eyes.
So that’s the story of being completely convinced that we had successfully weaseled our way out of being on the cover (we even said we had done it in this post) and then ended up there anyway. But at least we’re not sitting on the sofa smiling. Haha. And there are bunny ears. And I’m wearing red shoes. And we’re little. So if we put a cute little paper weight over that part of it when it’s on the coffee table we won’t even be visible. #crouchingtigerhidden$herdog
Another fun fact? That photo actually wasn’t shot for the cover. It was just a random portrait that we snapped back in February while shooting all of our projects (just in case they needed an author photo for the back or something).
Oh, and what’s the funny thing you notice about John’s hand in the original pic? Yup, no drill. They cut his arm holding a drill from another process photo in the book and stuck it on there. We love that. I don’t know why. It’s like one of those behind-the-movie tidbits about the magic of book cover building. John’s Frankensteined Drill-Arm.
Oh and while Clara and Burger pop up inside, they didn’t make the cover because our editors rightfully pointed out that the Young House Love title was in danger of looking like it was some sort of relationship/family book, and not a decorating book (which is also why the designers chose to emphasize the word HOUSE with wood letters). But we made up for it inside the book. Seriously, Burger is without a doubt our favorite part of the book. He basically walks in and out of chapters and says hilarious Burger-esque things (yes, he talks to us when nobody’s around) and Clara got in there more than a few times too (she even got to do a project with us).
So in the end we feel like the book really represents us and our blog. There’s tons more that we’re itching to tell you about this, but we don’t want your head (ok, our heads) to explode. So we’ll occasionally be diving into more behind-the-scenes details about finishing this book of ours, sharing a video that we shot and edited with some sneak peeks, and finally dishing out the dates and cities for our book tour once that’s all set in stone. For now, all of this jabbering is just to say: holy cow this book baby is actually coming out and we love you all for the amazing support and encouragement that you’ve shown us during this intense and incredible journey. Couldn’t have done it without you. For reals, guys. Love, love, love.
Psst- You can check out a bunch of links to other book-related happenings, like when we announced that we were writing a book, how we picked a publisher, how we prepped for photo shoots, and how we shared a little photo-shoot sneak peek. Plus you can swing by our new book landing page with more info that we’ll update as soon as we know more about things like book tour details (along with other fun behind the scenes stuff).
Sam @ The Junk House says
I can’t wait for November! I pre-ordered back in the beginning of June and there wasn’t a picture of the cover yet, so I’m excited to see the cover now and hear all the details!
Marii says
Long time lurker, first time poster from Estonia. Just pre-ordered the book and I am so very excited. I eagerly read and wait for your daily blog posts as they are posted at the end of my workday at 5pm. You are an inspiration and i constantly try to prove to my partner that coloured ceramic animals are a fun accessory to our home. Haven’t changed his mind just yet! But showed him your home pictures and he was definately impressed. Maybe the future holds some horses and other creatures. :-) Keep up the good work!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks so much Merli! You’re so sweet!
xo,
s
Nikki says
How am I going to wait until November! LOL ;) Seriously so stoked! Going to try to find a local bookstore here in Monterey, CA!
Erin @ DIY On the Cheap says
Done!!! Just pre-ordered it via your Amazon affiliate link. Cannot wait to get it! Congrats, I am so excited for you!
Karyl says
Congratulations! We’ve got it on pre-order. I can’t wait to read it!
Christie says
I’ve been reading YHL for several years, and its just so exciting for you guys …a BOOK! WOW! It looks beautiful. Congrats!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Christie!
xo,
s
Elisabeth@SimplyParkers says
So excited for you guys! Can’t wait to get my hands on this little bundle of joy :)
Michelle W. says
Shon & Jerry (that’s what I like to call you, hehe), I am sooo very excited for this book. A big congratulations to you for such hard work. Your fans will rejoice once we have it in our greedy little hands and hopefully get to “get all awkward” with you face to face at a book signing! So excited!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, Shon & Jerry = hilarious.
xo,
s
Annie says
I am SO excited! I pre-ordered one for myself and one for my sister! I can’t wait to see what you two have come up with! It’s guaranteed to be fabulous!
Benita says
Yay!
Carolyn says
Please put Minneapolis on your book tour. You have a lot of fans here. … and my friends and I want our copies SIGNED. ;)
Jenna says
I strongly agree with the Minneapolis suggestion! Can’t wait to see the list once you all know.
Kathie G says
I can’t wait for my book to arrive either! I’ll be looking for those tour dates. I’d love to have mine signed. Maybe I could just come over….lol
Karen says
Very excited for you guys! Please put Sacramento, CA on your book tour schedule.
Kellie says
cant wait to get this book! Is there a reason you choose Sherry & John instead of John & Sherry?
YoungHouseLove says
We didn’t have any idea how to handle it but then learned it’s an Emily Post rule not to separate a man’s first and last name (aka: Sherry & John Petersik). I think it’s funny because it’s “ladies first”- haha.
xo,
s
Anne says
Congratulations!! Excited for you two. Just preordered on Amazon AND it’s coming Prime! :-)
vicky s says
LOOKS BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! Looking forward to having a copy at home! Many congratulations- well earned!
Karla@{TheClassyWoman} says
I am just so excited for you Sherry & John!! I’ve been following your blog for so long-how could I not buy your book?! I will be pre-ordering! I love how humble you are but get ready because this book is going places! I’m so excited to read your book and see all of the success that follows for you both. You guys deserve it! :)
As an Author myself also getting ready to publish my first book, I know the hard work, time and love that goes into a book. The editing process alone can nearly kill you but coming up with all of those decor projects and taking photos too-I can’t even imagine. You guys rock! My day is never complete until I’ve popped over here to see what you guys have created or what you’re up to! Hugs from FL, Karla
YoungHouseLove says
Congrats on your book too, Karla! You’ll have to send us the link to it once it’s become available.
-John
Holly says
I’m SOOOOOO excited! I got my pre-order in and hope they don’t sell out before we get more in for Xmas gifts!!
And sniff…a little tear of pride and happiness for your guys and thinking back years ago when I happened upon your blob after googling some home improvement pics…and now it’s come to ALL this…ok, maybe more than a little tear going on here :)
Holly says
“Blob”?
Clearly I can’t type with tears in the eyes…meant BLOG!
YoungHouseLove says
Awww, either way we’re touched!
xo,
s
Patti says
happy happy joy joy! Pre-ordered and can’t wait to get it
Julia says
I already pre-ordered your book two months ago, but this post makes it even more exciting!
Did you know that you are #21 in English Books > Freetime, House & Garden > Home Design > Remodeling & Renovating on amazon Germany?
I know it’s not as good as being #11 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Remodeling & Renovation on amazon.com, but you must still have a lot of German fans (me included)!
YoungHouseLove says
No way, that’s amazing!
xo,
s
Sheryl J says
Already in my shopping cart!
Office Suites In Phoenix says
This is a very exciting time for you guys, so congratulations! I will be looking into getting this book! Thanks for sharing your story!
bex says
BAM! Pre-ordered.
Hope we see you in Minneapolis!! :)
Annemarie L says
I pre-ordered it a few weeks back and I cannot wait to get it in the mail! Thanks for all of the inside info- it is fun to hear how it went down! I am dying to find out where you will be on your book tour. I am crossing my fingers that you will make it out to LA, or somewhere in Southern California! If not, I’ll have to plan a road trip ;)
amy says
My first thought was “I’m so proud of you guys!”. Really? Who am I to be proud of you? We don’t even know each other! But I think anyone who is a YHL fan is in awe not just of your ideas, but your incredible work ethic.
Congratulations. (more appropriate?)
I can’t wait to buy a case and force good, fun design on everyone I know.
:)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so sweet of you Amy!
xo,
s
Elisabeth says
Congratulations to you! Your book is
looking super exiting! I pre-ordered it two
weeks ago and now I can´t wait!!! Will you
please come to Germany for a book tour?????
Elisabeth
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love that!
xo
s
Carrie says
I love the cover design! It really looks amazing. That is soooooo exciting, you guys must be dying! I will have to come to a Richmond book signing with Finn to say hi. (-: good luck and congratulations! – Carrie & Finn
YoungHouseLove says
Aw I love that!
xo,
s
Blake says
Pre-ordered! Woo hoo!
P.S. Destin, FL would be a great place to come on your book tour :)
Erica says
Love the cover! Congrats… so exciting. :)
Ally says
I smell a prequel…there’s another tome waiting to be birthed…back to the days of yore…
When $herdog was still Sherry…when the man of her dreams was named Marshall, and he wore matching Winky Jeans… just to make her smile…
When JBoom was paying $20 at Great Clips, wearing dry belts, soakin’ up the rays on his parents deck, and not giving a single thought to actually building one…with his bare rugged manly hands…
(FYI, Youngsters – everytime I pass a children’s store, I see all these cute little summer dresses, and immediately think of sweet little Clara twirling about! :)
xox
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahhaha, that’s hilarious.
xo,
s
Meredith J says
SO EXCITED!! About to pre order right now! I know it’s not up to you guys… but COME TO SEATTLE!!! ;) Congrats Young House Love!!!!
Mrs Patty says
Can’t wait to get it! You both are going to need to get an assistant…I have a feeling after this book launches you are going to get a lot more hits on the blog!!! Congratulations!
Alise says
What a wonderful accomplishment! Congratulations! We just pre-ordered (I got “Young House Love” and the hubs got “Paul Rand Conversations with Students”). Can’t wait until November!
Elizabeth says
WOO! Just pre-ordered! So excited for this… I’ve loved your blog for a long time, but we just moved so I’m excited to try all the new suggestions, too! Congrats, guys! Publishing a book is huge!
Emily M. says
Congratulations! So exciting. I will definitely be pre-ordering it. The cover is fantastic and I think a really good representation of what you guys are all about.
Kasey M. says
Cannot wait to get my hands on a copy! And see when you’ll be touring in my neck of the woods :D
Laura says
So excited about this! I’m going to save it for myself for when we buy a home! It’ll be a celebratory gift to myself! Congratulations on all your hard work!
Emily M. says
Oh and if you’re considering book tour locations as other readers have commented, come to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada!
Esther says
Congratulations!! So nice, and so exciting for you guys, well done! This is such an accomplishment!
Alicia says
Congrats! I just pre-ordered mine…wish I could say I was the first to do so from Alabama but oh well! I’ve been reading your blog (since 2007 I think? when you were “this young house”?) eveyday while I eat my lunch…honestly it’s the highlight of my day and I’ve used so many of your decorating tips. Can’t wait to get my copy of what I’m sure will be a wonderful book. Congrats again!
Rachelle says
I second the Austin request! You’d have the best time thrifting here – hint hint.
Donna says
So since I am old enough to be your mother, either of you, I am going to be motherly and say how proud I am of you both. The book looks wonderful! I plan on buying several for myself and to give as Christmas gifts!!
Suz says
Please come to southwest Ohio – I would love to meet you guys!
Amanda says
When you plan the booktour, please include Sweden ;-)
The book looks fab, can’t wait to get my hands on it!!
Andi says
Congrats! Your book comes out on my birthday and my wedding anniversary! How very cool!
Melissa says
Just pre-ordered as a post-birthday gift for myself! So excited for it to land on my doorstep!!
JT says
Enjoy your third trimester, get lots of rest and I hope the birth is calmer than clara’s. Preordered for holiday presents x 3
Yippee!
When you are in dc you need to check out good wood on u street. You’d love it.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks JT!
xo,
s
Sarah says
Come To San Diego, CA!!!
(ahem.. great vacation destination..ahem)
My birthday is in September and this is on my wish list! I’m so excited for you guys!!
Melissa says
I am on my way to amazon right now to pre-order! I was pleasantly surprised at the price…..I have a feeling that you two had something to do with it being so reasonable. Thank you for that! I would have paid much more, but certainly appreciate the affordability. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Melissa! We felt really strongly about a low price! We even picked this publisher partially because they promised to keep things reasonable!
xo,
s
Hillary says
Congrats guys! I definitely pre-ordered on Amazon months ago!! P.S. I love the cover–even with you guys on there;)