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).
Shannon says
I am so thrilled for you guys and cannot wait to buy the book!
Julia @ Chris loves Julia says
That is a TON of paint! HAHAHAHA. And gorgeous fabric. And I love the clean, white set. This is all so fantastic….it’s burning a hole through my brain.
TheChangingHouse says
Holy madness/excitement! This is super awesome
Lindsay says
Holy gallons o’paint! So excited for the book.
smith207 says
How funny they printed a huge manuscript and shipped it for editing. It reminds me of Little Women when Jo gets her book delivered :) You are right, things haven’t changed!
Nicole says
I can’t wait to have this book on my coffee table!
Jeannine @ Small and Chic says
Now, I haven’t been following too, too closely in recent years, but my sense is that you were diehard Glidden and Behr paint users. I see that there is a boatload of Benjamin Moore Aura paint in a photo above. That’s my absolute favorite paint and I’m curious if you loved using it, too.
I actually look forward to using that stuff. I think it goes on like a dream!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, it’s amazing! We have always loved Benjamin Moore’s colors (they’re practically all we use, we just used to color match things) but Benjamin Moore actually offered us paint for the book so we’re loving those little test pots! So many fun colors, and it really is great paint!
xo,
s
Rachel says
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang you guys have been busy! What a labor of YHLove. Can’t wait to see the finished product, I’ll definitely be getting a copy!
The Mrs @ Success Along the Weigh says
How exciting for you guys! I can’t wait for it to come out and I love how Burger was trying to photo bomb the photo shoot. What a sweet lil nugget!
Heidi says
I just wanted to remind you, as always, you are amazing.
Kristen says
You guys are just amazing. I am stunned at how much you all manage to get done in a day and STILL be happy. Seriously, have you guys found more than 24 hours in a day? Or my other favorite guess, that you’re aliens? Since I know neither of these can be true, I think you’re just people who LOVE WHAT YOU DO! And that, by itself, is inspiring! :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- we’re totally aliens. Shhhh, don’t tell! Our idea for book two is How To Be A Secret Alien (Without Tipping Off Your Blog Readers). Ha.
xo,
s
OMG Ponies says
I’m so happy for you guys. The stress must be crazy, but I’m super excited for you, & I’m excited for me to be able to read the book :).
I hope you’re able to take a vacation in March.
Emily S says
So happy for you guys and cannot wait to get the book! I have a question (sorry if it’s already been answered, I don’t really read the comments usually). Since you’re doing all these smaller projects for the book, and you already have lots of lovely things filling your house, what will you do with the made-over projects you don’t have the room or use for? My initial (greedy) thoughts were that you may sell them or even use some in a give-away! But another great idea might be to auction them off for charity! I’m sure you’ll give them good homes no matter what :)
YoungHouseLove says
Check out the bottom of the post for an update that we added about that (it’s a common question today- haha).
xo,
s
Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication says
WOW! You guys are BUSY! Good luck with everything! Can’t wait til the book comes out! :D
Nora says
Just reading that post made me tired. You guys are amazeballs and such an inspiration. I feel the need to paint some furniture or upholster something right now. I will be one of the first in line when the book comes out, can’t wait!
Kasey M. says
You guys deserve an awesome (long, restful) vacation when book production is over.
Oh and a nap. You’ll both definately need a nap.
Hannajoy says
Congrats on the book developments… I never imagined what an upheaval it would be to take all those photos or do all those projects… wow! I wish you much success!
On another note, do I spy with my little eye some new pillowage?? Where did you nab those cuties (pic#4) or are they top secret? They’d go perfectly with my new decor!
YoungHouseLove says
The blue and white ones? They were a HomeGoods find.
-John
Corrie says
wow! you guys are like blogging, diy-ing superheroes! not that we didn’t know that before, but honestly…a kitchen renovation on top of your house being taken over by a bajillion projects, on top of raising a toddler and now photographers?? i imagine you must feel so unsettled! (at least, that’s how i think i would feel if all that was going on in my house!)i seriously don’t know how you do it, but you guys are so amazing and totally deserve some time away from blogging! i admire your enthusiasm and energy. CAN’T WAIT to buy the book!
Jessica says
I am very curious about the writing process! So, as far as the book process goes…you wrote the book first and are now doing the projects? How weird is that? How are you able to provide a “how to” if you haven’t “how done it” yet. : ) Or is it a little bit of both? Are you able to go back and re-edit? Finding your book adventure fascinating! Awesome for you guys!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- we can tweak the descriptions a bit, but in order to hire a photographer and map out a schedule they needed to know how many and which projects we’re doing, so we had to pin them down in an outline, fill in the outline into a manuscript as clearly as possible (so they can start the book layout) and then we get to tweak some of the tutorials a bit if we realize things change as we go. Definitely feels a little backwards, but it’s surprisingly workable!
xo,
s
Haley says
Will all of your final projects for the book live in your home after it’s all complete?!
YoungHouseLove says
We don’t think many of them will (since they have to be hidden for so many months until the book is out, we didn’t do them for our house, we just did them for the book and because we thought they’d be the most fun to share). There’s a really great freedom in not having to worry if projects all match or which room they’ll go in! Hah. We’d love to do a big giveaway with them but aren’t sure about how shipping will work, but we’ll keep you posted!
xo,
s
Anya says
Wow, this is certainly exciting John & Sherry!! I can’t believe that you’re juggling the blog and kitchen reno and the book photos and projects all at once.. You know, I don’t think we’d mind if you got a few guest bloggers during this month of craziness to write a post or two so that you can spend a little bit more time working on your book. :) Take good care of yourselves and don’t go too crazy!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Anya! We’re trying to stay ahead of things, so here’s hoping we can get ‘er done!
xo,
s
shereen says
Sooooo exciting! I can’t wait to buy this book! As far as visitors go, my mother-in-law will be visiting us from out west…she’ll be here for 2 weeks. I still have my xmas tree/decor up. She will judge me. I will have funny things to gossip/complain to my girlfriends about – everyone wins.
Terri says
How is Clara handling all of this? I have a two year old and he would be everywhere and into everything!
YoungHouseLove says
She’s really social so she likes it! She knows everyone’s name. Like this morning when someone came in she said “Oh hi Susan” like it was normal for Susan to come over with the photographer and all of the crew. Haha. She’s also spending some time with her grandparents and having naps in the part of the house where we don’t go, so that’s nice to keep her from being too overwhelmed.
xo,
s
Allisen says
Looks CRAZY!!! What made you decide to upgrade from Olympic to the BM Aura?
YoungHouseLove says
Benjamin Moore offered us some paint for the book! We love all their colors (we usually use them exclusively but match them to other paint bases) but Aura is low-VOC and the little test pots of all those colors make a bunch of projects possible in our limited budget!
xo,
s
Allisen says
Oh man haha, I thought those were gallons! Tester pots make SOOOO much more sense!
Alexi says
Can’t wait for the book to come out! It will definitely have a home on my coffee table! Is this book craziness making it hard to get the kitchen finished up?
YoungHouseLove says
It’s not too bad! It’s definitely funny to adjust to seven people in the house instead of just three, but they’re great about steering clear if we say “ahh, we have to do this thing in the kitchen, do you guys mind just avoiding us for a while?”
xo,
s
Kristin says
So I don’t think I’ve ever commented before – but I read a lot! I love finding new places in my hometown because of y’all :) BUT is it at all possible to get more pictures of the hair of that redhead(?) in the grey shirt and jeans on the right in your hall? Yes, I’m asking for haircut shots, not decorating shots, but pretty please? Thank you :)
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll have to ask her if she minds! Haha. We promised them all we woudn’t post face pics just for their privacy.
xo,
s
Theresa says
I can’t wait to get my hands on this book, that fall release date means happy birthday to me! good luck with all of the projects! p.s.- does this mean kitchen reno is on hold til after the shoot is done? totally understandable, i’m just curious…
YoungHouseLove says
Nah, we’re trying to plow through both! Gotta have stuff to chat about on the blog while we secretly do book stuff! Haha. So we’re splitting time between both.
xo,
s
Sydney says
SO AWESOME! I feel tired just thinking about it.
Also – the blue, white, and green pillow behind the manuscript on the couch – I need one. Can you tell me where you snagged it?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s from West Elm a while ago!
xo,
s
Beth says
This is very exciting! I am wondering though, was it difficult to write about the projects before doing them?
YoungHouseLove says
It was! All 250 aren’t specific projects/tutorials (it’s mainly an idea book, so some are general like paint your ceiling or rearrange your furniture) so getting a bunch of main things that help you show your house some love were easy but describing the more specific projects and processes was hard to do before doing them! Thank goodness we can tweak the tutorials as we go (we are finding easier ways to do/describe things and editing them a bit). Whew.
xo,
s
Paula says
This is incredibly exciting! Wow, I am so happy for you guys! Even though I know it is sooo crazy right now. I seriously can’t wait to buy the book.
Lindsey @ arkadian belle woods says
YAY! I’m so excited! For realz….I don’t know how you guys do it! You are so awesome! I would totally stay up all hours but keep getting scared that I might pass out at the drop of a hat in the middle of a sidewalk if I don’t sleep.
PS – $-Dog…I posted something you might love on my blog this morning….it’s BUZZZworthy…haha
Tammy says
A bit off the subject…but where did you get those lovely new pillows on the couch? LOVE the texture!
xo,
Tammy
YoungHouseLove says
HomeGoods and West Elm a while back (and two are actually made from napkins from Crate & Barrel).
xo,
s
YoungHouseLove says
They were a HomeGoods find!
-John
Whitney Dupuis says
Wow, you guys never cease to amaze me! I can’t wait for the book!!!
fd says
you are really superstars. Where you get the energy is just a mystery?! Really looking forward to the book (yes another bit of xmas shopping done!). Congrats again.
sarah says
cannot wait for your book. i think i’ll ask for it for my birthday!!
Claire says
I’m so proud of you guys! And incredibly happy for you! You seriously deserve all of the good things that come your way.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Claire!
xo,
s
christy says
i don’t now how you guys manage to keep up this crazy pace but it’s amazing! y’all are machines!
can’t wait to see the final product (book and kitchen ;))
Sara says
NUTS! That is some crazy stuff, seeing how a book comes together. I would say that takes a lot of multi-tasking skills to keep yourselves organized and producing.
And :) to the hidden gems in the X’ed out photos.
Sara says
OR shall I say organized skills to handle all that multi-tasking stuff you are handling.
Jenny says
You guys are so impressive. Congrats on the manuscript completion!
Jenni says
My anticipation for this book is OVERWHELMING!! I seriously can’t wait til I get my hands on a copy!! Are you doing a book tour as well? Come to Fort Worth! I want a signed copy :)
YoungHouseLove says
We’re planning to do some touring. We don’t know the specifics yet since it’s kind of up to the publisher. But we’ll be certain to let you know if Fort Worth is one of our stops!
-John
JanetL says
Posts about the book always leave me breathless and anxious for you guys. :) Talk about a crazy time but totally worth it!
Katie says
I have to tell you that as soon as the book comes out I am going to buy one. Do you guys know if it’s going to be released in Canada? So excited for you guys and for me too!
YoungHouseLove says
We believe so. It should be available on Amazon so as long as you can order from there you should be good!
-John
Kate says
First things first: Um, that mid-century desk I spy in the last living room photo? I looks amazing, even from behind! So excited for you all – cannot wait to get the book and for all the behind-the-scenes stuff to come out on the blog! Good luck this month!
Kala M. says
You guys are amazing! I don’t know how you two do it all. I’m so excited for your book. I’ve already told my husband multiple times that he can buy it for me for either my birthday (September) if it is out in time or for Christmas. Hope you guys find a little time for some sleep.
hollyloo says
this is so exciting! thanks for letting us follow along. i can’t wait to have the book in my hot little hands.
ps—i hope you saved that blue pencil to frame in your hallway gallery??
YoungHouseLove says
It’s definitely getting saved. We actually even incorporated it into a shot today!
-John
Barb says
I’m in love with that picture of Burger questioning the photographer. “Are you sure that’s how you want it? ‘Cause I was thinking…”
Or maybe he just wants to be IN the picture? :-)
Kelly says
Just wanted to send you some love during this crazy time – love that you are sharing such a cool experience with us, and I’ll be first in line to pre-order your book! (ooooh, or I’ll be first in line at a book signing – hope you’re coming to DC/NoVa!)
Melody says
Wowzers! I’m tired and stressed for yall, whew! I love all the fabrics and can’t wait to see what you’re doing with them. How exciting!
Bethany says
Just wanted to say how much I look forward to my mid-morning nursing sessions because it generally means that I get to read a new post from you guys! And as far as a messy house goes- breastfeeding 12 week old twins + a 3 1/2 yr old = mess of epic proportions…but reading about/looking at your home endeavors also provides great motivation for me to get up and get what I can done. Thanks so much!
Candace says
Love that someone else’s house is in shambles (misery loves company!) my house is like this http://candyskitchen.blogspot.com/2012/01/building-built-ins-in-progress.html
…. only worse now. More sawdust on the rug. 3 out of the 4 arm chairs are piled with tools. And there’s a couch in there SOMEWHERE!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks for those pics! You know they make me feel much better!
xo,
s