Almost Done Designing a Book

“Done” designing a book? Stick a fork in me, I’m done.

When did we start substituting the word “done” for “finished”?

Who cares? I’m almost done!

Here is what remains on my book design project for Louise.

  1. Learn how to design the back cover.
  2. Design the back cover, making sure it is prepared properly for the printer.
  3. Figure out how to get a bar code, and how to place it on the book.
  4. Figure out how to send the book to the printer.

That’s it? Maybe. Louise and I found a chapter with the final paragraph missing, and some weird computer business on the table of contents. Always something more to deal with in this business of book designing.

We, that is Louise, the 3 people who commissioned her to write their story and I, will receive one copy from the printer before we have the whole batch printed. We’ll pass it around, and each one of us will mark it with a different color, if there is anything to mark. Then, we’ll get it printed.

When I have permission, I will tell you the title, a summary of the story, and show you the cover.

Now I need to find a quiet place to contemplate matters of consequence such as being almost done with designing a book.

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Pencil drawing from The Cabins of Wilsonia – a woodshed? an outhouse? a toolshed?

And More Designing a Book

I offered to design a book for an author friend. Let’s call her “Louise”, because that is her name.

Louise discussed it with the 3 people who commissioned her to write their story, and they gratefully accepted my offer.

I read up on book design, learning most of what I needed from The Book Designer‘s website. I had paid him for consultation to be sure I wasn’t messing up The Cabins of Wilsonia. He charged more for one hour than I often earn in a week, but he was worth every dollar. He is a fount of helpful information.

I bought a template from him to use with InDesign, thinking this would be simple and easy and fast and how awesome to just slam this thing out with all my previous experience and knowledge.

Fall down laughing. . .

Look at some of the work:

  1. Learn how to change the template so the chapter titles appear as running heads instead of the author’s name by emailing the Book Designer for help, several times because, well, because it is complicated.
  2. Change the master template page things to have chapter titles in the space where Louise’s name would have appeared.
  3. Find that in normal books, the chapter titles are on the right page, not the left. If you have the author’s name on every spread, the title goes on the right. If you have the chapter titles on each spread, the title goes on the left.
  4. Change the master template page things again to accommodate this new information.
  5. Realize I have the power to eliminate many of the hyphenated words at the end of lines, and go through all 300 pages to fix as many as possible.
  6. See that changing the hyphenation caused some of the photos to land in the middle of paragraphs, so go back through the 300 pages to scoot them.
  7. Louise and I decide that a plain divider line looked too plain, so design a fancier, but not too fancy divider line.
  8. Replace the divider line with the pretty one.
  9. Go back through the 300 pages and see that I missed some.
  10. Find that there is a spell check on InDesign and decide it can’t hurt to run it in spite of the facts that I used spellcheck on Word,  Louise and I have proofed it many many times, as have the 3 people
  11. Find a few typos.

Fall down laughing with exhaustion. . .

This pencil drawing of a Wilsonia cabin invites me to sit on the porch and contemplate a life without InDesign.
This pencil drawing of a Wilsonia cabin invites me to sit on the porch and contemplate a life without InDesign.

More Designing a Book

I thought I knew what was necessary about designing a book, because I designed my book The Cabins of Wilsonia.

That book involved preparing pencil drawings using Photoshop Elements, a few pages of text, all the frontmatter (that’s Book Speak for the pages of a book that are not the main part that normal people read), the backmatter (bet you can figure this one out yourself), the cover, captions and quotations. Oh, and chapter titles, page numbering, and all the little adjustments and details that no one notices in a book unless they are wrong.

A dear friend and author needed help with some photo editing on a book she was writing. I volunteered. It was very fun. Together we improved about 200 photos. This morphed into the actual copyediting of the book. It is pure pleasure to work with my friend.

As we got deeper into the project, I learned that the author and the 3 people who commissioned her to write their story were planning on using an assisted self-publishing company to get the book print-ready.

When I learned how much that would cost them, how many unnecessary extras they had to buy along with the book design, and that price did NOT even include any books, I was appalled.

So, I offered to do it.

Fall down laughing. . .

I’ll carry on tomorrow. For now, I need to take some deep calming breaths, and contemplate matters of peacefulness.

Pencil drawing of cabin door from The Cabins of Wilsonia.
Pencil drawing of cabin door from The Cabins of Wilsonia.

Designing a Book

What is book design? That’s a question I asked back in 1998 when Jane Coughran and I published The Cabins of Mineral King.

The answer was too complex and computerish for me to comprehend. We paid someone to prepare our book for printing, and I had no understanding whatsoever of what was involved.

When I published The Cabins of Wilsonia, I figured I could do that stuff myself, being the owner of a Macbook and having written this blog for 5 years (at that time).

Holy guacamole. I had no pickin’ idea. It involved buying InDesign and learning to use it. This necessitated 2 trips to Seattle for training and many desperate calls for help. It also involved a huge number of uncharitable and unChristian thoughts towards Adobe, the makers of InDesign and Photoshop Elements, the latter of which is supposed to be simple to use.

Fall down laughing. . .

In spite of the difficulties, I got ‘er dun.

This gave me a false sense of confidence in believing I could do the book design for someone else, 2 years of forgetting later.

Oh my. This calls for a calming picture, and I’ll have to continue this little saga tomorrow.

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Pencil drawing of cabin porch from The Cabins of Wilsonia. This is a good place to sit and contemplate the peacefulness of no computers.

Instructions to Buy Stuff Without Paypal

I got an email asking how to buy stuff from my website without Paypal. Some people don’t have or want a Paypal account. I understand; I feel that way about Facebook, Twitter, having a “smart” phone, and various other “conveniences” in life. (Don’t even get me started on “Square” . . . bah, humbug.)

I’ll put the instructions in red so you can find them amid all the boring visual examples.

When you put something in the shopping cart on my website, it ALWAYS takes more clicks than seems necessary, but think of it as a way to back out if you are in the midst of impulse buying.

When you are shopping, you’ll be on a page that says Cart. When you are done shopping, use the button that says “Proceed to Checkout”.

After entering all the information in boxes with a red asterisk, this is what shows at the bottom of the page (of course it might be a different product – this is just an example):

 

proceed to ppClick on the “Proceed to Paypal” button.

This page appears:

 

choose

Click on the bottom thing that says “Pay with an online bank account. . .”

When you do, you’ll get this window:

other choices

You can click the button that says “I have a different bank” or on the tab that says “Debit or Credit Card”.

I don’t know what happens next, because I didn’t want to buy anything from myself.

If this all makes you too nervous, too much info out there on the World Wide Web, too many websites, clicks, pages and options, I accept checks in the mail. Real pen, real handwriting, real paper, real stamps, real dudes in uniforms putting real envelopes in my real P.O. Box. 311, Three Rivers, CA 93271.

Really!

Here is an appreciation picture for making it to the end of this boring but necessary instructional blog post.

trains

No reason other than you might like trains and these are colorful.

How to Order a Coloring Book

Heart of the Hills

Ordering a coloring book from my website is a bit of a project. If you have ordered, you know that I email to ask for your address, even though you entered all the info while ordering. My website is a little out of whack, and I don’t know why. Sigh. It just happens. Today I learned that it will cost $300 to update my website to make everything work properly.  Big heavy sigh.

 

If you want a coloring book and don’t want to go through all the steps, a check in the mail is fine – $15, and I will pay the mailing costs. I appreciate so much when shipping is free that I do the same for my customers/clients/collectors/friends.

 

Okay, just in case you decide to order from the website, here is the exact order of clicking steps.

 

  1.  Click on my Website
  2.  Under the For Sale tab – click Heart of the Hills Coloring Book
  3. Click on the coloring book. (If there are 2, click on the one on the right with the price beneath it. If it says there are no products available, hit your refresh button. If this doesn’t work, put down the computer and walk away.) This takes you to a new page (Why is this necessary?? Don’t ask me – I just work here.)
  4. Click on the purple Add to cart button. It takes you to a cart page.
  5. Click on Proceed to checkout. It takes you to a checkout page where it asks for your details. This is where you then go to Paypal, and it accepts your credit card even if you don’t have a Paypal account.

I don’t know what happens next, because I stopped there because I didn’t want to buy a coloring book from myself because I have them already.

 

Sounds as if I am babbling to myself. This is because I am babbling to myself. Technology often affects me that way. (Ick – that stupid “easy to use” Square at the Redbud almost turned me into a raving lunatic at the Redbud Festival, right there in public.)

 

I have a wise friend who reminds me from time to time that if you have a problem but you have money to fix it, then what you have is an inconvenience rather than a problem.

 

THANK YOU, EVERYONE WHO ORDERED COLORING BOOKS! This means I have the money to get the website tuned up.

 

But when do I have the money to get ahead??

 

Never mind.

 

This new coloring book will be available very soon, and I hope you will be able to order it easily from the website.

MKcolorcover

What Does A Central California Artist Do?

Are you wondering how an artist in a place like Tulare County (Central California – there is a huge area of our state that is rural, and it is my job to record and share the good things about this area) can find work to do?

How about a list today:

  1. Teach 5 hours of drawing lessons a week, 3-5 people in each class.
  2. Sell coloring books.
  3. Plan for and draw another coloring book (Anyone want to guess the subject?)
  4. Finish the 24×30″ commissioned oil painting of a Three Rivers house
  5. Begin and finish 3 oil paintings for the upcoming Redbud Festival (May 7-8)
  6. Gather and price the items to take to the Redbud Festival.
  7. Take coloring books to the Post Office, and check supplies at the Three Rivers Mercantile, which has sold more than 2 dozen so far. (Told you we are rural!)
  8. Figure out when to get with a web designer so she can figure out why the shopping cart on this website won’t provide me with the mailing address when people place orders.
  9. Figure out how to put a better subscribe button on this blog that comes with a freebie so that people will want to give me their email address so I can notify them (you?) when the new coloring book is ready. (Have you guessed yet what it will be about?)
  10. Compose and send an email newsletter to my subscribers to remind them of Redbud Festival (May 7-8) and tell them of the new coloring book.

First one to guess and tell me either in the comments will win a free coloring book of the new design!

Thus we conclude a little peek into the work of a Central California artist in rural Tulare County. Not your typical definition of “artwork”.

OH! #11! – BLOG!! GOTTA BLOG!!

WAIT – THERE’S MORE! #12 is reorder the first coloring book, “Heart of the Hills”. You can order one here.

Something New Coming Soon

Something new is coming soon to Cabinart. This calls for an interview with Cabinart’s very own Jana Botkin.

Why do people say “very own” in front of someone’s name? Because they like to fill the airwaves!

Ahem. Let’s get on with the interview.

Interviewer: What is Cabinart?

(very own) Artist: The NAME of my ART BUSINESS!!

Interviewer: EXCUUUUUUSE me. So what is new that is coming?

(very own) Artist: Don’t rush me. First let’s review a few facts. 

  1. I work in pencil and oil and in acrylic when painting murals.
  2. Real life has edges not outlines. Cartoons have outlines. So do coloring books.
  3. Ink is one of the most difficult media to work with.

Interviewer: What is “media”? I thought that meant the news, talking heads, and spokes-holes.

(our very own) Artist: “Media” is the plural of “medium”, which is a word used for the material used to make art. Not the “ground” but the mark-making stuff:  paper isn’t a medium; pencil or graphite is. Canvas isn’t; oil is. A wall isn’t; mural paint is. Get the idea?

Interviewer: Are you stalling?

(Our very own) Artist: Nope, just ‘splainin’ it to you, Lucy.

Interviewer: “Lucy”?

(Our very own) Artist: You know – that’s how Reeeky-Reeecardo said “explain” to Lucy!

Interviewer: You ARE stalling.

(our very own) Artist: Nope, just letting the excitement build.

Interviewer: COME ON, ALREADY!

Very Own Artist: You are shouting at me. Do I detect a hint of impatience in your tone?

Interviewer: With that sort of evasive non-answering of questions, you could run for public office.

(our very own) Artist: No thanks. I have a business/career/job/jobs. (artist and editor – Did you know that?)

Interviewer: No more diversions or red herrings! What is coming soon?

Our Very Own Artist: 

A coloring book of original designs, based on the landmarks and scenery of Three Rivers and Sequoia! (yes, including Mineral King!)

More will be revealed in the fullness of time. . . stay tuned!

 

Happy Recipients

Here are some works of art that were done for Christmas gifts. I heard back from 3 of the 5 about the happiness of the recipients. The fourth and fifth are most likely very happy – an email and a phone call would confirm it, but I don’t like fishing for praise. So, I will assume that the recipients are happy.

colored eyes IMG_2081 petrich gamma.07 toyless dogsbrundage

People say they love my pencil drawings, and I believe them. That’s what they choose for commissioned work.

As far as “off the shelf” work goes, the oil paintings far outsell the pencil.

Go figure. . .

Took Some Time Off

Did you miss me? I missed you. I think of you as The Blog, and without knowing exactly who or how many you are, you, The Blog, keep me accountable. You keep me working, when it seems as if I am just slogging along, trying, trying, trying, does anyone care or notice, I’m just working, working, working, does it matter?

Thank you, The Blog!

January has been quite eventful so far. Here are a few things, some related to the career of Central California Artist for cabinart, and some just the stuff of life.

  1. After doing 4 little boutiquey shows in November and December, I was really tired. It caused me to rethink the wisdom of signing up for the Studio Tour this spring. I decided against participating in 2016.
  2. Some scumbags came onto our property in the early morning and we watched them steal our trailer. They were caught and our trailer was returned. The first photo is what I saw through the rainy window of the Botmobile when we went to retrieve it. After being awakened by rude intrusive upsetting noises at 4 a.m., one tends to take strange photos.
  3. Rain and snow! Look at all the white on the mountains in the second photo! The lake has been drained in anticipation of more precipitation.
  4. Fog. Look at how the dam on Kaweah Lake is holding back the fog. This is how it looked as I drove down the hill to resume teaching drawing lessons. My classes are FULL! I love to teach people how to draw.
  5. I am becoming an editor, currently editing both a novel and a work of non-fiction. I AM AN EDITOR AND AN ARTIST, and very happy about both of these careers!
  6. I have 3 murals coming up. It takes awhile to bid, sketch, and come to a full understanding of what the customer wants, especially when the customer isn’t quite sure. I will keep you posted.
  7. 2016 marks eight years of blogging, 23 years of full time art, 22 years of teaching people how to draw, 10 years of knitting, and in October, 30 years of marriage. Never you mind how many years of living, or of living in Tulare County, the place where I am A CENTRAL CALIFORNIA ARTIST. (Just had to say that in case Mr. Google is trying to find me; he might have forgotten me in my time off.)

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