Decisions decisions
Remember when I mention that one of the things that’s handy about sequels is that you have to make far fewer decisions than you do for the first book in a series? That’s been on my mind a lot the last few days. For you see, I’ve been making piles and piles and piles of decisions for the next book, and it’s making me a little dizzy.
The decisions for KCC weren’t too bad. It was the first book I published, so I wanted to keep things simple. I was also absolutely determined that it would look like it belonged when it was set on the yarn store shelf, so I pretty much just grabbed some books I liked, showed them to my printer, and said ‘let’s do it like this.’
But this next book? This next book is a bit different. First, I feel quite a bit more confident in what I’m doing (seven books will do that…you’ll learn stuff along the way whether you want to or not). And second, well second I’m not quite so concerned with this one looking like every other book on the shelf. In fact, I’d rather it stand out a bit.
So I’m having some fun chatting with my printer about options. Now this can quickly get dangerous. Go look at the kids book section in your local book store and you’ll see the sorts of things that can be done to books. Glow in the dark inks, fuzzy bits, funny shapes, the options are nearly endless. But unless your budget (and the tolerance of your audience) is similarly endless, it’s probably better to restrain yourself.
I am (alas) limiting myself to just a few flourishes. Most of these are dictated by the format of the book, (hardback, which tickles me to no end). That in itself presents a lot of extra decisions. You’ve got endpapers and head and tail bands (the wee fabric strips at the top and bottom of the spine) at a minimum, and quite a few other choices if you want to have a bit of fun.
All of which is a very long way of saying I’ve been looking at sheets and sheets of these (paper choices),
and these (head and tail band choices),
and these (wee ribbon bookmark choices, I couldn’t resist).
And I am feeling just the tiniest bit overwhelmed.
Now I know it doesn’t really matter. Not in the grand scheme of things. I’m dreadfully picky about books, and even I have never decided I simply couldn’t buy a book I otherwise really wanted because the endpapers were an unacceptable shade of orange. But oh…oh wow do I love it when a book gets all those little details right. And getting to do it myself? Well that’s an awful lot of fun.
Images are from materials provided by my printer, Asia Pacific Offset, and are used with permission.
Lovely colours there. What choices to make!
Personally I’d head towards the greens … LOL
Oh, those are but a tiny, tiny fraction of the available colors! There were pages and pages of each. The trick was finding ones that all looked good together.
I want one of those tools, kind of like the places that let you design a frame for a picture online. The sort that let you see what this mat and that glass and that frame? Just for books. I’d spend a ridiculous amount of time playing with it.
Wow! A hardback, huh? The choices would overwhelm me…but I’m confident that you will get it just right. Because you are like that, yeah, you are.
Aww, thank you! I’m sure I’ll sort something out. And my printer is awesome and sends piles of dummies so I can see it in person before I buy zillions of them!
Hardback? Ribbon bookmark? Wow! What is this gonna be? I can’t wait!
It’s gonna be damn pretty if I have anything to say about it. And fall…it should be coming this fall. I’m sending it to the printer in mere weeks. And oh but wow am I in love with it.
Bookmark ribbons! Squee!!!
My inner little girl still judges books by whether they have bookmarks. And, well, it was time to indulge her.
I’m more excited about the wee ribbon bookmark than is healthy, I’m sure. I’m terribly glad you’re indulging your inner little girl.
My secret hope is that you and I (and Meri!) are not the only ones who feel this way!
Oh, any chance we get to help vote in colors?! I want to stroke the ribbon choices. I love the feel of ribbon bookmarks. Looks like we might need a clubhouse of bookmark ribbon lovers.
Alas, no votes. There were literally pages of choices, and pages for the bindings and bands and endpapers, too. A quick back of the envelope calculation gets the number of combinations in the low millions.
Add in which picture goes on the front, and which goes in the back and it shoots right on up from there.
Then add in questions of what will look good if we do a series, and I just have to play dictator for this one.
But I promise I want them to look good and will do my very best to put together something pretty!
OH! it might be a series! I hadn’t dared to hope! That’s lovely! sigh.
Assuming folks like it and buy it, yup, I’d totally do a series.
Maybe restrict your color choices to the yarn colors used in the book. This shortlist might be much easier to work from, and help you tie the design nicely with the contents. Just a thought.
Something like that! It also ties into ‘what looks good with the pictures on the covers’ and ‘what is likely to look good with future books.
There are an awful lot of options, luckily they’re pretty much all good options!
Lol! The voice in the back of my brain is going, “hardcover? But darn-it, I want soft-cover! I want everything by the same author to match!” Hehe. 🙂 Don’t pay attention to that voice though – do what you like (as though you need my permission for that 😉 ), and I’ll love it no matter what you choose (because your choices are awesome like that). It’s all about the patterns for me, anyway. Although… are you going to have that lovely spiral spine hidden by the hard spine that lets everything lay so nicely flat? (I’m guessing not, what with head and tail bands and bookmark ribbons.)
I’m excited to see what else is in this book, that prompted the change in book design choices. 😀
I know, I get that, I really do. But I’ve had a very specific feel for these books in my head since the idea first came to me in 2012. I have to do them this way, I just have to. It’s how I really should have done the KCC books too, but I didn’t have the confidence to do them that way.
Also, if it helps, they’re going to be quite close to the same height, so they’ll sit nicely on the shelf together!
That does help. And being of a new set makes all the difference, really. And knowing that they’re being done right and that it makes you happy is the best kind of lovely. 🙂 Like I said, I’m in it for the patterns anyway. 😉
Oh man, I would NEVER change in the middle of a series (barring something dramatic like ‘the printer went away and they are the only place that makes that exact paper’ or something else unlikely like that). All books in a series should MATCH. But…for a shiny new project…well there can be some changes from time to time!