Behind the Cover- New Christmas Book

Can you believe it is just 2 more weeks and my new Christmas book will be here? Every book is a journey and behind the scenes, there is so much that goes into those pages that is not shared. Today we are delving into the cover a bit more.

Christmas Book

Writing a book

It is something I absolutely love doing and not too long after finishing a book, even when I have told myself I am taking a break for a bit- I find myself starting to think about the next book and craving that creative process again. Creating a book is unlike a blog post in many ways- and while I love them both, I realized with my second book just how much I LOVE creating a book. From the excited and energy of the photoshoots to telling a story to choosing the photos and seeing it all come together- it is one of my favorite projects to work on and such an incredible gift to be able to do. I will be honest, It can be a lot and my creative energy gets pretty depleted at times. So while we worked on this book for over a year, I also had times where I needed to pause and rejuvenate. And so one behind the scene that you might remember is when we started the Slow Living Series that my daughter wrote for the blog. That series was born out of the need for me to slow down & gather up my creative ‘chi’ and a slow living intentional lifestyle fit perfectly.

I will share more about that creative process with a book as we share more behind the scenes in the next couple of weeks- today, we are talking about the cover tree and how we chose it.

Christmas Book Cover

This tree is one of my absolute favorites of all time. It has so many elements that I love all mixed and mingled into one tree. And it kind of evolved from a gilded glam tree to a more rustic elegant tree and then more gilded rustic elegant and then some as I worked on it. I am not going to delve totally into all the details on the tree just yet- I will save a closer look at all the details for a post for this holiday season.

But this is the photo I first sent it in for consideration. As you can see, it has been cropped and changed to fit the formatting but it was a photo that I took with the framing for the cover in mind. What we liked about it: The twinkling tree of course and elegance- but also the mingle with the rustic wood doors and burlap covered chairs.

The Tree

Fun fact- I had twinkling trees in the house almost the entire year last year. I took most of them down after Christmas but it wasn’t for too long. The cover tree is the same tree that I have been putting up in our living room in front of the mirrors the past several years. And that tree was the one that was up in the living room that Christmas in that very spot. After Christmas- I simply pulled it on across the room to the entry area & started over on the decor.

The cover tree photo was actually taken around March last year and this photo of the sweetest little Sweet Pea as she was standing by the tree while I was setting up was taken just a couple of weeks before she passed. She was always right with us wherever we went and was always involved in so many photo shoots – she appeared in both of my previous books and she makes an appearance in the Christmas book too.

Day and night photos of the same styling. Did you know that when I shoot photos- I take probably 30-40 photos (I might be an overdoer ) to get the handful few that I use and share? Sometimes the simplest of tweaks- like in the lighting or angle make the biggest difference.

I also shot photo of this tree probably 5 separate times over a couple of days to capture different light, different presents and with and without the chairs, etc.

Other Cover Possibilities

My husband & I work together often while I am working on photos- he moves the big stuff, hauls all the things for me and helps set everything up. And he has gotten good at knowing ‘the shot’ and best angles when I am shooting photos too. When you know, you know and choosing the cover for a book is kind of the same process or at least same emotional response.

The cover is not a one and done kind of thing- they actually mock up several designs to narrow down to the ones that evoke the feeling of the book. Then several fonts, colors and placements are mocked on the top 3. And then several narrowed down fonts, colors and placements are mocked on the favorite before we end up with THE one. Here is a screenshot showing the different placements and fonts- subtle but sometimes a simple little change makes all the difference.

Once the front cover photo, font, size and style are decided- the back cover goes through the same process and then is placed in line with the front cover for a final look over. Then this is all then edited and detailed to make the wording stand out.

The Back Cover

The back cover was an easy choice- this is one of the most favorite photos of Christmas I have shared and being full of warmth and Christmas cozy- it was The perfect choice for a prominent place.

As you can see, we did include some of the always favorites in the book as well. So you will find some of your most loved and most favorite stylings & trees in full page size mingled right there with all kinds of new. The fireplace village is one that went a bit crazy when I shared it the first time – and who knew at that time that it would be the back cover of my Christmas book too!

2 Weeks Until Book Birthday!

As I mentioned- we are just 2 Weeks from my Christmas book being here! I am So excited for you to get your copy and delve in and hopefully love it. Thank you SO much for all of your pre-orders and support- I am grateful for you and overwhelmed with the amount of love the book has gotten already. We have a lot of fun happening for the launch in the next few weeks- signed book giveaways, some special announcements and a Big Christmas giveaway you won’t want to miss.

If you haven’t pre-ordered yet – there is time to get your preorder in and grab a FREE signed bookplate sent to you. I am offering them for FREE through August 25th with your pre-order- just follow the steps after Pre-ordering to register for yours and I will get it mailed out to you in 2 weeks. You can Pre-Order your copy HERE or click the photo below.

What do you think of the cover of the book? Would you be interested in hearing more about how a book comes together? Well, I have been shooting behind the scenes throughout the book process and am excited to share more about the ins & outs of each styling, the details and of course, the bloopers- there are always a lot of bloopers with me haha.

Stay tuned for a lot of book fun coming your way in the next few weeks!