… 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).
linda says
i just pre-ordered from amazon! can’t WAIT to to get it! WOOT! WOOT!
Sara says
Love the cover – it definitely is fun. And the back is very cool too. 3 years! Wow. Congratulations!
Sheri says
I just looked it up on Amazon and realized that my husband already pre-ordered for me! What a great surprise:) I will be listening to the drop of a package on Wednesday, November 7th!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, that’s so sweet. He’s a keeper!
xo,
s
Rachel says
Already pre-ordered…from the library…that will have to do for now till there is more book money in the budget :)
Breanna says
Pre-ordered! Eeek! Merry early Christmas to meee! I’d be interested to see pre-order statistics :)
YoungHouseLove says
Me too! Does anyone know how we get those? I guess we just ask our publisher. I don’t know if they see numbers until it’s in distribution (after it has been printed this Nov). Not sure though!
xo,
s
Colleen C. says
Yaaaaaa!!!!…I am so excited!…I am pre-ordering this puppy today!!!
Lindsey says
What an accomplishment! Congrats! Just ordered my very own copy! Can’t wait to see it.
Lauren says
Love that y’all had them change the wood font on the cover and add the keys. Even the final “love” font looks more like y’all than the first one!
Wendy says
I loved this post! Not only because I’m excited for your book, but I am expecting my first baby due on Nov. 6 as well! Guess I’ll have something new to read in the hospital. Congrats!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Congrats Wendy!
xo,
s
Ashleigh says
Just pre-ordered 2! One for me and one for my sister for her birthday!
Ashley says
This is awesome, congrats! I just put my order in :) I can’t wait to actually DO a project inspired by you guys. I’ve been giving my shower tiles the stink eye because they should meet their deaths just like your tree tiles. Oy.
Good luck!
Annie says
Congratulations!!! I am so excited for you all! Fingers crossed you make it to the west coast (San Diego) on the book tour.
Ashley says
Woohoo! Can’t wait to get my hands on this!
I just recently started my own blog and you guys are definitely and inspiration! Keep up the good work!
Vel criste says
Congratulations!!!!! I’m sure this will be a hit! I can’t wait for my copY! Oh, by the way, will you be having a give away of the book prior to its release?! a signed copy perhaps?! or you can sell a signed copy he, I’d love that one better! Thanks!!!!!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we’d love to do that for sure! At least with a giveaway and maybe we can get some signed copies out for sale as well!
xo,
s
Jen says
I love the cover – as usual you have great taste! I preordered this baby way back when you first mentioned it. It is sad how excited I just got when I read “book tour” – you mean I get to MEET you in PERSON? AHHHHHH! Anywhere in Florida would be dandy. Georgia too, I’ll drive it. We have nice weather here in the fall/winter. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Jen! I hope we get to meet you too! We love going south because it means warmer weather and Katie Bower! Haha.
xo,
s
Monica says
Yes, please come down to Florida!
Wrenaria says
Yay! It’s nice to see the cover finally. Turned out great. I’m a little ahead of the curve and pre-ordered your book all the way back in March – I think before you even mentioned here that it was available to preorder – hahaha.
Looking forward to reading it. Your blog is the only one I read faithfully everyday. <3
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- you were an early gal! I love it! Thanks so much for your support! We love you. True statement.
xo,
s
Alycia says
I hope you make it to Philadelphia on your book tour! (although I will probably be up for a trip to NJ or NY if Philly doesn’t make the cut)…You guys crack me up and I can’t wait to see/read the book. So excited for you:)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Alycia!
xo,
s
Ellie Yearns says
I just pre-ordered! Can’t wait! You guys rock!
Stephanie B. says
I CAN’T WAIT!!!!
I may or may not have hinted to my husband more than a dozen times (and left the Amazon tab open on the computer another dozen times) about wanting the book as a belated birthday present (my birthday is Oct. 20)! Here’s to hoping he’s actually ordered it!! :)
amyks says
Congrats!! The cover looks so fun, can’t wait to get my hands on it! It sounds like it is A Young House Love encyclopedia of “home how to”….Kind of like Martha Stewart’s Sewing and Crafting Encyclopedia, or her Homekeeping Book, only much more fun, I am sure! If you do a book tour please put Boston on your list, I would love to meet you guys :)
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to come to Boston for sure!
xo,
s
Katherine says
Looks fantastic; congratulations!!
Heather {ModernMealsforTwo} says
Yay! So exciting! I can’t wait to hear more about making your book AND hold the actual book!
If you’re taking requests for your tour, I’d love to have you out to St Louis!
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to end up there! Will keep you posted for sure!
xo,
s
Lisa in Seattle says
Love the cover so much! I am actually holding off on the pre-order and plan to buy it the week it comes out to help boost the chances of having it appear in the NYT bestseller list. (One author on his blog answered a reader’s question and explained this.)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Lisa! That’s so sweet! We have no idea how these things work. Hah. That’s so interesting!
xo,
s
Corie says
I’ve read too that pre-orders do not help get the author on bestseller lists. So weird right? I don’t know the specifics of it and can’t even remember for the life of me where I read it, but I know I’ve heard it before!
YoungHouseLove says
So interesting!
xo
s
Tirsa says
How exciting!!! I pre-ordered my copy a few months ago. :) I can’t wait to have it in my hands to enjoy. Here’s hoping that the book tour will have more than one stop in neighboring MD! (You, know, since it’s much closer to where you live and all. ;-) )
Erin says
Pre-ordered and CAN’T WAIT! I’ve been a fan (in a weird-feel-like-I-know-you-guys-personally sort of way) forever and I’m so excited for you guys!
Laura says
Yayy! Can’t wait !! I hope you come to PA to sign :)
Ticona says
Yay! Woot Woot!! Very excited. Just pre-ordered mine, and can’t wait to receive it. Congratulations!!
Christina says
I can’t wait! I’ll be pre-ordering through Amazon! So happy for you guys! This is going to fit right in on my home decorating “shelf” :)
Susan says
I’ve been reading since before Clara was born, and even though we don’t personally know one another, I really feel as proud and as happy for you both as I would if my sister had just told me she was sending a book to be published. Congratulations. Your blog is on my daily “check in” list, and I am really looking forward to reading your book :O) It’s a great cover – and I loved your alterations to it. Those were definite pluses!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Susan! That’s so sweet of you to say. Thanks for reading our blog!
xo
s
Erin says
Could not be happier for you both! Also, couldn’t be happier for myself, as I get to enjoy your book. Its already on my birthday gift list that I passed on to the hubby!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Erin! You guys are so funny today.
xo,
s
Tara says
Just pre-ordered it here in Canada! Funny thing: it is listed as “Written by Sherry Petersik and Contribution by: John Petersik” hahahah
Psst you should add chapters.indigo.ca to your list of links above (it’s the Canadian version of ‘Boarders’ I think…).
YoungHouseLove says
No way! That’s hilarious. The German version had John listed as the illustrator, which was his favorite thing ever!
xo,
s
Alina says
Ah, I’m so excited! I pre-ordered it from Amazon several weeks ago and every time I log in, now, it reminds me that I am waiting for it. It’s both torturous and SO exciting!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so funny!
xo,
s
Lilly says
I’m such a dork, did anybody else get sentimental and cry? I sure hope so cause I feel like an idiot. I’m very happy for you guys, I love your blog it’s because of you that my house has evolved in to a beautiful home that we really love. Can’t wait to have the book in my hands and read it cover to cover a million times.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw Lilly you’re so cute. Now I’m crying. Haha. You’re so sweet. Thanks for reading!
xo,
s
Melissa says
It’s BEAUTIFUL! Congratulations to you all! I can’t wait to read it.
Katherine Putnam says
My darling cousin got the Friend-of-the-Year (or Present-of-the-Century) award when I opened a birthday card to find she wrote me an IOU for your book! I can’t wait for that IOU to be replaced by your newly birthed labor of love. (Is there a publishing version of placenta? If so, I may ask my cousin towel it off before she hands it over to me.)
And now a random thank you: we recently stopped over in Richmond (on our way home from visiting relatives down south) and looked to your blog for dining suggestions. We ate at The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing and left wishing we had enough room to fit in dessert AND another entree. So delicious, great service, and a beautiful view. Thanks for the tip!
YoungHouseLove says
Ahh- that’s so funny! I love the IOU! And I’m so glad you loved The Boathouse. It’s awesome.
xo,
s
Lauracinindy says
Preordered LONG time ago… I know it will be worth the wait. Please come to Indy. We ARE the crossroads of America after all!
Reann says
Congrats!!!! I am more of a blog stalker than a commenter (is that a word?), but I felt that this post deserved a comment, not that any of your other posts didn’t…this is why I don’t comment, I say the wrong things:) Anyways, I am so happy you guys created this book, as I am in love with your blog. I have pre-ordered my book and can’t wait to read it!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Reann!
xo,
s
Sherlynn says
Congrats on your book!! Your dedication is just remarkable. You’ve been raising your two little ones, working on your home, blogging it, and doing extra projects for the book. PLEASE, Please, please come to West Michigan for the book tour. I have been following you guys since 2009, for practical wedding tips and I stayed because of your humor. Now we are closing on our first home and I can put your new book to use!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, we’d love to Sherlynn! Here’s hoping!
xo
s
braelin says
Yeah! I just ordered it. Congratulations!
Erin Squires says
Pre-ordered from Chapters in Canada! Can’t wait to be surprised by this treat in my mailbox :) I love your attention to detail in every little thing you do – the small adjustments you made to the cover made a huge impact! Can’t wait to see what’s inside the book! Wish you nothing but huge success with this “baby”!
Chelsea @ Chelsea Eats Treats says
1. I have a kindle and have not purchased an actual book in the last 3 years. I have NEVER pre-ordered a book. However, sometime between Nov 8 and Nov 13, a copy of YHL will be arriving at my doorstep. Awesome.
2. I want to congratulate you guys on doing such a great job with keeping up the blog and the book. There are a few other bloggers out there who kind of give up on their blog once they are working on a book. I know how difficult it must be to do both, but I love that you guys understood the importance of keeping the blog “alive.” You didn’t abandon us just because you were working on the book, which is so greatly appreciated.
3. I don’t even have a house (I live in my first apartment after college and can’t really do ANYTHING to it per my landlord’s instruction) but I truly love reading everything you guys put out and can’t wait to have a place of my own someday. And, while your ideas are great and I love learning more about decorating, I mostly like reading YHL because each post is well-crafted, humorous, meaningful, and interesting. Even if I lived in a cardboard box I would still read your posts, every day, twice a day.
Thank you, and congratulations!
Holly Marie says
Oh this is sooooooo exciting! Congrats you guys!!! And thank you for sharing the fun behind-the-scene(s) details about the book process with us! What an accomplishment and I have no doubt it will sell VERY well~
Sandy says
Loving the cover so so much! I already put in my order and can’t wait to get it. Congratulations you guys. Great job.
lauren says
hi guys!
i’m a long-time reader and first-time poster. i just pre-ordered your book…soooo excited! i am thrilled for you and can’t wait to get my hands on your creation! my husband and i are in the middle of a year-long (so far) major renovation project (exterior of our triple decker and interior of our unit) and i must say i have not been the most sane person during construction. i don’t know how you do it, but you are a major inspiration!
xo
l
ps…i’m keeping my fingers crossed that your book tour swings you through boston!
Elle says
Pre-ordered!!! can’t wait to see it!
Be sure to hit up St Louis (aka the dirty ‘lou) :)
Melissa T. says
I work in publishing, so this post was right up my alley, BUT even more important (for me!) is that I’ll be having my second child on November 6th! (Repeat c-section…that’s why I know the date already. That is, unless he decides to come before then.)
Anyway, congratulations and let the countdown begin. 90 days to go! (I’m totally counting!) :)
YoungHouseLove says
No way! Congrats on the baby on the way! I love the countdown!
xo
s
Lani says
I CAN’T WAIT!!!! I’m totally pre-ordering it……NOW!
Katie says
Woohoo!! How thrilling. I’m pre ordering today. Just have to share, I understand the process… I am the proud co-author of my first cookbook, which hits shelves in October. (Facebook.com/fieldtofeastbook) It’s a dream come true. :) So I’m extra excited for y’all, because I know the feeling! And it’s a GREAT feeling! Big congrats to you both.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so exciting Katie! All the best with your book baby!
xo
s
Leigh says
I love the book cover!!! It looks great. I am so excited to get my book. My pre-order says it ships November 1st. Congrats guys!
P.S. please, please, pretty please come to Nashville on your book tour!!!
Chloe says
this is so exciting! i work at a big bookstore in Canada called Chapters (same idea as border / barnes and noble) and have been following your blog for about two years. I just checked and we will be selling it in store, i’m soooo happy for you two!