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

  1. Kristina says

    I am pretty sure I pre-ordered the very first day it was available on Amazon. (before the cover was even pictured!) I am also now contemplating how many more I will be buying for Christmas gifts. So very excited for both of you and all that you have accomplished! I am crossing my fingers that Boston is on your book tour!

    Reply

  2. Jill says

    So proud of you guys! I pre-ordered about two months ago! I just hope I get to see you guys at a book tour so I can look at John and say, “He’s a keeper!” haha (name that show!)

    Reply

    • Jill says

      Sherry… you’ve lost your RHONJ #1 fan status! ha
      A couple weeks ago…. when Teresa brings Joe to the book signing and this old lady says, “He’s a keeper.” It was hilarious because I can’t think of anything about Joe Guidice that makes him a keeper!!! John on the other hand really is!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hahahahahahahhha- oh my gosh I totally get that reference now. It was both hilarious and mortifying at the same moment. Poor Teresa. He’s a mess. I have never been more mad at him then when he said he was pouring cement on those poor frogs. Meanie!

      xo,
      s

  3. Brenda says

    I love the cover! And I’ve been wanting to pre-order it for myself, but since I don’t own a house I was debating whether or not it would be something I’d really use (I’m a renter of a tiny studio apartment). But I just realized that my sister and brother-in-law just closed on their first house, so I should get it for them (Christmas present!) and of course read it myself, just to make sure they’ll like it. ;)

    Reply

  5. Danielle says

    Merry early Christmas to me! I know what I’ll be asking for! Great job! I remember finding YHL just after I got engaged and was looking up budget weddings. I was hooked from there, and read your entire blog. Keep living the dream! You are a role model for many families, aspiring to great homeownership, work/life balance, and keeping it real.

    Reply

  6. Julie says

    How exciting! Nov. 6th is my due date for our first daughter, Layla Grace! :) I’m definitely not hoping that she’s overdue, but if she is, this book could be a good distraction during labor! ;) Normally, November would feel like it was forever far away, but with the way the rest of this pregnancy has flown by, I’m sure November will be here before we know it! Congrats!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, congrats on little Layla Grace! Hope you’re right about things flying by (and maybe she can come on time and just sleep on your chest while you read out loud to her- hahaha).

      xo,
      s

  8. jamie says

    Was gonna ask for it for Christmas but don’t want to wait that long so I just ordered it myself! Congratulations!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks Elizabeth. That makes ME teary eyed. It’s a vicious cycle of crying. Haha. We really love you guys and appreciate the support and the kind words. Best readers ever!!!

      xo,
      s

  13. Jillian says

    Mazel tov!! So exciting!

    I really love the awkward sofa photo. It looks like Sherry just said to John, “Smile! This is for the book cover dude!” out of the corner of her mouth.

    I’m definitely suggesting this as a purchase for the public library I work in, but not before I buy my very own copy :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks Jillian! That’s pretty much the crux of that picture. Both of us whispering and feeling totally weird with a team of three people (and five more on speaker phone) directing us. AWKWARD!

      xo,
      s

  18. Stacey says

    Congratulations! The book looks AWESOME — and that’s just based on the cover ;) I can’t wait to see all the fabulousness that lies within!

    Forget the Republican and Democratic parties, I’m joining the YHL party (whose animal-themed symbol is a chihuahua, natch)…it’s going to be PETERSIK 2012 by a landslide on Nov. 6!

    Reply

  20. Rachel says

    Super excited! I don’t know if I should pre-order it for Germany or get it while I’m visiting in the States in November :)oooo maybe I could even come to a book signing

    Reply

  21. Tiffany says

    HIP HIP HOORAY! Congratulation! Funny I have been following your blog for 4 years and didn’t own a house…haha. But that has changed, I am official homeowner and now when people ask the question that I have already been asked 100 times “when are you going to start painting, decorating, etc.” I can say “Well, I pre-ordered my YHL book and can’t start until I get it…haha. One trimester to go until I start getting my new digs in order!

    Reply

  22. Adam says

    Please, oh please do a book signing/talk (maybe a launch party!) at Fountain Books in RVA. I don’t know if you guys go there much but the wife and I think they’re just Ducky.

    Reply

  25. Lara says

    Pre-ordered :-) I’ll be working out of town during the time it comes out, so the book will be waiting for me when I get home-can’t wait! Also, we’re moving later this month and this purchase was the first one where I got to put the new address :-) It’s the little things. Couldn’t be happier for you guys.

    Reply

  27. Meghan says

    Pre-ordered this baby a few weeks ago! This post makes me a million times more excited for it to arrive in November!

    Reply

  29. Carolyn says

    pre-ordered mine back in june and cannot wait for november to get here! i worry my little apartment (and non-decor-savvy boyfriend) will not be able to handle the inspiration your book will provide! fingers crossed that it arrives before you guys do any book signings in richmond (though, i’ll be real, i’d totes buy two of these if i had to).

    and, of course, congrats to you guys. what an awesome accomplishment!

    Reply

  30. Karyn says

    I just pre-ordered mine and I can’t wait until it arrives! Will the book tour include any international locations (hint, hint, Canada loves you guys too!)?

    Reply

  31. Amy F. says

    SOLD! haha – just placed my order on Amazon and can’t wait for it to surprise me in a couple months. Yes, that’s just enough time for me to forget about my order and have it arrive as an early Christmas presnt pour moi! Congratulations Petersiks!!

    Reply

  32. Bridget says

    I may or may not have eeked when I read that I can pre-order the book. Doing it right now, so excited to see all your projects and tips!

    Reply

  33. IWannaBeKate says

    Just pre-ordered today and I am SO excited! Looks amazing you guys – eat some spicy food and bounce on a balance ball, let’s get that baby out!

    Reply

  34. Christina @ The Frugal Homemaker says

    woohoo! Can’t wait to have your book on my coffee table! :) (After I retreat into my room, lock the door, and devour every page of course!) So exciting!

    Hope you come visit the Bowers and do a book signing here! :) Cause they are only 40 min. from me! :)

    Reply

  35. LisaOK says

    Just put my order in! Can’t wait! I’ve decided this is going to my go-to housewarming gift for friends. :)

    Reply

  38. keegan says

    obviously SO EXCITED for the book. but what i’m more excited for is to see a photo of the playroom/insane storage room/behind the scenes stuff you couldn’t show us or had to shove out of the way to keep secret! don’t clean/organize it all before you take pics of the behind the scenes insanity!!

    oh and add a vote for DC to your list of book tour cities (come onnnn, publishers!)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, we’re itching to share those pictures too! Haha. And things look good for DC, so we’ll keep you posted! A lot still isn’t worked out but we hear that come up a lot!

      xo,
      s

  39. Valery says

    Ahhh!!! So excited :) I try (emphasize on try) to avoid buying books- I move constantly and moving them is no joke- but this one is a must. Pre-ordering now. And do try and come to Salt Lake- we’d love to have you! And winter here is gorgeous.

    Reply

  40. jodi says

    eeep! SO exciting! thanks for sharing the book cover design process; i find that kind of thing fascinating. love the final look, too!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We love The Design Idea Book, Domino’s Decorating Book, and Design Sponge At Home. The Apartment Therapy books and Jonathan Adler books are fun too!

      xo,
      s

    • Bonney says

      Thanks! SO excited… pre-ordered and this will be Christmas gifts for quite a few of my friends getting their first places! Congrats!

  44. Nicole says

    Yay, CONGRATULATIONS! I’m so excited… I’m all pre-ordered, and I really hope you guys make it semi-close to me on your book tour. If it’s a feasible drive we are coming to meet you!

    Reply

  47. NYer says

    Love the cover — and the Gretchen Rubin quote! did your publishers solicit that or did you personally reach out to her? also, I saw where you said NY was confirmed for the book tour; do you know which bookshop you’ll be at? Congratulations!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      No idea about the place yet, but we hear it’s where we’ll start the tour (which we love since that’s where we used to live!). NYC, represent! As for Gretchen, we emailed her personally and asked if she would mind reading our book and giving a review. We honestly didn’t even think she’d write us back but she said yes right away and was so sweet! She’s really an awesome person.

      xo,
      s

  48. Jennifer (iffles) says

    SQUEE! I LOVE the cover! I think it’s pretty awesome you were able to provide suggestions for it, too (like the keys, love that idea!)

    I have never pre-ordered a book before, but I did today!!! I’m so excited!!!

    Goodness, I used a lot of !s. I apologize for my “reads like a squealing teenager” comment.

    Reply

  49. SarahRamirez says

    OMG!! I feel like such a proud blog friend…When I get a copy Im going to tell everyone that I know you…even though I don’t, but I kind of do…! CONGRATULATIONS to you both…what an accomplishment! YHL is my morning cup of coffee.

    Reply

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