Well, we are under a winter storm warning down south today, so of course everyone is treating it as the impending apocalypse and there is no bottled water or eggs at Walmart to speak of.
Eggs, really? The power goes out and I’m going to drink some raw eggs for lunch. Just cracked me up a little bit.
Get it? “Cracked me up?”
Annoying jokes aside, we are hunkering down today for a bit, but I wanted to pop in this morning to give you a sneak peek and some behind-the-scenes shots of my book I wrote this fall.
Sounds so strange to say that…
Many of the images in the book will look similar to this…me happily sanding or the beauty shot shining.
It required a lot of behind the scenes work, most definitely.
I hired an intern, Kaitlyn, a graphic design and photography major here at Troy University to help with a bit of everything around PI, but she wound up being my right hand in completing the book.
Now that I can share a bit more about the book, I can tell you that I completed about 50 new projects (out of 75), reshot another 16 popular projects from the blog, and included nine other blogger projects. My schedule was nuts.
To complete the book in the four-month timeline, I had to complete five new projects per week, shoot them, write about them, etc., plus go on about my normal schedule of handling the shop, writing here on the blog, and homeschooling the kids. This time in our lives, my friends, was a group effort.
I would work on the projects on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday’s plus the weekends, and I’d get help occasionally from sweet people (thanks Julie, Kaitlyn, and Sara!!) and Kaitlyn and I would shoot on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. Kaitlyn would then edit photos over the weekend, and I would write at nights on and especially on the weekends. I tried to blog for the whole week on Sunday afternoon, and that way our regular school schedule was mostly uninterrupted and I could focus on the book during the weekdays. We had many 8 p.m. marketing/holiday season/display planning meetings for the shop during the month of October, in which we also geared up for The Chapel Market. The schedule shifted as needed, but that’s the general idea.
I’m tired just typing it all out.
While shooting a mantel shot, this is what the rest of the room looked like…utter chaos. I tried, though, to continue my few hours of school time with the kids 3 days a week (they have a sitter/tutor the other 2 days), and we read a ton of great books together, and kept their schooling challenging, but simple for me to plan.
It took a lot of organization and sheer will just to pull off the work in the timeline, and in actuality, it was a little rushed. But, it was a wonderful thrill and it challenged me creatively in a way I’d not experienced before.
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On to some sneak pictures in the actual book & a little background on how it all came to be…
Back in May or June (I honestly can’t remember), I got an email from Maria (hey sweet lady!) at Adams Media, owned by F+W Media (a large non-fiction publishing house), asking if I’d like to talk about the possibility of a book deal.
Um, are you joking??
Yes.
We chatted and I found out a little about the project, and she explained that she thought I could be a great fit, which flattered and overwhelmed me. I, of course, teared up since this has been a dream of mine as long as I can remember. After sending in sample projects, our ebook, and a “resume” of sorts, we were given the go-ahead and a book deal was drawn up.
So exciting.
So what’s the book about?
While I can’t show you the cover yet, I can tell you the title: The $50 Home Makeover.
This is a book for the moms and the dads and the newlyweds and the apartment renters, for the singles, for the teens–for the everyday home. We filled this book with 75 easy projects (think furniture makeovers, simple crafts, small builds, and decorating/styling projects), and bonus, they’re all $50 and under! Most of the projects have step by step photos, and honestly, I just had a blast putting this together for you guys.
I wanted to create a book for the everyday homeowner…not an exhaustive weekend-warrior renovation plan, but pages filled with simple, affordable projects that you can implement into your home…today. This is the book Perfectly Imperfect (™) was meant to embody–simple, affordable, family-friendly, and hopefully inspirational and encouraging. I am proud to have been a part of it.
I can’t wait to share more specifics and sneak peeks with you along the way as we get closer to the release (I’m told probably June 2014).
I’m sharing a couple of sneak peeks today, and I’ll pop in each month to share more.
Behind every pretty photo was poor Kaitlyn taking direction from me, only for me to scrap that plan and move onto another…poor, patient girl.
Our publishers have been a dream to work with, making this first-time author totally comfortable and relaxed. I just received my editorial letter, the foreword (written by my friend and talented author, Marian Parsons) and we’re going through the final edits now, and playing around with different covers.
I cannot wait to get this book out there, to hold it in my hands, to share it with you. I was all weepy when I wrote about you in the acknowledgments section. You know it…without you, this wouldn’t have happened.
So until next time, thank you friends. For everything.
I am exhausted for you! I am so proud of you and the people who surround you for the support given to you. Just so we, your public can be the decorating of our castles too. Thank you for all you do just for your adoring public.
God bless, Hope
So happy that you’re fulfilling a dream, and I’m definitely looking forward to your book being released.
Wow! Don’t know how you manage it all! Congratulations on your new book.
Can’t wait to see the book!!! Feeling Perfectly Impatient….
Congratulations on your book! How exciting this must’ve been for you and how incredibly overwhelming and tiring too! I love reading your posts and I will look forward to the release of your book.
I am so excited for you and the publishing of your book. Sounds like you have been in overdrive for awhile now. Can’t wait to see it too. Congrats!!!
Shaunna, My heart was just swelling with pride as I read this post. What a testimony to the verse that instructs us to “delight in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart”. We as readers were privy long before a book deal as you made known your “delight in the Lord”. What a special time to witness His faithfulness in giving you the desires of your heart.(And supplying your incredible energy to get it accomplished!) .Wow. Just wow. Can’t wait to order the book!
Jan
I am looking forward to the book! I can’t wait to see all that you have been working on.
Your picture of the full room with only the mantel staged for the photoshoot is much like my home most of the time. If something looks perfect, something else is utter chaos! I can never seem to get the whole house tidy at once…but that’s ok because that is real life. Especially with a cat – cats don’t pick up their own toys, lol.
Yay! Yay book! This is all so exciting. And I am so happy for you that you are on the back end of it. After you’ve breathed a little, like 5 years from now, you should consider writing a book about developing one’s relationship with The Lord. Very different style than DIY, but I think you have it in you to inspire thousands of women to renovate their souls as well as their homes. Congrats, dear lady.
The Other Marian
I can’t wait to have it on my bookshelf!!!
Oh my gosh!! This is so exciting!! I am so uber thrilled for you. I feel like we could chat about this for hours as I’m in the midst of writing a book for Adams Media right now and with 3 weeks to my 100% manuscript deadline I will be happy to see this pace of life settle down after that. Reading your experience makes me feel tired, hahaha, and that I’m not alone. Thank you for sharing some of your behind the scenes!
I am very happy that you are continuously chasing your ambitions and giving your utmost to achieve them, God bless you.