Last week the publisher listed my first book on its website. It's titled Unexpected Findings: 50+ Clever Jewelry Designs Featuring Everyday Components. It is packed with ideas on how to use all those jump rings, head pins, clasps, and other findings that are taking over your stash. In addition to my own jewelry projects, you'll find projects from Lorelei Eurto, Erin Siegel, Barb Switzer, Molly Schaller, Denise Yezbak Moore, Andrew Thornton, Jamie Hogsett, Cindy Wimmer, Erin Strother, and Erin Prais-Hintz.
Seeing the cover of your book for the first time is a big highlight for any author. You may not know this, but authors do not design their own covers. In fact, they rarely get any say in the cover at all because the cover is considered part of a book's sales and marketing strategy. I feel exceptionally fortunate that I love my cover. The fonts, the colors, and the projects of mine that they've chosen to feature make the book look fun, friendly, and affordable, which are all things I wanted to convey to a potential reader.
I'll be talking about the book more when it's available in September. In the meantime, I wanted to encourage any blog readers who have put off following their own dreams to rethink that strategy of waiting until later. Some dreams—like publishing a book—take a very long time. I wrote and submitted the proposal for this book to the publisher in April 2012. Yes, nearly two years ago! It takes awhile for a book proposal to work its way through the editorial process. Once it's accepted, it can take more than a year to go through the many stages of publication, including writing, editing, photography, and design. The best time to get started on your dream is now!