Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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We’re One Trimester Away From…

… 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).

Book Signage

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.

Book Splash AmazonBook Splash Barnes NobleBook Splash BAMBook Splash IndieBound

Powells2Amazon CanadaIndigoAmazon UKWaterstones

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).

Book Facebook Status2

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).

Editing

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…

ShootDay1 Messy Living Room

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:

  1. how little the publishers changed the inside of the book (aka, the meat)
  2. 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.

ShootDay1 Manuscript Ready

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…

Book Us On Couch

… 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:

Front First

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:

  1. what if we made the spine more of a teal tone and less of a baby blue?
  2. what if we added some house keys hanging at the bottom from the “e” in the word love?
  3. what if we used wood letters in a chunkier, more modern font?
  4. 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:

  1. Sure! Color picks are just preliminary, so you can definitely weigh in on those!
  2. Sure! We love that idea!
  3. 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!)
  4. 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:

Book Cover Only

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):

Front Back

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?

Horse Bookends Done2

As for why the book cover doesn’t look like our blog header, we actually thought that wouldn’t be a good idea since:

  1. It’s kinda boring if it’s a direct lift from our blog
  2. 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)
  3. 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
  4. 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).

Book Us In Door1

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).

Ram Clara Watching Kip1

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).

Comments

  2. Charisma says

    With love all things are possible. After meeting you guys in Portland and seeing the love between the two of you, it is no wonder you are as successful as you are. So happy for you guys!

    Reply

  3. Erica F says

    Ah so excited to see a post about the book. I actually pre-ordered it in June.

    Two copies at that….one for me and one I’m planning to do as a giveaway on a blog I’m starting [I hope to be up and posting before that day arrives].

    So happy for y’all both, you deserve all the success in the world for your hard work.

    Cheers! :)

    Reply

  4. Janke says

    Oooooooh, so excited! I pre-ordered my copy a few weeks ago on Amazon Germany. Now I’m thinking of starting an English class with my family and friends, so I can order some more for Christmas. ;) Well, they can always look at the pretty pictures right? Foreign language or not.

    Reply

  5. Sunnie says

    I’m so excited, I actually teared up a little reading this post! Can’t wait to have the book in my hands and I hope you have a signing near me!! Congrats you guys!

    Reply

  7. Amanda says

    Whoo! So excited for this! Can’t wait til ya’ll go on tour. Dallas has to be one of the cities you hit. Pretty please. lol If not, I’ll be sure to be at the nearest city with book in hand. :)

    Reply

  10. Jeanine says

    Oh! My! Gawd! I seriously feel like I can’t wait till November! I already have my pre-ordered from a few months back. The countdown has begun to when I can get my hands on this book! So happy for you guys!! :)

    Reply

  13. Liz Hernandez says

    John and Sherry, I am soo happy for you both. I have been a reader since like forever! Since before you got married and I truly am happy for you and your family. I wish you guys all the blessings from above….Dream big, plan well, work hard, smile and good things will happen….they’re happening:) Congratulations!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks Liz. You’re so sweet. You guys have no idea how much your kind words and encouragement have helped us get here. You’re everything to us.

      xo,
      s

  15. Erin says

    Congrats! All the hard work is finally paying off!

    I’m in my third trimester too… but I’m expecting a baby in November, not a book :)

    Reply

  16. Ann from Canada says

    Hi John and Sherry
    I have followed you for a couple of years now, stealthlike and waiting for the book preorder ever since you announced the book coming! So happy to jump over to Amazon and order it, can hardly wait for November. Good on ya! Keep waving your freak flag with the rest of us dorks.

    Reply

  17. Lizzie says

    Yay & Congrats!! I came across your blog a few weeks ago and have been addicted ever since! Can’t wait to read the book!

    Reply

  18. Erin says

    Oh my goodness, now I am more excited then EVER to get my hands on your book! Damn you teaser!

    I am really glad that you changed the font of the HOUSE wood letters. When I first saw the original letters I remember thinking it wasn’t really you. Seemed to woodsy, like something you would see in a cabin.

    I’m thinking of sending my children away for the first two weeks in November. I need time to read the book with no interruptions! Wait, does that make me a bad parent? Probably. ;)

    Reply

  19. Holly says

    So exciting! Love the cover. I just pre-ordered it from Amazon. I only wish it could come out 2 weeks earlier so I could bring it along on our honeymoon trip. I’m sure it would keep me occupied for the 11 hour flight. At least it will be something to look forward to coming home to.

    Reply

  21. AlexK says

    Really wanted to pre-order, but I made a vow to switch all my book purchases to ebooks, so I was disappointed that there’s no Kindle version. Please, please, please release it on Kindle

    Reply

  22. Koliti says

    Wow! What’s bigger than a “High Five”? Bunny Ears!!!
    Joyful CONGRATS!!!

    Sherry & John, you silly rabbits…….
    YOU are Young House Love & YOU are why people enjoy your blog – you keep it real! So of course your beautiful mugs had to be on the cover!

    It’s a good thing that the annual flu shots a lot of people will receive won’t cover “Young House Love Book Signing Flu” – there’s going to be “love epidemics” at all of your book signings!

    Just curious…since you like to take the jackets off of your books and display them – what does your book look like without it’s jacket?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw, you’re so sweet Koliti! We love you.

      We haven’t seen the final version but it’s actually jacket-less (no plastic or paper cover, this cover is printed on the actual board of the book). It’s called a flexibound book so it’s not a softcover and not a thick fabric hardcover, just sort of a firm hybrid of the two. So hard to explain! But this is the “naked” look since it’s not covered to begin with!

      xo,
      s

  23. Nikki P says

    Just pre-ordered for my Nook (first time I’ve ever done that). Good luck you guys on the sales and congrats!

    Reply

  26. vika says

    Congratulations, guys!!! That’s awesome news.

    Sidenote – November 6th is my toddler’s 2nd birthday! Also Election Day! Big day for you, big day for me, big day for our country! Whoop!!

    Reply

  29. Brandyn says

    I’m so excited for your book! Congrats! Love the cover, esp John holding super imposed drill cause that’s awesome.

    Also love the 243 reference. There’s a Lifetime movie that I LOVE called “Gracie’s Choice” where they say “143” all the time. And yes I’m the girl who not only watches Lifetime movies, I bought that one.

    Reply

  30. Missy G. says

    I pre-ordered a few weeks ago! I’m so excited for it to come in… it will be my FIRST design book!!

    It’s strange, yet awesome, that I can feel so connected to a family that I’ve never met and lives several states away. So, so very happy for you and John on all of your blogging and book-writing successes. I might ugly cry with you when the book finally arrives on my doorstep. :)

    Reply

  31. Tabatha says

    Congratulations! I just pre-ordered 2 copies, I think one will make a wonderful Christmas gift for my DIY loving sister! Can’t wait to get it!!!!

    Reply

  33. Denise says

    I pre-ordered this book at the beginning of March through Amazon and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. I hope that you will be coming through Houston on your book tour, that would be awesome!

    Reply

  34. Laura D says

    This Election Day I’m voting for Young House Love. ha ha. I’m definitely buying your book. Congrats. It is well-deserved and I’m looking forward to seeing your never-before-seen decorating tips :)

    Reply

  35. Amy says

    Just pre-ordered the book! Now will you pretty please come to Cleveland so you can sign it? Ha! Can’t wait to admire all of your handy work!

    Reply

  36. Kimberly says

    Congratulations!!! I’m so very excited to see the full thing in person and have my copy pre-ordered like everyone else has (or eventually will!) ;-)

    Reply

  38. Jenni says

    Yay!! I’m so stoked and proud and happy for you guys. (Admittedly, I even got a little misty-eyed reading your post). Thanks for sharing the book process with us – it’s so exciting. Fingers crossed that you’ll come to the Twin Cities! :D

    Reply

  39. Sew View says

    Seriously I forget how much work you guys must do – until I read a post like this. This is very commendable commitment and I hope you get really much deserved rewards for all the very long days and nights.

    Reply

  40. carra says

    I love that you referred to good ole Emily Post! I love her. Totally pre-ordered your book and am dying to get it in the mail. It seems like so far away, ugh!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oddly enough there’s also an Emily Post reference in the book since we used her book for a project after finding it at a thrift store. Isn’t that random? She’s worming her way into our heart thanks to this book! Haha. Good ol’ Emily!

      xo
      s

  41. Elizabeth says

    I am SOOOO excited for your book to come out! Can’t wait :)

    Also I’m in love with the cover – super cute!

    Just putting it out there… You should SO come to Ottawa, Canada during your tour!

    Reply

  42. erin says

    congrats!! that’s so exciting!!

    I hope you come to Chicago so I can attend a book signing!

    been following your blog for over two years now and I love “checking in” every day with you guys!!!

    Reply

  43. Alycia says

    Congrats guys – this looks amazing! I pre-ordered it as soon as it was available for pre-order. So exciting! Is it November yet?! :)

    Reply

  44. Erin says

    CONGRATS! Just pre-ordered and now I have yet another reason to be excited for fall! (Seriously, I am o.v.e.r. this Virginia heat!) Can’t wait to devour every page and add it to the bookshelf in an already designated spot :)

    Reply

  46. Annelise in Edmonds says

    Your book looks fantastic! I can’t wait to read it!

    I am a new follower of your blog, and I have to say I have really enjoyed tuning in regularly the last few months! You give great inspiration to new DIY’ers and help to cut back on the intimidation factor by making it real and showing it’s possible!

    I am contstantly mentioning your blog to my boyfriend who’s house is in desperate need of a few layers of paint and elbow grease! Your book will be the perfect guide to get us started! Cheers!

    Reply

  48. Margee Krebs says

    How cool to hear the details of how you accomplish such a big project (kind of like your deck!)! Can’t wait to get a copy and hopefully see you in our hometown (RVA). By the way, thanks for the shopping tips for Bethany Beach, where we are spending a week — Mod Cottage now has a sizable chunk of my last paycheck! : )

    Reply

  49. LARY@ Inspiration Nook says

    You guys have no idea how excited I am for this! I pre-ordered mine a couple of weeks ago and cannot wait for it to arrive. I know I’ll be doing a happy dance when it arrives (I know Clara will be proud) HAHA.

    Reply

  50. Elaine K says

    I pre-ordered mine already and can’t wait for it to come! I remember the day the biography my dad wrote arrived at a camp I was working at. Very exciting times! I’m hoping you will do a local book signing that I can get to. Congrats!!!!

    Reply

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