It's hot and sunny, and I just want to go outside and collect cerinthe, foxglove, marigold and poppy seeds before they fall. But I'm indoors, working away on the first yarnstorm press title which will be going to the printers very soon.
I went round and round in circles trying to work out how to produce a book. It had to be easy, I reckoned, otherwise there wouldn't be so many in the world. But it didn't seem that way when I was beginning the process, and I got very tangled up trying to plan it all. In the end, I decided to abandon all ideas of dates and deadlines, and instead simply take it one step at a time and make each decision when it was required and not in advance. And even without the contents, ISBN, bar code, proof-reading, fact-checking etc there are so many small decisions about the book itself: size, paper, colour, typefaces, cover, spine, bar code, price, and all the teeny-tiny details of design that influence the look of a book.
It's been a really interesting process and very enjoyable once I realised that, as the publisher, I can work to my own timetable. It took me a long time to get started because I was thinking too far ahead and worrying about what-ifs. Finally, I saw that the only way to make a book is to just do it. No amount of thinking and talking and planning will make a book unless you write it, design it, print it, and offer it up to be read. So that's what I've done and soon I'll be able to see the results. The book is the first in Jane Brocket's Grand Provincial Tour series ('travel with a Brocket in your Pocket') and it will be available in early autumn via this blog, on Big Cartel, and in selected bookshops. (I've yet to make up my mind about Amazon.)
I've also begun to learn how to make books with paper and a needle and thread. Ever since my visits to the former Soviet Union, I've been fascinated by the idea and practice of samizdat, and I reasoned that I might as well have a go at seizing the means of production and finding out how I could make a book from start to finish. Yesterday I did an excellent bookbinding workshop at the London Centre for Book Arts and came away with three books. They have blank pages but as I can supply the words and pictures to go on pages, I now have the means to make a book, something that feels very exciting and liberating.
The seeds will have to wait until later, while I carry on at the computer, make final printing decisions, and think about hand-stitched bindings. It's not a bad trade-off.
(The blog break will resume now.)
Can't wait to have a Brocket in my pocket.
Jean x
Posted by: Jean Birch-Leonard | July 14, 2014 at 18:51
This is an impressive step and I look forward to the series. I will also be interested in hearing more as you go. I'm involved with publishing in terms of copyediting but it is so easy to let someone else (or several someones) oversee and produce the process. The first book will surely have the steepest learning curve. I'm full of admiration.
Posted by: Sally | July 14, 2014 at 19:57
Fantastic Jane, can't wait for travel guides from your unique point of view X
Posted by: Penny | July 14, 2014 at 22:43
Congratulations!
Posted by: Kristin | July 15, 2014 at 01:15
So exciting. Brilliant slogan. Good luck!
Posted by: Chiara | July 15, 2014 at 03:31
Wow! I'm impressed! Looking forward to seeing and owning the finished product. Good luck!
Posted by: Harriet | July 15, 2014 at 10:16
That is such good and exciting news. I can't wait to get hold of my copy and start reading and planning! I am looking forward to the armchair part, followed by some good days out! Congratulations.
Posted by: Sally | July 15, 2014 at 22:15
So exciting Jane, a Pocket Brocket, never leave home without one, or leave home without leaving home. Can't wait.
Posted by: christine Jacob | July 17, 2014 at 14:49
Yippee! Very very exciting news. I can't wait to start The Grand Tour with you. Sending lots of happy thoughts….. I am now going to make a Pocket for my Brocket!!!
Posted by: Lydia | July 20, 2014 at 05:30
I am so impressed! Good luck with the project. It is always inspiring hearing about someone going in a new direction.
If you want to make the book available via an online bookshop you could use hive.co.uk rather than Amazon. Hive give a % of the cost to independent bookshops (either the nearest one to where the purchaser lives or one selected by the purchaser).
I've bought a couple of things from there that I couldn't get locally.
Posted by: Sally | July 20, 2014 at 12:37
Looking forward to it!
Posted by: Jan | July 21, 2014 at 19:40
Great news Jane. There really is so much to putting a book out in the world. Just think of all you are learning! Best of luck with it all.
Posted by: Kristin Nicholas | July 21, 2014 at 23:19
A**z*n - NO! NO! NO! That place aims to be a monopoly and is a bully. Support the traditional publishers and independent bookstores, or they will be gone!
Posted by: Mary K. in Rockport | July 23, 2014 at 17:09