Like Christmas and my birthday

I really love my day job. Publishing a book is a long cycle (ask any author) but there are two days I love the most: The day a new manuscript arrives, and the day a finished book comes back from the printer. Last week, I got both! First, Perfectly Paired: Designing Jewelry with Polymer and Metal Clays arrived from the printer. Here's the cover:

This book is a perfect balance between metal clay and polymer clay. Both are fully featured in every project. The book is written in such a way that if you have experience in one but not the other, you'll be able to learn what you need to know without wading through a lot of information you may already know. It's an intermediate-level book, but an ambitious beginner will do just fine. I really enjoyed working with Patti Kimle on this book. We met two years ago at the Bead&Button show to talk about her proposal, we met last year to exchange the projects, and this year she'll be doing a book signing! Check out Patti's blog here, and her etsy shop here.

The other great thing that happened last week was a big box came from Kim St. Jean with projects from her book, Mixed Metal Mania, which is my next big project. Before we saw the projects, the art director, Lisa, and I were brainstorming cover ideas and thought maybe a single image would be good. Well, after we opened the box, Lisa walked away with about 10 cover candidates. Our cover meetings are next week, so I can't wait to see what she comes up with. I can't tell you much more about this book, but let me say that if you like Kim's style, you'll love this book. Kim has a way of making a copper cuff bracelet look like supple leather. Can't wait to dive in and learn how she does it!

In the meantime, there's a long stretch between the day a manuscript arrives and the day the book comes from the printer. That's when the editing takes place, and the design and layout, and the proofreading, and so much more. My current in-the-works project is Lacy Wire Jewelry by Melody MacDuffee. When I edit a book, I have the opportunity to sort of get inside the artist's mind, and understand where the creations come from. I am having a delightful time with Melody's book. If you like filigree (but don't like soldering) this book is for you. If you think filigree is a little frilly, don't worry. Melody does some great work with heavy copper wire and beautiful Krobo beads. See Melody here, and learn more about Soul of Somanya, too.

Do you have a book idea? As an author and an editor, I can tell you that it's a wonderful experience to bring your idea to life. I'd love to hear what you're thinking about!