I loved working with Erin Siegel and Lorelei Eurto on their book, Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry. As authors, they were an editor's dream: amazing designers, good at writing instructions, creative problem solvers, extraordinarily organized, and they met all their deadlines! As their editor, I definitely felt a little spoiled and had to keep reminding myself that not every book project would be this way.
Here's a glimpse of what went on behind the scenes:
Designing the Projects
The authors and I talked about how to make this book appealing to beginners. For many beginners, shopping online is difficult; they need to hold the beads in their hands to figure out how to match items. They're also not usually good at making substitutions if they can't locate the exact beads needed for a project. Plus, I know that when I buy a book to learn a new skill, I want to make a project that day or at least that weekend. I get grumpy if I have to wait for two or three weeks for all my supplies to arrive.
So for this book, I issued a mini challenge to the authors and contributors to make one project each using only materials that could easily be found at a local bead shop or craft store. Although some admitted that they found this challenge, well, challenging, they all did a great job. In fact, Lorelei's challenge project is the necklace on the cover!
Reviewing the Draft
I was lucky to have then Editorial Director Marlene Blessing review snapshots of the projects before the official photo shoot. It was Marlene who noticed that there were no dressy, sparkling jewelry designs. Given that my idea of being dressed up these days is wearing shoes and socks, I had completely missed this. So now if you have theater tickets or dinners reservations at a nice restaurant, you'll be all set with Flirtation Lariat by Lorelei Eurto and Shimmering Pearls by Erin Siegel.
Sending in Materials
Those tools that you see photographed in the book belong to the authors—mostly. The publisher likes to hold all the projects and
materials until the book comes out. That's not a big deal for finished
jewelry or the materials (bead caps, chain, etc.), but for
tools that can be a hardship, especially for prolific designers who can't bear to be parted from their tools for months.
I volunteered to bring in a few of my own tools so that the authors could hang onto theirs. I was surprisingly nervous about this. I've always been more concerned with how my tools work, not how they look. I'd never noticed the tiny little nicks and imperfections on the tools I use almost every day. As I obsessively cleaned the handles of some pliers the night before the photo shoot, I felt like I was channeling the stage moms on Toddlers & Tiaras: What if nobody thinks my baby is pretty? Would a spray tan help? Oh, I hope I don't ruin Erin and Lorelei's beautiful book ...
At the Photo Shoot
The backgrounds for all the projects were hand painted by Ann Swanson, the photo stylist. Aren't they gorgeous?
Our initial test shots for the book, however, showed the backgrounds to be dull and pale. Ann had to repaint all the backgrounds to capture the deep, rich tones that you see in the final book. I will never again think about the phrase "watching the paint dry" in exactly the same way.
The Final Edit
Lorelei and Erin can probably attest that I was a tiny bit stressed about fitting fifty projects into such a small book. The page count is set by the publisher and can't be easily changed; doing so would make the book more expensive and would delay publication. So I was amazed and delighted to learn from the graphic designer that we actually had an extra page!
After discussing it with the authors, we added the project Leather Ruffle Hoops by Erin Siegel as a bonus project. Yes, the book's title says "50 designs," but there are actually 51. We were hoping that readers wouldn't be too upset about getting an extra project. (You aren't, are you?)
The Celebration Continues ...
Please visit all the other blogs participating in the celebration of this book at Beading Daily. Lots of bloggers will be sharing their thoughts on the book and some are even giving away copies. Plus, there's a really cool Polyvore style challenge going on that you'll want to check out!