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.

Firewood by the Wilsonia Door

Wilsonia cabin drawing

What is it about doors that is so attractive? In this pencil drawing, it is the light and shadow.

Does this look like a cabin to you?

What is a cabin? A little home in the mountains, but it can be a big fancy-pants home in the mountains too. (Ask my sister-in-law who lives in Tahoe!) But is any home in the mountains a cabin?

So many questions. That’s how I am wired. That’s how I learn, think, make decisions, and roll.

This looks like a cabin because there is firewood piled by the door. Did you notice that?

You can get a copy of The Cabins of Wilsonia here: The Cabins of Wilsonia.

Porch Time in Wilsonia

Wilsonia cabin drawing

Porch time is big in Wilsonia. People with cabins spend more time outside than inside. Umbrellas abound, and people read, watch deer, nap, and greet folks who are passing by. Sometimes they listen to birds, look up names in bird books, or play solitaire. I’ve seen people quilting, and if it were me, I’d be knitting.

What would you do on the porch of your cabin?

I really do knit on mine. Of course, I am always knitting, unless I am reading.

How do I have time to knit or read with all this drawing, painting and blogging?

Easy. When I’m off work!

For more, order your book The Cabins of Wilsonia here: The Cabins of Wilsonia.

Unsolved Building Mysteries in Wilsonia

Happy Birthday, Audrey!

A man cave? A Dude Den? a tool shed? guest quarters (so they won’t be inclined to overstay)?

Even after four years of visiting Wilsonia while working on The Cabins of Wilsonia, there are still many unsolved mysteries.

Get your copy here to learn about (or at least just look at) many mysterious buildings in Wilsonia: The Cabins of Wilsonia

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Pencil drawing of Wilsonia outbuilding

Neighborly Wilsonia

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Pencil drawing of Wilsonia cabins

Sometimes the backsides of cabins were more interesting to me than the fronts. There are porches, fire rings, sheds, and little paths (in the mountains we tend to refer to paths as “trails”) leading from neighbor to neighbor.

Mountain communities like Wilsonia tend to be very neighborly.

To learn more, you can order your copy of The Cabins of Wilsonia here.

Wilsonia Cabin Porch Drawing

Porches, decks, balconies. . . all those outdoor living spaces are very important to all cabins, including Wilsonia cabins.

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This one was very charming and it was for sale during the project. A friend bought the cabin, so her daughter secretly bought the drawing for her. Then, the mom secretly bought the drawing of her daughter’s cabin for her!

I was caught in a web of cabin gift giving secrets. It was tricky, but I don’t think I spilled any beans.

This four year project, The Cabins of Wilsonia, had many benefits, and one of them was rekindled and new friendships.

Wilsonia Cabin Confusion Drawing

Wilsonia cabin drawing

This Wilsonia cabin kept me confused for a long time. The cabin sits on a corner of 2 roads. On one road, it looks very rustic. On the other, it looks like this.

You can see this drawing and one of the other side in The Cabins of Wilsonia, available for sale here.

The book was a huge project. Confusion was a regular occurrence as I worked through how to depict a cabin community with 212 cabins.