AB Update

poor, poor drawblog. so neglected because i can't really talk about what i'm doing. soon, my friend, soon you will be filled with exciting new drawings and stuff. for now, however, here is a little something (i can post) about the book.

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until today there have been two distinct mile markers in the creation and execution of the children's book. though there have been amazing things along the way, there have only been a few that really brought home what was happening.

the first was the email in which the publisher asked me if the book was still available and told me they wanted to make an offer. this is the moment where a dream i've had for a long time began to sputter into reality. it made the mind whirl, "really?"

the second followed a chain of other things which should have driven it home, but ended up being steps along the way. the signing of the contract--after some back and forth with the publisher. receiving the completed contract, which made the deal solid, made it in actuality real. talking with my editor--most of our correspondence has been by email, though the art director and i talk almost weekly now. news of how the book was being received at the publisher. who was excited about it. who was behind it. a couple of other things i can't tell you here and now, but are really, really, good. all of these things, you would think, would make this more real, and they did, but driving it home the moment of "holy cow. this IS going down," that only came again when...

...the second time, to get back on track here, was when i was sent the copy for the inside of the book jacket. the synopsis of the story on the front flap and the author's bio/description on the back. when it came in the email, it was a "whoa!" moment.

the interior, i believe, is just this side of approval. a last minute change in the game plan moved the last spread in the book to the case--the physical outside of the book, that the jacket wraps around--which meant a WHOLE NEW spread had to be designed and then illustrated, which added a week. everything should be thumb's up now. i'm sure there's something happening internally at the publisher, an overall approval process, but i don't know anything about it. as far as i know, we're pretty much locked. (though i am assuming nothing.)

we've been focusing on the cover and the jacket for a couple of weeks now. i finished the case illustration and we are working on the jacket to get the elements where they need to be with the die-cut. (the jacket will be cut around shapes so you see the case. should be mondo cool.) i send things to the art director and he works out the technical and positioning of the elements so i can move to final art.

he sent me a file where he'd worked on putting things together and that's when i passed my third mile marker.

in the font we're using in the book. there on the spine. nine letters.

"j-e-n-n-i-n-g-s"

i'd forgotten they put the author's name on the spine of the book. we'd been fussing with the name on the front of the cover for weeks, it'd been a given since i put together the first dummy--now a almost a year and a half ago--but the author's name on the spine....

and there it was.

if i'd only illustrated the book, my name wouldn't be there. having written and illustrated, however, there she be. big as day (or as big as 18 point type anyway).

what do you know, kids, we're publishing us a children's book.