October 21, 2025 • 46 mins
This week on Boulevard Beat, Meghan, Krissa, and Liz explore the charm and staying power of design books — those treasured collections that shape how we see and share beauty. The hosts trade favorite finds and talk about why books remain such an essential part of design culture.
Liz takes listeners inside her journey of creating her upcoming book Art for Everyone sharing how the idea came to life, what she’s learned through the process, and how she hopes readers will connect to it. Together, the hosts discuss how books serve as both inspiration and legacy, offering a deeper way to experience design in an increasingly digital world.
Learn more and preorder Art is for Everyone here!
Street Style Takeaways:
· Books are timeless design tools.
Design books aren’t just beautiful to look at — they’re resources that shape perspective, spark ideas, and remind us of the artistry behind every space.
· Print gives permanence.
In a digital world, there’s something grounding about holding a book. It’s a creative legacy that lasts far beyond a post or a scroll.
· Storytelling is part of great design.
Whether you’re designing a home or writing a book, the magic is in the story — what it says about who you are and what inspires you.
· Creating a book takes both heart and hustle.
Liz’s journey with Art for Everyone shows that a design book is as much about discipline and collaboration as it is about creativity.
· Curate what you love.
Fill your shelves with books that move you — the ones that reflect your style, broaden your imagination, and remind you why good design matters.
Save 15% site wide at www.houseofblum.com with promo code beat15!
Or you can use this link- https://houseofblum.com/discount/beat15!
Connect with the Hosts https://www.instagram.com/boulevardbeatpodcast/
Connect with Meghan Blum Interiors https://www.instagram.com/meghanbluminteriors/
Connect with House of Blum https://www.instagram.com/shophouseofblum/
Connect with Krissa Rossbund. https://www.instagram.com/krissa_rossbund/
Connect with Liz Lidgett https://www.instagram.com/lizlidgett/
Episode Website https://www.blvdbeat.com/about
Liz takes listeners inside her journey of creating her upcoming book Art for Everyone sharing how the idea came to life, what she’s learned through the process, and how she hopes readers will connect to it. Together, the hosts discuss how books serve as both inspiration and legacy, offering a deeper way to experience design in an increasingly digital world.
Learn more and preorder Art is for Everyone here!
Street Style Takeaways:
· Books are timeless design tools.
Design books aren’t just beautiful to look at — they’re resources that shape perspective, spark ideas, and remind us of the artistry behind every space.
· Print gives permanence.
In a digital world, there’s something grounding about holding a book. It’s a creative legacy that lasts far beyond a post or a scroll.
· Storytelling is part of great design.
Whether you’re designing a home or writing a book, the magic is in the story — what it says about who you are and what inspires you.
· Creating a book takes both heart and hustle.
Liz’s journey with Art for Everyone shows that a design book is as much about discipline and collaboration as it is about creativity.
· Curate what you love.
Fill your shelves with books that move you — the ones that reflect your style, broaden your imagination, and remind you why good design matters.
Save 15% site wide at www.houseofblum.com with promo code beat15!
Or you can use this link- https://houseofblum.com/discount/beat15!
Connect with the Hosts https://www.instagram.com/boulevardbeatpodcast/
Connect with Meghan Blum Interiors https://www.instagram.com/meghanbluminteriors/
Connect with House of Blum https://www.instagram.com/shophouseofblum/
Connect with Krissa Rossbund. https://www.instagram.com/krissa_rossbund/
Connect with Liz Lidgett https://www.instagram.com/lizlidgett/
Episode Website https://www.blvdbeat.com/about
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to boulevard Beat, a podcast where life and style intersect.
I'm designer Megan Bloom along with my co hosts, editor CHRISA.
Rossbundt and gallery owner Liz Legit. This podcast focuses on
the daily highlights instead of the hustle, interviews with taste makers,
and personal conversations on how to highlight achievable style. You
con stroll one street at a time, Boulevard Beat proves
(00:29):
the one you should take. On today's episode of boulevard Beat,
we are talking all about design books, the ones that
inspire us, tell our stories, and remind us why we
love what we do. We dive into the beauty of
collecting and creating books that stand the test of time,
and Liz shares her experience writing her own art for everyone,
which you can pre purchase now. It's such a fun
(00:51):
conversation about the creative process, the meaning behind the pages,
and how books continue to shape the design.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
World we love.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Well. Welcome girls. It's fun to have the gang back together.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, it doesn't happen all that often.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I know it's fun.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
So today we're diving in the behind the scenes process
of book production and I know that we are all
so inspired and probably have large libraries ourselves of design
books and art books. So let's maybe talk a little
bit about that first. You know, I know I love
to decorate with them. I love just the idea of
(01:27):
books on a shelf. So what about both of you,
because I know that you have some favorites and books
that you use for inspiration as well.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Yeah, totally.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
I mean for me, of course, I come at it
through the art lens too, so I love like the
big art history books. I love it when they go
through an artist's entire journey or they're looking specifically at
like Picasso's blue period or something like that. But I
think those are really so visually fun and I really
like spending time with them. And then yeah, of course
(01:57):
the design books too, because I'm constantly looking for ways
to you know, update my home and bring it into
the day to day life of living and all of
that like everybody else's.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Well, and it is such an important element just in
your everyday life. Like you said, just to use them
as resources, but in the design world they are such
important elements just to layer in your spaces, and they
give dimension to different areas, even in the kitchen. They're
essentials from both you know, functionality and also just having
your kitchen look pretty too. So I love just the
(02:31):
aesthetics that books spring. But as a book nerd as well,
I love to open one up on a Sunday morning
and just flip through for inspiration or learn from other
people that I love and even on some you know,
other subjects that I you know, would love to get
more involved with too. It's fun to just flip through.
There's nothing better than a beautiful creative book.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Right after I graduated from college and moved into my
very first apartment, I thought I was all fancy because
I would go to Barnes and Noble in the you
know how they have those bargain bins and all of
the art books. You know, I had a Monete and
a Picasso, and I does fancy. I'm like, oh, I'm
so sophisticated.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
I think you're hitting on something though, too that they're
like so accessible. It's something that can like change the
look of a space. You can style with them. They're
still functional, they're relatively inexpensive depending on what they are.
So I'm like it kind of checks all the boxes
of being able to play with them.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Okay, So let's talk about the idea of book production
and what that looks like, because it's a very long, arduous,
complicated process. And I think in you know, in theory,
everybody probably thinks, oh, i'd love to have a book.
I'd love to call myself an author. But it's not
as easy as just putting elements together and finding it
(03:54):
and calling it a book. It is a many times
a multi year process. Liz, I know that you are
in the middle of book production, and you can maybe
tell us a little more, yes, when we will see that.
But let's talk about a book and its purpose. Is
it a passion project? Is it for branding, marketing? It
(04:16):
can be a very very expensive business card.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Yes, Oh my gosh, so I think it's a little
bit of everything. I had the idea for the book
probably about ten years ago, so it's been in my
head as a passion project for a long time. Probably
about four years ago I became more serious about it.
I wanted to start working on a book proposal. I
(04:40):
wanted to start chatting with people, friends that have gone
through the process, trying to find the right agent, all
of that. So then let's flash forward two years ago.
I got an agent and Kirstin Neuhaus is her name.
She's incredible, she's with Ultra Literary, and Kristen really took
me through the process of what the book proposal was
(05:02):
supposed to look like. I had been working on one,
it changed a lot based on Kirsten's knowledge.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
You know.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
Then we started talking about I think it's ready, let's
start taking it out to editors. I had a very
different experience because about the week that we were about
to start sending it out, I got an Instagram DM
from an editor at Simon and Schuster.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
So that's kind of how it all happened.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
The really lucky thing though, and it's a little bit
luck and a lot of bit work, is that she
reached out to me saying, you know, would you be
interested in writing a book like this? And this was
like what the proposal was. But I immediately within twelve
hours kristenin and I could send her the proposal that
was done, right, So it was like, be ready when
the luck happens. Right. Then it became a probably twenty
(05:52):
four month production period, So we can go into all
of that too.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
But I'm saying the process.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Of like wanting a book and what that looks like,
and how it narrows down and how it changes once
you get connected with the right experts, completely changes. So
it's a little bit marketing, it's a lot bit passion,
it's very expensive, It's all the things.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
I think the lesson of this episode is going to
be it's very expensive.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Yeah, and you speak on just a lot of just
your's luck. But I think and Chris so you can
probably speak to this better in your world too. It
seems like most people it takes years for them somebody
to actually pick up a book typically.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Well, I think, first and foremost the most important part
of that is to have a book, you have to
have the assets to put in it. And so without projects,
without photography, you don't have any purpose to have a book.
And I think that sometimes, you know, when people think
I want a book, it's like, okay, well, what are
you going to put into that book? And how do
(06:53):
you define that? So Liz talk a little bit about
if this was a goal of your perhaps or an
idea a decade in advance, how did you start planning
for that. And we're going to get into the nitty
gritty of planning the process and gathering those assets.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
In just a bit.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
But when did you was that for your mark in advance,
when you were like, Okay, I need to start photographing.
I need to start finding those bits and pieces that
are going to be bound into this book.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
There's so much to it.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
I think for interior designers specifically, they are holding off
sharing projects because they know that they can't share the
project if it's going to go into a book. Right,
So then it's like these becomes these holding on to
these projects hoping that a book is coming, or hoping
that a magazine feature is coming. Quite frankly, you know,
(07:48):
so even if a book is not on the table,
they have to hold onto these projects. Mine was a
little bit different because I did so much of the photography,
not me personally at them. All Right is an incredible
photographer and he did a ton of the photography. We
also purchased a lot of images. Again we can talk
about that. But I didn't have to hold off projects
(08:08):
because I constantly have new artwork coming in and I'm
selling it to new clients. So it was a little
bit different than a month long interior design project that
you have to hold the final images for.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Megan, how do you determine which projects to show, maybe
which ones to hold back for publication or are you
thinking about that or is it that's to just show
it all.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
I have mixed reviews on it because you kind of
hear from both sides of the aisle of what to
do too, And you know, the thing is a lot
of our projects we spend you know, two to three
years working on from when we initially started it, and
so it's very hard to want to hold on to
those pictures because you're excited to share them with the
world and with your clients and things like that too,
(08:50):
because it is the number one form of advertising and
marketing out there for us is for people to see
that your work's relevant, So it's really important to share it.
Sometimes I'll kind of hold on to just like a
sick couple single spaces and start to share some of
the other ones and then kind of see if anything
goes from there, and then eventually usually I'll just release
the whole album of what we're sharing of that home.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
So you're not necessarily thinking about long term.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
For long term, I don't necessarily know. I kind of
more just the immediate marketing.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
And I think that's important and I'm glad that those
conversations are being had more so because again, as a
magazine editor, I mean we definitely don't show projects that
are shown on social media because they're just they can
be reposted and shared and over again. So I think
I'm glad that there's more education upfront for designers and
anybody in that industry, for lots of different categories to
(09:39):
know that in advance. Let's talk for a moment about
the voice of the book, because again there are different
ways to go about this as well. There's the very
sort of buttoned up professional voice. Also there's the personal storytelling,
which I think is so lovely and interesting to read
from somebody. So what are both of your thoughts on
(10:00):
and whether it's an art book or a coffee table
book that's more design related, and how you want to
delve into it as the reader, because sometimes we want
something that's a little more studious that we can feel
like we're being educated. But then there's those personal moments too,
(10:20):
what are your thoughts.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
I personally really like ones that are just a little
more casual and easy to read, that you can pick
up and read a couple pages here and there in
the evening or something and learn a lesson or learn
something new on the subject, but that still kind of
probably has the heart of this if it is have
some storytelling in and of why it was impactful and meaningful,
versus feeling like I have to just read a whole
(10:42):
page of everything about it.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Yeah, I think it's all about the topic too, right,
So you know, there are so many design books that
I pick up because I'm obsessed with the designer, both
with their esthetic and them as a person, because you
kind of have these like parasocial relationships due to Instagram
and all of that too, so you kind of feel
like you know who this person is and you want
(11:05):
it to sound like them when you're reading it. That
certainly was the thought process when I was writing. I
had to deliver fifty thousand words and two hundred and
fifty photos, so that was kind of that was my contract.
That was the directive, and fifty thousand words ends up
(11:26):
being not technically a coffee table book, that ends up
being more of kind of an illustrated photo heavy book.
I mean, I think that there's like a very specific
turn for it. But when we talk about like when
people say is this a coffee table book? My editors
are like, it's not a coffee table book. There's a
lot of meat to it. But I also really wanted
(11:46):
to explain, you know, talking about how to install a
piece of artwork ends up actually being a lot of words.
How to find your style ends up being a lot
of words. So so much of the book is about accessibility.
It's called Art Forever One. So I think the tone
had to be really accessible too.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
That's a great point because I think that design art
in all of its forms is intimidating on its own.
So I suppose in your case and art sort of
being the grand dam of the Grand dot driver. Yeah,
all intimidation in this world. If you want it to
(12:24):
be accessible, I suppose the voice does need to be
a little more casual friendly skill. I also think that
today we have the benefit of speaking to artists in
real time, and I think the stories about them. We
know some crazy stories about some artists. We know about
van Go in his Ear and you know Kandinsky and
(12:45):
those the personal that is very minimal. We celebrate those
artists more for their contributions to the art world and
in a significant way that was innovative or avant garde
at the time. More personal stories behind them. It's all
biography in somebody's history totally.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Yeah, you know, I think a lot of the famous artists,
the people that we think of that are really like
post war the big names like the Jackson Pollocks and
the wollem Da Koonings and the big names that we
see at auction and all of that now we're actually
huge jerks, and so you know, it's actually kind of
a great thing for them and their legacy that we
(13:27):
know a little less about them, but we do. We
can interact with artists now, and so I think that
that's a really interesting and that's actually something that is
in the book too, like what are good questions for
artists when you're wanting to have a conversation with one,
So you can kind of direct that, how do you
want to talk to an artist and about a commission?
Like these are the things that are like it's almost
(13:49):
art etiquette, so that you can make sure that you
can have those very approachable conversations because you can talk
to artists.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Now, let's jump into the logistics of book production, because
there it is a long list of Before people think, oh,
I want to be a book author, I want to
produce a book and they think it's just about writing
some captions and getting some photography in there. It's so
much more complex than that. So we've talked a little
(14:19):
bit about the timeline, but let's dive deeper into the timeline,
because this is a multi year project in the making.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Usually yes, okay.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
So one of the things that happened is that I
ended up getting to sign my contract pretty quickly again
because of the reach out, and I already had the
agent in place and the proposal in place and all
of that. So my agent said, you know, someday you're
going to be talking to other authors and tell them
how fast this happened, and they are going to want
to punch you. So I got very, very lucky, that's
(14:51):
for sure. But even that process can take six months
of going back and forth and the negotiations and the
contract and all of that. Once that contract was signed,
I basically knew what I had to deliver, right, But
I was given a list from Simon and Schuster or
Simon Ellmott, from my incredible editor, and it was it
(15:13):
felt like forty different dates of something that was due.
A chapter was due every month, then the overall book
was due, and I was like oh my gosh, the
overall book is due. But that is when people start
tearing it apart. You know, so like your work is
only thirty percent done at that point, but you think
(15:35):
that you're feeling like this huge amount of relief that
I've written all these words and I've taken all these photos.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
At this point, then you have.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
A photography due date, and then there are multiple design
due dates where you are working with your editor and
your design team on the book cover, the interior pages.
The design team works on a chapter doesn't have to
be the first one, but a chapter so that they
can totally get down the system and the process and
(16:02):
making sure that the author likes it if they have
any edits. And then once that initial chapter is approved,
then the design team can go design the whole book.
So then that takes time, of course, and then you're
going back and forth as the design happens. There are
many passes first, second, sometimes a third pass where you
(16:23):
are going through and making sure everything is correct. You
have copy editors going through it, of course, you have
your editor going through it. You have a cold reader.
I have a cold reader going through it and asking
questions about my second pass right now, and then so
many additional things. So then we're starting to go from
(16:45):
getting away from the book and starting to get into marketing.
So I have book endorsements due that I'm getting from
everyone from editors right then I am working with the
social media team. The book is actually for pre sale
now right It's out in the world, So then I've
got specific things that I need to be doing through
the presale. We're going to start working on a book tour.
(17:07):
So I mean there's all of it. Kind of you
hand the book off after so many months of working
on this, and then you start get into the marketing phase,
and that is also equally as intense. I was told
early on. I had a conversation with someone who had
a couple of books that have done very very well,
and she was like, this is not how you get rich.
(17:28):
Do not expect selling a book is going to make
you a bunch of money. I got what I thought
was a pretty good or a good first time author fee.
I was very pleased. But you have to hold on
to a lot of that because you are paying for
your own photography. That's a big thing about budgeting. You
get this like huge multi thousand dollars check and you're like, damn,
(17:52):
I made it, and no, I mean like, yeah, good
for you, pat on the back. But at the same time,
you now have to all of these photos. And then
in my case, we also purchased photos from other designers,
other artists and things like that. Mostly the fee goes
to the photographer. It's a usage fee to be able
(18:12):
to use that photo in the book, and then you
have to keep there. There's a very substantial marketing team
at your publisher, but marketing is just a little bit
different than it used to be and publishing heyday, and
so you also need to hold onto money for your
marketing and your press release and your PR team and
all of that so that you can ship out these
(18:32):
like boxes off to influencers and all of the things.
And it just takes a lot of money. So you know,
you might be able to buy yourself something nice with
a small fee, but most of it's going back. The
money that they are giving to you is going back
into the book.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
Let's talk about photography for a moment, because one misconception
that's enormous. We see this ideal with this every day
at my job is design thinking that they paid for
the photography and thus they own all rights to it.
And that is ninety five percent ninety eight percent of
(19:10):
the time not true. So let's take our our listeners
through that a little bit. Megan, you shoot all the time.
How many photo shoots would you say you do in an.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Average year, Probably like eight to ten decent sized ones,
and then we might do a handful of smaller ones
as far as just more single rooms and things like that,
but bigger shoots around.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
That, And how do you navigate that those contracts with
your photographer? First of all, are you using the same
photographer consistently? For the most part, we use.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
A variety of photographers just for the sake of time
and scheduling, And but we've kind of definitely narrated on
ones that the quality comes back consistent. So that way,
even all images from different photographers looks consistent. And it's
different too if you're just shooting one room or one
piece of art like Liz often does, or an entire house,
(20:07):
because you're photographing every angle of every room and having
to set up, you know, lots of different things you've
got to You can't stay a whole week in house
typically that can be difficult.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
The picking and shoes. You're asked to see what those
exact images are going to be because if you photograph
an entire house, Liz, I imagine too you have clients
that have extraordinary art collections, and if you did every
single space, it would take forever, far longer. Yes, what
you actually need for the book production. So in both
(20:39):
of your cases, do you how did you handle those
contracts with usage rights?
Speaker 4 (20:45):
You know, if you have a good agent slash good publisher,
they will help you with those contracts along the way.
But yes, we shop primarily with Adam all Bright. Adam
works a lot for magazine and books, and so he
totally understood the usage rights and all of that. So
we had him sign a contract for usage rights being
(21:07):
able to use it in a book. And I think
that's the main thing too, is just being upfront and
communicate with everyone that you're working with of this is
the ultimate goal. This is you're shooting for a book
right now, so really help them understand that these are
not photos that can be used on their own social
media in any sort of way that they may own
(21:30):
technically the final copyright, because the copyright doesn't really transfer
back and forth between you know, photographer Seene as an
artist that always is kind of retained by the artist.
You need to have an extensive usage rights, and so
if you're going to be using it in any sort
of marketing, you need to say that in your contract.
If you're going to be using it in the book,
if your hope is that it could potentially also go
(21:51):
into a magazine, you need to say that. So you
really have to think about all of the potential ways
that you could be using this photograph from the beginning,
which is kind of hard, but you have to cross
all of those teas.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Yeah, I think, like you said, Liz, just crossing all
of your teas and making sure those are things that
you think about, because there's certainly things even from my
early days that I never really would have thought about
how we would be using photos and things like that too.
I also feel like, you know, like so many other industries,
I feel like the photographers have really buttoned up their
contracts as well too. So I think it's just good
communication between them and kind of how we are going
(22:25):
to be using them. I run into it because we
often will shoot our House of Bloom product also with
Meg and Bloom interiors, and so it's technically two different
instagrams and businesses, but it's you know, I'm the same company.
So it's hard sometimes when they still want you to
pay two different fees for using them for two different
(22:46):
applications too.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Oh that's interesting.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
The other thing that we had to go through and
we are continuing to go through, is that we have
over one hundred and fifty artists represented in the book,
so every single one of those artists has signed up
usage right as well. Those end up getting a little
bit more specific. And when we purchased the photos that
had already been shot but not used, there also had
(23:11):
to be so I was working with a lot of
photographers that we didn't actually know, but they had shot
the photos for our interior designer friends or our artists,
and so then we were going back and forth, and
some of those photographers did not shoot for the intended
purpose of a book, So then we were going back
and forth on contract of saying Okay, yes it can
(23:33):
show in your book, but I don't want you to
use it in any of your marketing materials. So then
there's a lot of really specific back and forth. So
that's a little bit hard if you're also buying photos
from people that you didn't have any part.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Of, which is interesting because who wouldn't want the marketing
out there of their work.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
It's so strange. It was the interior designers always wanted it.
The photographers, I think we're trying to be smart business people,
and they were saying, like, Okay, if you're going to
use it for any other purpose, then you should give
me more money, right, But you know, I didn't have
more money, so it was like, okay, well then we're
not using it in the marketing materials.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
So you know, it's just stuff like that. You have
to go case by case.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
But then in the future, as we are marketing in
the book, we're going to have to continue thinking like, oh,
we actually can't.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Use that photo for this purpose.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Yeah, So that's important for anybody who is listening to
think about that. When you have artists that you're showing
for a book, if you're a designer out there, you
may need to have that artist sign a release saying
it's okay. And if those images are being photographed by
a magazine, that could then potentially be used for the
(24:40):
magazine's marketing purposes or go out on a brochure from
a book publisher that falls into the advertising category and
that can be mucky mess. Yes, what about hiring a stylist.
So I'm going to as the magazine editor, I'm going
to say, I think every shoot has to have a
(25:02):
stylist because it's different for a living than it is
for photography that ends up in a book in a magazine.
I know, it's another expense. Everything's another expense.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Nothing is, Yeah, it is.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
I think it's free in this process. I think it's
so important because a stylist isn't there to design the room.
A stylist is there to make sure that the photography
has clarity, and those are two separate things. They're looking
for that art direction more than they are to redesign
a room.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Yeah, I think they bring up such a great point
in Chrysla because I think I know my mind has
shifted on this over the years, because in the past
I've always been like, well, I'm a designer, I know
what looks good. But I think even even just being
on a few shoots with you, that we've had the
fortune to be in seeing how your eye and how
just the layers look differently through the lens of photography
(25:50):
for publication. It is very different than what I'm using
on Instagram because those are just quick little uses versus
just I'm going to stare at this picture for five
minutes and really study it in what looks good. So
I do see the importance of a stylist, and I'm
actually glad. I feel like it's been brought more to
the forefront on conversations and then tier design world on
chats and things like that and why they're important, and
(26:13):
I see that movement happening for sure, just for all
in teer designers.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
I think that the stylist, when there is one on
the shoot, really can help with where the eye is
being pulled. And that was something that when I've had
the opportunity to work on some shoots as a stylist
early on when with Meredith, I learned so much from
very smart editors about where your eye was going to stop,
(26:39):
if things were overlapping in this strange way, or all
of those things that you may or may not think
about that are like end up making a photo editorial.
And so I think that's really nice to have someone
like a stylist on the shoot. And sometimes a great
photographer is going to be able to catch some of
those things too, and you do learn over time, but
just to have another set of eyes eyes as well.
(27:00):
And then also, gosh, those stylists works so hard. And
I almost think of it as like a day of
wedding planner because you, as the designer or the gallerist
or whatever, you might need the ones stepping into the photo.
So when I have not had another set of eyes,
I'm like in the photo and then I'm out looking
at the photo, and then I'm in, you know, and
(27:21):
it's like it becomes this larger thing. So if you
have a stylist on the shoot and they're the ones
that are really making sure that everything there's clarity, that
you're not going to have any of those like kind
of little eyebugs, any of those things that editorially the
editors are looking for for magazines.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
What about the writing? Because okay, I finally, because I'm
the last to get into any sort of trendo whatsoever,
I finally used chat GPT. I needed a job description
for an organization that I volunteer for that we needed
some help with, and so I didn't have time. I thought,
(28:00):
I'm going to use that chat GPT thing. AI It's
not the same though it really doesn't get the voice
quite right. So have either of you used it for
any sort of writing purposes, and I would say it's
a big, big, solid no go. If you want to
(28:21):
write for a book, like you need to have a writer,
a real human being, one with a heartbeat.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
One hundred percent the times that I have used chat
GPT for my business, we'll use it for like, hey,
what are some social media prompts that we should be
thinking about? And then we'll read it and then completely
rewrite it. So there are times that chat GPT can
be totally helpful a springboard, it can be excellent, But
(28:48):
to actually copy and paste and put into it all
of a sudden, it would be like reading everything that
a writer has written and then you like copy and
paste a chat GPT and then it's just like a
halt right, because it doesn't know your tone of voice,
it doesn't know your flow. It is a completely different thing.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
Well, you can just totally tell when even just as
simple as an Instagram post, when it's like, oh they
didn't even read that over to double chone, like you
can just tell the difference. So yeah, I mean, I
think you're definitely right, and it needs your voice. It
needs your tone, and I think, yeah, I one hundred percent.
I don't think a book should ever be written by
something like AI. I think it needs that that well,
(29:28):
integrity and just even the authenticity of the author and
what what you're trying to get people to spend money
for and buy and not just something that they pulled
off of the internet.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
That way, it's so interesting and I think, you know,
there are some examples now of an image that depicts
a bunch of people gathering in an event and some
of the people have six fingers.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
I mean, I think a couple of arms during the day,
I don't.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Yeah, right, yeah.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
I also I have followed this account on Instagram and
I all lot of the images are a I generated
And what I think is interesting about seeing it is
there are some beautiful things, but none of it is possible,
like where a foundation where a home could go. You
you think about like people are going like this is
my dream house and I'm like, yeah, but can you
(30:15):
tell that none of these rooms could flow and that
the this is a small home that has like seventeen rooms,
you know, all of these things like it When people
really stop to think about if things go together in
an image or in writing, You're like, no, of course
this was AI generated. The problem is that people don't
stop to think anymore.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Yeah, they don't know the difference.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
I'm curious, Liz, with Ai. Can you tell Ai to
create a beautiful painting that looks like a looks like
an oil painting? Will it do it?
Speaker 4 (30:49):
I mean, look, I think that this is a larger
conversation of what makes art art. I also I think
that a lot of artists are very, very very nervous
about you know, AI taking their images from the Internet
and like creating styles based on their work. So I
(31:10):
completely understand there are a lot of fears around stolen art. Basically,
the art that I have seen is missing something, and
so I think that that's where it goes back to,
like what is art and does a person have to
create it? Because is it missing soul without a person?
(31:31):
So I think there's just I see, it seems flat,
it doesn't seem right. It's the same way. What about
the writing. My husband is a creative director and a
writer for an advertising agency, and he's like, I'm not
worried that Ai is going to take my job anytime soon,
and I know that's a larger conversation in the marketing industry.
(31:52):
But he's like, but I can write and that thing can't.
So maybe years from now it will be better. But
same way with are. I just don't think the artists
should be worried that AI is going to take their
jobs yet.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Let's back to books.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
Let's talk a little bit about book marketing and what
the expectations are there. Because you've thought of this idea,
you've dreamed of being in a book author, you put
all the pieces together, handed it in a whole year
later it's printed. That's another thing people should know.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
You don't hand your.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
Get it back in a month. It oftentimes comes from
not this country and can take Yes, you're to be printed,
to have your physical copy, but then the book has
to be marketed, and oftentimes those costs fall on the author.
They're not taken care of. So let's talk a little
(32:44):
bit about charity events and public speaking engagements in all
of the places where those book signings, retail venues, sometimes
where those book signings may may happen. What are your
plans lists?
Speaker 4 (33:00):
Oh gosh, so we will start talking in December. My
book comes out April twenty first, twenty twenty six, so
we'll start talking in December about the book tour. I
have some friends in cities that are willing to co host,
and I think that that is a really lovely thing
because you can partner with another artist or a brand
or a business owner or something along those lines that
(33:22):
have contacts in that direct city, so that they're both
coming to see you the book, the talk, but also
support their friend. Right you may have seen Wishbone Kitchen.
I think she had a Meredith Hayden had just an
incredible book tour and book publicity, and she ended up
being on the New York Times bestseller list for like
seven or eight weeks. And I think part of that
(33:44):
is that she was very smart about her book tour,
where she was partnering with other people that she considers
friends in the industry, other chefs, other interesting people that
she knows, and so people were coming to see both
in the conversation, so that not every tour stop was
the exact same kind of like you're hoping that like
a fun guest is coming out at your Taylor Swift
(34:05):
concert sort of a thing. So finding some variability I
think is huge. But yes, so I am hiring a
PR team for kind of the last few months of
the book, so pre sales are already happening. My pre
sale time is pretty long, mostly because a friend found
(34:26):
it for sale on Target and I kind of went
back to the team being like, wait what, and the
team was like, oh, You're not really supposed to see
that yet. So anyway, so then we announced it because
it was like people were finding it on the internet.
It was for sale at Target, and so people were
finding it. So my pre sale time is like eight
or nine months that I'm going to be talking about
this book through presale, but most books usually end up
(34:50):
having like a three to four month time period. What
we're doing, for example, one of our marketing tactics is
that we have these book plates that I'm signing for
anybody that shows me that they have purchased the book,
and then each week we have a different artist that
is also signing the book plate. So you know, depending
on if you have a favorite artist that we represent
(35:13):
that's in the book, you know, your book could be
signed by both me and another artist. So just like
kind of interesting things. And then well as we get
closer to and we actually have some books in hand,
I can start sending it out to pre readers and too,
some influencers and things like that.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Those pre sales.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
Can we talk about pre sales for a second. Those
pre sales are so important. What they trigger is that
one they show your publishing company that you have been
working your butt off, that people want to buy your book,
and so they increase their marketing spend. Okay, so that's
(35:48):
one thing. There's your publisher, But the biggest deal is
that the Barnes and Nobles, the targets, the small independent bookshops,
those places that still actually have hardcome books will order
based on those pre sale numbers. It's showing that people, Okay,
people are buying this book, we want to have it
on our shelves. So that's really important. My agent was
(36:11):
telling me that, you know, you get a couple of
books that you get to see early on and while
the thousands of books are being printed overseas before they
come over on a barge, and so that some authors
keep their book in their purse and they're just anytime
they walk by a bookshop, they're like, hey, this is
my book, it's coming out, would you do it?
Speaker 2 (36:33):
So like there's a lot of I'm going.
Speaker 4 (36:36):
To be personally emailing buyers at museum gift shops because
I think that's a great place for my book to
be sold. So there's going to be a lot of
things that, like, my publisher is going to do a lot.
They are incredible. I'm so lucky to be with them,
but there's a lot that I'm going to be doing
on my own because i want this book to be
a success. Your first week of sales, if you're trying
(36:59):
to get onto bestseller line, includes all of those pre
sales because it's not exactly like a book is not
officially sold until it is shipped off and landed where
it's supposed to go. So my first week of sales
will include this eight months that I've been hustling for
pre sales. That's your best chance to get onto a
bestseller list, because your week two will only include that
(37:23):
seven days of sales. So you know, I've got eight
months now to try and make this book something special.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
It's fascinating, and have you you know, you kind of
talked about the timeline and have you actually had your
hands on a.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
Copy of it yet? No, I haven't yet. But what's
happening next is so my second pass is done. The
indexer is going through and doing the index and like
where you can find each artist on each page. You know,
all of that very important but more analytical work on
the book. Then the book is pretty much like stamped
(37:58):
and sealed, right, So then I get black and white
paperback version called a galley, and so that's when I
can start sending it out to a few important reviewers,
some marketing.
Speaker 2 (38:10):
People, things like that.
Speaker 4 (38:11):
It's kind of interesting because, like John Grisham, sending out
a galley is like you're reading John Grisham's book and
that's how But for me, you're missing color, You're missing
a lot of what I think is really special about
the book. So I don't know how much I'm going
to be sending the galleys out, because galleys can be
very sad sometimes because yeah, you're not getting the They're
(38:33):
not a great way to tell I think that they
are more useful perhaps when books are more were driven totally.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
Yes, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
It's like John Grisham's galley, like you don't care if
it's hardcover or if it's the galley, Like you're excited
to read it ahead of time. But for my book,
with all of the photos and everything, I just I
think it's gonna end up being kind of like want
won't so, And then I'll get a few hardcover cops
that I can use for very special purposes, but I'm
(39:05):
not going to be able to touch words in the
book pretty much like within the next week.
Speaker 3 (39:09):
I think we all remember when the character, the main
character Andy and the Devilwar's Praduct was on a us
chase to find the latest edition of Harry Potter.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 3 (39:21):
Amanda Priestley's twins.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
I'm not trying to their grandmothers.
Speaker 3 (39:26):
So maybe maybe for John Grisham and the Harry Potter series,
the galleys will work totally.
Speaker 4 (39:33):
Yeah, So we'll see what we end up doing. And
then we will get some books ahead of time before
they actually go to booksellers that we can use for
press marketing and that sort of thing, and so I'll
be able to start sending those out like a couple
of weeks ahead of time, and then you know, you
hope that people will then post about it, being like
this is a gorgeous book, you guys should buy it too,
and that ends up helping your pre sale orders and
(39:55):
all of that, you really start to throw out the
big guns, so to speak, like the last month.
Speaker 3 (40:01):
Well, and I think too that a lot of people
don't realize. They think, oh, you know, we give you
a book advance. A publisher gives a book advance and
then you know, the author will finish the book and
it's out of the publisher's hands. They've invested a lot
of their dollars in an author. So those expectations to
(40:24):
market it, to go on tour to promote are really they're.
Speaker 4 (40:28):
Big, yes, and it's also huge, like if you want
a book to you got to do the work even
after the book is done. This is the really important
part because technically, what they're sending you in your advance
is that they believe X amount of books are going
to be sold. Like that's a guarantee. So you are
try not that you are going to have to give
(40:50):
money back. You're not, but at the same time, like
you're part of that guarantee that those books are going
to sell. So that's what that advance really is for. Then,
for example, for my contract, I have like X amount
of books that have to sell before I start making
any additional money off of the book sales, and then
I think that happens very rarely for authors, that they
(41:11):
go beyond that number and they start getting residual checks.
That's the dream.
Speaker 3 (41:17):
I think it's rare, Meghan. So we know that Liz
is creating sort of a lesson driven book. How often
do you maybe maybe not you so much because you're
the principal designer, you've been doing this for a while,
But do you ever refer your junior designers to books
like these that are you know, where you can say,
(41:39):
open this up, or books that you go back to
for certain design principles or for something like to hang
an art piece.
Speaker 1 (41:51):
Definitely, no. I think there's definitely great resources and a
lot of those books, especially ones that have some little
more generic how tos or new designers or people that
are just design enthusiasts that want to know some of
those standard rules of how how far to hang the
shandily over the dining table, and like you said, how
to hi to hang your artwork. I think there's obviously
some very great general principles in those that you can
(42:13):
learn from and then know that some rules are meant
to be broken, and that you know sometimes your eye
is the best dictionary too, to like figure out what
makes the most sense too. So I think there's there's
a handful of books out there that are great for
designers to start with and just use as resources. And
because there's so much that you you don't learn in
school that's applicable in real life, especially in the residential world.
Speaker 3 (42:36):
Well, and there are also some things that you don't
do every day, like me, get situations, yeah, merges where
you I mean.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
Even in the nitty gritty since I'm not in the
technical stuff every day, I'm like, oh, something that I
used to just be able to like have on the
back of my hand and no memorize. I have to
be like, oh yeah, what was that again? Like I'll
have to look it up sometimes too.
Speaker 3 (42:55):
So well, and Liz, that must be so special for
you knowing that because you're your book is more lesson driven,
more educational versus a coffee table book that let's be honest,
people get coffee table books and sometimes never open them. Yeah,
so your book has some longevity potential to it as well.
Speaker 4 (43:15):
That's the hope that this book in particular is for
people no matter where they are in the art journey,
because it really is like how to find your style,
how to start talking to an artist or a gallery.
Here are some important things to know about buying art. Okay,
you've bought the art, let's install it. Okay, you've installed
the artwork, but you need to store it for a
period of time.
Speaker 2 (43:35):
What should you do?
Speaker 4 (43:37):
What are the types of environments? What is the light
that you can have on your art? What are the
humidity conditions that the artwork can be in? So I
hope that it becomes a reference point of no matter
where people are in their journey of collecting, they can
come back and be like, oh, yeah, I have to
pack art up? What materials should I be wrapping this
(43:59):
art piece? In that sort of thing?
Speaker 1 (44:01):
Well, and Liz, you've already shared what the cover looks like,
which is beautiful share bank the audience. And as a designer,
I love a beautiful crafted exterior of the book as
well too, because half the time that's what I'm going
for when I'm styling things is what does it look like?
Does it have a graphic nature, is it a color?
Is it neutral or is it just you know, big
and bold? So yeah, it's I think you did an
(44:22):
excellent job with that.
Speaker 2 (44:23):
Thanks.
Speaker 4 (44:23):
I really appreciate. It was something that we went back
and forth about. You know, I think Aaron Gates has
done an excellent job of like really thinking about her spines.
You know, we wanted to use a color that stood
out and felt modern, It felt of you know, of
twenty twenty six. We wanted to you know, the cover photo.
(44:44):
I mean, it just says so much like does it
feel inviting to you? Is that a photo that like,
oh gosh, I could never achieve that, or is that
something that I could achieve. There were just so many
conversations that we had about all of the photography options,
and I'm I'm really pleased with what we ended up with.
Speaker 3 (44:59):
Well, we cannot wait to flip through the pages. Thank you,
Liz and Megan. It's been fun to talk about the
book process, and I know that all of us will
be adding more and more books to our libraries because
they never go away and that's a good thing.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Boulevard Beat.
If you enjoyed this episode, please follow along and leave
a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen
so you never miss an episode, and of course, follow
your hosts on Instagram, at Megan bloom Interiors, at CHRISA. Rossbund,
and at Liz Legit. We'll be back next week as
we take a stroll down another boulevard
Welcome to boulevard Beat, a podcast where life and style intersect.
I'm designer Megan Bloom along with my co hosts, editor CHRISA.
Rossbundt and gallery owner Liz Legit. This podcast focuses on
the daily highlights instead of the hustle, interviews with taste makers,
and personal conversations on how to highlight achievable style. You
con stroll one street at a time, Boulevard Beat proves
(00:29):
the one you should take. On today's episode of boulevard Beat,
we are talking all about design books, the ones that
inspire us, tell our stories, and remind us why we
love what we do. We dive into the beauty of
collecting and creating books that stand the test of time,
and Liz shares her experience writing her own art for everyone,
which you can pre purchase now. It's such a fun
(00:51):
conversation about the creative process, the meaning behind the pages,
and how books continue to shape the design.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
World we love.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Well. Welcome girls. It's fun to have the gang back together.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, it doesn't happen all that often.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I know it's fun.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
So today we're diving in the behind the scenes process
of book production and I know that we are all
so inspired and probably have large libraries ourselves of design
books and art books. So let's maybe talk a little
bit about that first. You know, I know I love
to decorate with them. I love just the idea of
(01:27):
books on a shelf. So what about both of you,
because I know that you have some favorites and books
that you use for inspiration as well.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Yeah, totally.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
I mean for me, of course, I come at it
through the art lens too, so I love like the
big art history books. I love it when they go
through an artist's entire journey or they're looking specifically at
like Picasso's blue period or something like that. But I
think those are really so visually fun and I really
like spending time with them. And then yeah, of course
(01:57):
the design books too, because I'm constantly looking for ways
to you know, update my home and bring it into
the day to day life of living and all of
that like everybody else's.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Well, and it is such an important element just in
your everyday life. Like you said, just to use them
as resources, but in the design world they are such
important elements just to layer in your spaces, and they
give dimension to different areas, even in the kitchen. They're
essentials from both you know, functionality and also just having
your kitchen look pretty too. So I love just the
(02:31):
aesthetics that books spring. But as a book nerd as well,
I love to open one up on a Sunday morning
and just flip through for inspiration or learn from other
people that I love and even on some you know,
other subjects that I you know, would love to get
more involved with too. It's fun to just flip through.
There's nothing better than a beautiful creative book.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Right after I graduated from college and moved into my
very first apartment, I thought I was all fancy because
I would go to Barnes and Noble in the you
know how they have those bargain bins and all of
the art books. You know, I had a Monete and
a Picasso, and I does fancy. I'm like, oh, I'm
so sophisticated.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
I think you're hitting on something though, too that they're
like so accessible. It's something that can like change the
look of a space. You can style with them. They're
still functional, they're relatively inexpensive depending on what they are.
So I'm like it kind of checks all the boxes
of being able to play with them.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Okay, So let's talk about the idea of book production
and what that looks like, because it's a very long, arduous,
complicated process. And I think in you know, in theory,
everybody probably thinks, oh, i'd love to have a book.
I'd love to call myself an author. But it's not
as easy as just putting elements together and finding it
(03:54):
and calling it a book. It is a many times
a multi year process. Liz, I know that you are
in the middle of book production, and you can maybe
tell us a little more, yes, when we will see that.
But let's talk about a book and its purpose. Is
it a passion project? Is it for branding, marketing? It
(04:16):
can be a very very expensive business card.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Yes, Oh my gosh, so I think it's a little
bit of everything. I had the idea for the book
probably about ten years ago, so it's been in my
head as a passion project for a long time. Probably
about four years ago I became more serious about it.
I wanted to start working on a book proposal. I
(04:40):
wanted to start chatting with people, friends that have gone
through the process, trying to find the right agent, all
of that. So then let's flash forward two years ago.
I got an agent and Kirstin Neuhaus is her name.
She's incredible, she's with Ultra Literary, and Kristen really took
me through the process of what the book proposal was
(05:02):
supposed to look like. I had been working on one,
it changed a lot based on Kirsten's knowledge.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
You know.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
Then we started talking about I think it's ready, let's
start taking it out to editors. I had a very
different experience because about the week that we were about
to start sending it out, I got an Instagram DM
from an editor at Simon and Schuster.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
So that's kind of how it all happened.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
The really lucky thing though, and it's a little bit
luck and a lot of bit work, is that she
reached out to me saying, you know, would you be
interested in writing a book like this? And this was
like what the proposal was. But I immediately within twelve
hours kristenin and I could send her the proposal that
was done, right, So it was like, be ready when
the luck happens. Right. Then it became a probably twenty
(05:52):
four month production period, So we can go into all
of that too.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
But I'm saying the process.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Of like wanting a book and what that looks like,
and how it narrows down and how it changes once
you get connected with the right experts, completely changes. So
it's a little bit marketing, it's a lot bit passion,
it's very expensive, It's all the things.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
I think the lesson of this episode is going to
be it's very expensive.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Yeah, and you speak on just a lot of just
your's luck. But I think and Chris so you can
probably speak to this better in your world too. It
seems like most people it takes years for them somebody
to actually pick up a book typically.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Well, I think, first and foremost the most important part
of that is to have a book, you have to
have the assets to put in it. And so without projects,
without photography, you don't have any purpose to have a book.
And I think that sometimes, you know, when people think
I want a book, it's like, okay, well, what are
you going to put into that book? And how do
(06:53):
you define that? So Liz talk a little bit about
if this was a goal of your perhaps or an
idea a decade in advance, how did you start planning
for that. And we're going to get into the nitty
gritty of planning the process and gathering those assets.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
In just a bit.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
But when did you was that for your mark in advance,
when you were like, Okay, I need to start photographing.
I need to start finding those bits and pieces that
are going to be bound into this book.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
There's so much to it.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
I think for interior designers specifically, they are holding off
sharing projects because they know that they can't share the
project if it's going to go into a book. Right,
So then it's like these becomes these holding on to
these projects hoping that a book is coming, or hoping
that a magazine feature is coming. Quite frankly, you know,
(07:48):
so even if a book is not on the table,
they have to hold onto these projects. Mine was a
little bit different because I did so much of the photography,
not me personally at them. All Right is an incredible
photographer and he did a ton of the photography. We
also purchased a lot of images. Again we can talk
about that. But I didn't have to hold off projects
(08:08):
because I constantly have new artwork coming in and I'm
selling it to new clients. So it was a little
bit different than a month long interior design project that
you have to hold the final images for.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Megan, how do you determine which projects to show, maybe
which ones to hold back for publication or are you
thinking about that or is it that's to just show
it all.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
I have mixed reviews on it because you kind of
hear from both sides of the aisle of what to
do too, And you know, the thing is a lot
of our projects we spend you know, two to three
years working on from when we initially started it, and
so it's very hard to want to hold on to
those pictures because you're excited to share them with the
world and with your clients and things like that too,
(08:50):
because it is the number one form of advertising and
marketing out there for us is for people to see
that your work's relevant, So it's really important to share it.
Sometimes I'll kind of hold on to just like a
sick couple single spaces and start to share some of
the other ones and then kind of see if anything
goes from there, and then eventually usually I'll just release
the whole album of what we're sharing of that home.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
So you're not necessarily thinking about long term.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
For long term, I don't necessarily know. I kind of
more just the immediate marketing.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
And I think that's important and I'm glad that those
conversations are being had more so because again, as a
magazine editor, I mean we definitely don't show projects that
are shown on social media because they're just they can
be reposted and shared and over again. So I think
I'm glad that there's more education upfront for designers and
anybody in that industry, for lots of different categories to
(09:39):
know that in advance. Let's talk for a moment about
the voice of the book, because again there are different
ways to go about this as well. There's the very
sort of buttoned up professional voice. Also there's the personal storytelling,
which I think is so lovely and interesting to read
from somebody. So what are both of your thoughts on
(10:00):
and whether it's an art book or a coffee table
book that's more design related, and how you want to
delve into it as the reader, because sometimes we want
something that's a little more studious that we can feel
like we're being educated. But then there's those personal moments too,
(10:20):
what are your thoughts.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
I personally really like ones that are just a little
more casual and easy to read, that you can pick
up and read a couple pages here and there in
the evening or something and learn a lesson or learn
something new on the subject, but that still kind of
probably has the heart of this if it is have
some storytelling in and of why it was impactful and meaningful,
versus feeling like I have to just read a whole
(10:42):
page of everything about it.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Yeah, I think it's all about the topic too, right,
So you know, there are so many design books that
I pick up because I'm obsessed with the designer, both
with their esthetic and them as a person, because you
kind of have these like parasocial relationships due to Instagram
and all of that too, so you kind of feel
like you know who this person is and you want
(11:05):
it to sound like them when you're reading it. That
certainly was the thought process when I was writing. I
had to deliver fifty thousand words and two hundred and
fifty photos, so that was kind of that was my contract.
That was the directive, and fifty thousand words ends up
(11:26):
being not technically a coffee table book, that ends up
being more of kind of an illustrated photo heavy book.
I mean, I think that there's like a very specific
turn for it. But when we talk about like when
people say is this a coffee table book? My editors
are like, it's not a coffee table book. There's a
lot of meat to it. But I also really wanted
(11:46):
to explain, you know, talking about how to install a
piece of artwork ends up actually being a lot of words.
How to find your style ends up being a lot
of words. So so much of the book is about accessibility.
It's called Art Forever One. So I think the tone
had to be really accessible too.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
That's a great point because I think that design art
in all of its forms is intimidating on its own.
So I suppose in your case and art sort of
being the grand dam of the Grand dot driver. Yeah,
all intimidation in this world. If you want it to
(12:24):
be accessible, I suppose the voice does need to be
a little more casual friendly skill. I also think that
today we have the benefit of speaking to artists in
real time, and I think the stories about them. We
know some crazy stories about some artists. We know about
van Go in his Ear and you know Kandinsky and
(12:45):
those the personal that is very minimal. We celebrate those
artists more for their contributions to the art world and
in a significant way that was innovative or avant garde
at the time. More personal stories behind them. It's all
biography in somebody's history totally.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Yeah, you know, I think a lot of the famous artists,
the people that we think of that are really like
post war the big names like the Jackson Pollocks and
the wollem Da Koonings and the big names that we
see at auction and all of that now we're actually
huge jerks, and so you know, it's actually kind of
a great thing for them and their legacy that we
(13:27):
know a little less about them, but we do. We
can interact with artists now, and so I think that
that's a really interesting and that's actually something that is
in the book too, like what are good questions for
artists when you're wanting to have a conversation with one,
So you can kind of direct that, how do you
want to talk to an artist and about a commission?
Like these are the things that are like it's almost
(13:49):
art etiquette, so that you can make sure that you
can have those very approachable conversations because you can talk
to artists.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Now, let's jump into the logistics of book production, because
there it is a long list of Before people think, oh,
I want to be a book author, I want to
produce a book and they think it's just about writing
some captions and getting some photography in there. It's so
much more complex than that. So we've talked a little
(14:19):
bit about the timeline, but let's dive deeper into the timeline,
because this is a multi year project in the making.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Usually yes, okay.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
So one of the things that happened is that I
ended up getting to sign my contract pretty quickly again
because of the reach out, and I already had the
agent in place and the proposal in place and all
of that. So my agent said, you know, someday you're
going to be talking to other authors and tell them
how fast this happened, and they are going to want
to punch you. So I got very, very lucky, that's
(14:51):
for sure. But even that process can take six months
of going back and forth and the negotiations and the
contract and all of that. Once that contract was signed,
I basically knew what I had to deliver, right, But
I was given a list from Simon and Schuster or
Simon Ellmott, from my incredible editor, and it was it
(15:13):
felt like forty different dates of something that was due.
A chapter was due every month, then the overall book
was due, and I was like oh my gosh, the
overall book is due. But that is when people start
tearing it apart. You know, so like your work is
only thirty percent done at that point, but you think
(15:35):
that you're feeling like this huge amount of relief that
I've written all these words and I've taken all these photos.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
At this point, then you have.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
A photography due date, and then there are multiple design
due dates where you are working with your editor and
your design team on the book cover, the interior pages.
The design team works on a chapter doesn't have to
be the first one, but a chapter so that they
can totally get down the system and the process and
(16:02):
making sure that the author likes it if they have
any edits. And then once that initial chapter is approved,
then the design team can go design the whole book.
So then that takes time, of course, and then you're
going back and forth as the design happens. There are
many passes first, second, sometimes a third pass where you
(16:23):
are going through and making sure everything is correct. You
have copy editors going through it, of course, you have
your editor going through it. You have a cold reader.
I have a cold reader going through it and asking
questions about my second pass right now, and then so
many additional things. So then we're starting to go from
(16:45):
getting away from the book and starting to get into marketing.
So I have book endorsements due that I'm getting from
everyone from editors right then I am working with the
social media team. The book is actually for pre sale
now right It's out in the world, So then I've
got specific things that I need to be doing through
the presale. We're going to start working on a book tour.
(17:07):
So I mean there's all of it. Kind of you
hand the book off after so many months of working
on this, and then you start get into the marketing phase,
and that is also equally as intense. I was told
early on. I had a conversation with someone who had
a couple of books that have done very very well,
and she was like, this is not how you get rich.
(17:28):
Do not expect selling a book is going to make
you a bunch of money. I got what I thought
was a pretty good or a good first time author fee.
I was very pleased. But you have to hold on
to a lot of that because you are paying for
your own photography. That's a big thing about budgeting. You
get this like huge multi thousand dollars check and you're like, damn,
(17:52):
I made it, and no, I mean like, yeah, good
for you, pat on the back. But at the same time,
you now have to all of these photos. And then
in my case, we also purchased photos from other designers,
other artists and things like that. Mostly the fee goes
to the photographer. It's a usage fee to be able
(18:12):
to use that photo in the book, and then you
have to keep there. There's a very substantial marketing team
at your publisher, but marketing is just a little bit
different than it used to be and publishing heyday, and
so you also need to hold onto money for your
marketing and your press release and your PR team and
all of that so that you can ship out these
(18:32):
like boxes off to influencers and all of the things.
And it just takes a lot of money. So you know,
you might be able to buy yourself something nice with
a small fee, but most of it's going back. The
money that they are giving to you is going back
into the book.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
Let's talk about photography for a moment, because one misconception
that's enormous. We see this ideal with this every day
at my job is design thinking that they paid for
the photography and thus they own all rights to it.
And that is ninety five percent ninety eight percent of
(19:10):
the time not true. So let's take our our listeners
through that a little bit. Megan, you shoot all the time.
How many photo shoots would you say you do in an.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Average year, Probably like eight to ten decent sized ones,
and then we might do a handful of smaller ones
as far as just more single rooms and things like that,
but bigger shoots around.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
That, And how do you navigate that those contracts with
your photographer? First of all, are you using the same
photographer consistently? For the most part, we use.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
A variety of photographers just for the sake of time
and scheduling, And but we've kind of definitely narrated on
ones that the quality comes back consistent. So that way,
even all images from different photographers looks consistent. And it's
different too if you're just shooting one room or one
piece of art like Liz often does, or an entire house,
(20:07):
because you're photographing every angle of every room and having
to set up, you know, lots of different things you've
got to You can't stay a whole week in house
typically that can be difficult.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
The picking and shoes. You're asked to see what those
exact images are going to be because if you photograph
an entire house, Liz, I imagine too you have clients
that have extraordinary art collections, and if you did every
single space, it would take forever, far longer. Yes, what
you actually need for the book production. So in both
(20:39):
of your cases, do you how did you handle those
contracts with usage rights?
Speaker 4 (20:45):
You know, if you have a good agent slash good publisher,
they will help you with those contracts along the way.
But yes, we shop primarily with Adam all Bright. Adam
works a lot for magazine and books, and so he
totally understood the usage rights and all of that. So
we had him sign a contract for usage rights being
(21:07):
able to use it in a book. And I think
that's the main thing too, is just being upfront and
communicate with everyone that you're working with of this is
the ultimate goal. This is you're shooting for a book
right now, so really help them understand that these are
not photos that can be used on their own social
media in any sort of way that they may own
(21:30):
technically the final copyright, because the copyright doesn't really transfer
back and forth between you know, photographer Seene as an
artist that always is kind of retained by the artist.
You need to have an extensive usage rights, and so
if you're going to be using it in any sort
of marketing, you need to say that in your contract.
If you're going to be using it in the book,
if your hope is that it could potentially also go
(21:51):
into a magazine, you need to say that. So you
really have to think about all of the potential ways
that you could be using this photograph from the beginning,
which is kind of hard, but you have to cross
all of those teas.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Yeah, I think, like you said, Liz, just crossing all
of your teas and making sure those are things that
you think about, because there's certainly things even from my
early days that I never really would have thought about
how we would be using photos and things like that too.
I also feel like, you know, like so many other industries,
I feel like the photographers have really buttoned up their
contracts as well too. So I think it's just good
communication between them and kind of how we are going
(22:25):
to be using them. I run into it because we
often will shoot our House of Bloom product also with
Meg and Bloom interiors, and so it's technically two different
instagrams and businesses, but it's you know, I'm the same company.
So it's hard sometimes when they still want you to
pay two different fees for using them for two different
(22:46):
applications too.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Oh that's interesting.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
The other thing that we had to go through and
we are continuing to go through, is that we have
over one hundred and fifty artists represented in the book,
so every single one of those artists has signed up
usage right as well. Those end up getting a little
bit more specific. And when we purchased the photos that
had already been shot but not used, there also had
(23:11):
to be so I was working with a lot of
photographers that we didn't actually know, but they had shot
the photos for our interior designer friends or our artists,
and so then we were going back and forth, and
some of those photographers did not shoot for the intended
purpose of a book, So then we were going back
and forth on contract of saying Okay, yes it can
(23:33):
show in your book, but I don't want you to
use it in any of your marketing materials. So then
there's a lot of really specific back and forth. So
that's a little bit hard if you're also buying photos
from people that you didn't have any part.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Of, which is interesting because who wouldn't want the marketing
out there of their work.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
It's so strange. It was the interior designers always wanted it.
The photographers, I think we're trying to be smart business people,
and they were saying, like, Okay, if you're going to
use it for any other purpose, then you should give
me more money, right, But you know, I didn't have
more money, so it was like, okay, well then we're
not using it in the marketing materials.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
So you know, it's just stuff like that. You have
to go case by case.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
But then in the future, as we are marketing in
the book, we're going to have to continue thinking like, oh,
we actually can't.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Use that photo for this purpose.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Yeah, So that's important for anybody who is listening to
think about that. When you have artists that you're showing
for a book, if you're a designer out there, you
may need to have that artist sign a release saying
it's okay. And if those images are being photographed by
a magazine, that could then potentially be used for the
(24:40):
magazine's marketing purposes or go out on a brochure from
a book publisher that falls into the advertising category and
that can be mucky mess. Yes, what about hiring a stylist.
So I'm going to as the magazine editor, I'm going
to say, I think every shoot has to have a
(25:02):
stylist because it's different for a living than it is
for photography that ends up in a book in a magazine.
I know, it's another expense. Everything's another expense.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Nothing is, Yeah, it is.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
I think it's free in this process. I think it's
so important because a stylist isn't there to design the room.
A stylist is there to make sure that the photography
has clarity, and those are two separate things. They're looking
for that art direction more than they are to redesign
a room.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Yeah, I think they bring up such a great point
in Chrysla because I think I know my mind has
shifted on this over the years, because in the past
I've always been like, well, I'm a designer, I know
what looks good. But I think even even just being
on a few shoots with you, that we've had the
fortune to be in seeing how your eye and how
just the layers look differently through the lens of photography
(25:50):
for publication. It is very different than what I'm using
on Instagram because those are just quick little uses versus
just I'm going to stare at this picture for five
minutes and really study it in what looks good. So
I do see the importance of a stylist, and I'm
actually glad. I feel like it's been brought more to
the forefront on conversations and then tier design world on
chats and things like that and why they're important, and
(26:13):
I see that movement happening for sure, just for all
in teer designers.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
I think that the stylist, when there is one on
the shoot, really can help with where the eye is
being pulled. And that was something that when I've had
the opportunity to work on some shoots as a stylist
early on when with Meredith, I learned so much from
very smart editors about where your eye was going to stop,
(26:39):
if things were overlapping in this strange way, or all
of those things that you may or may not think
about that are like end up making a photo editorial.
And so I think that's really nice to have someone
like a stylist on the shoot. And sometimes a great
photographer is going to be able to catch some of
those things too, and you do learn over time, but
just to have another set of eyes eyes as well.
(27:00):
And then also, gosh, those stylists works so hard. And
I almost think of it as like a day of
wedding planner because you, as the designer or the gallerist
or whatever, you might need the ones stepping into the photo.
So when I have not had another set of eyes,
I'm like in the photo and then I'm out looking
at the photo, and then I'm in, you know, and
(27:21):
it's like it becomes this larger thing. So if you
have a stylist on the shoot and they're the ones
that are really making sure that everything there's clarity, that
you're not going to have any of those like kind
of little eyebugs, any of those things that editorially the
editors are looking for for magazines.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
What about the writing? Because okay, I finally, because I'm
the last to get into any sort of trendo whatsoever,
I finally used chat GPT. I needed a job description
for an organization that I volunteer for that we needed
some help with, and so I didn't have time. I thought,
(28:00):
I'm going to use that chat GPT thing. AI It's
not the same though it really doesn't get the voice
quite right. So have either of you used it for
any sort of writing purposes, and I would say it's
a big, big, solid no go. If you want to
(28:21):
write for a book, like you need to have a writer,
a real human being, one with a heartbeat.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
One hundred percent the times that I have used chat
GPT for my business, we'll use it for like, hey,
what are some social media prompts that we should be
thinking about? And then we'll read it and then completely
rewrite it. So there are times that chat GPT can
be totally helpful a springboard, it can be excellent, But
(28:48):
to actually copy and paste and put into it all
of a sudden, it would be like reading everything that
a writer has written and then you like copy and
paste a chat GPT and then it's just like a
halt right, because it doesn't know your tone of voice,
it doesn't know your flow. It is a completely different thing.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
Well, you can just totally tell when even just as
simple as an Instagram post, when it's like, oh they
didn't even read that over to double chone, like you
can just tell the difference. So yeah, I mean, I
think you're definitely right, and it needs your voice. It
needs your tone, and I think, yeah, I one hundred percent.
I don't think a book should ever be written by
something like AI. I think it needs that that well,
(29:28):
integrity and just even the authenticity of the author and
what what you're trying to get people to spend money
for and buy and not just something that they pulled
off of the internet.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
That way, it's so interesting and I think, you know,
there are some examples now of an image that depicts
a bunch of people gathering in an event and some
of the people have six fingers.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
I mean, I think a couple of arms during the day,
I don't.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Yeah, right, yeah.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
I also I have followed this account on Instagram and
I all lot of the images are a I generated
And what I think is interesting about seeing it is
there are some beautiful things, but none of it is possible,
like where a foundation where a home could go. You
you think about like people are going like this is
my dream house and I'm like, yeah, but can you
(30:15):
tell that none of these rooms could flow and that
the this is a small home that has like seventeen rooms,
you know, all of these things like it When people
really stop to think about if things go together in
an image or in writing, You're like, no, of course
this was AI generated. The problem is that people don't
stop to think anymore.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Yeah, they don't know the difference.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
I'm curious, Liz, with Ai. Can you tell Ai to
create a beautiful painting that looks like a looks like
an oil painting? Will it do it?
Speaker 4 (30:49):
I mean, look, I think that this is a larger
conversation of what makes art art. I also I think
that a lot of artists are very, very very nervous
about you know, AI taking their images from the Internet
and like creating styles based on their work. So I
(31:10):
completely understand there are a lot of fears around stolen art. Basically,
the art that I have seen is missing something, and
so I think that that's where it goes back to,
like what is art and does a person have to
create it? Because is it missing soul without a person?
(31:31):
So I think there's just I see, it seems flat,
it doesn't seem right. It's the same way. What about
the writing. My husband is a creative director and a
writer for an advertising agency, and he's like, I'm not
worried that Ai is going to take my job anytime soon,
and I know that's a larger conversation in the marketing industry.
(31:52):
But he's like, but I can write and that thing can't.
So maybe years from now it will be better. But
same way with are. I just don't think the artists
should be worried that AI is going to take their
jobs yet.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Let's back to books.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
Let's talk a little bit about book marketing and what
the expectations are there. Because you've thought of this idea,
you've dreamed of being in a book author, you put
all the pieces together, handed it in a whole year
later it's printed. That's another thing people should know.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
You don't hand your.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
Get it back in a month. It oftentimes comes from
not this country and can take Yes, you're to be printed,
to have your physical copy, but then the book has
to be marketed, and oftentimes those costs fall on the author.
They're not taken care of. So let's talk a little
(32:44):
bit about charity events and public speaking engagements in all
of the places where those book signings, retail venues, sometimes
where those book signings may may happen. What are your
plans lists?
Speaker 4 (33:00):
Oh gosh, so we will start talking in December. My
book comes out April twenty first, twenty twenty six, so
we'll start talking in December about the book tour. I
have some friends in cities that are willing to co host,
and I think that that is a really lovely thing
because you can partner with another artist or a brand
or a business owner or something along those lines that
(33:22):
have contacts in that direct city, so that they're both
coming to see you the book, the talk, but also
support their friend. Right you may have seen Wishbone Kitchen.
I think she had a Meredith Hayden had just an
incredible book tour and book publicity, and she ended up
being on the New York Times bestseller list for like
seven or eight weeks. And I think part of that
(33:44):
is that she was very smart about her book tour,
where she was partnering with other people that she considers
friends in the industry, other chefs, other interesting people that
she knows, and so people were coming to see both
in the conversation, so that not every tour stop was
the exact same kind of like you're hoping that like
a fun guest is coming out at your Taylor Swift
(34:05):
concert sort of a thing. So finding some variability I
think is huge. But yes, so I am hiring a
PR team for kind of the last few months of
the book, so pre sales are already happening. My pre
sale time is pretty long, mostly because a friend found
(34:26):
it for sale on Target and I kind of went
back to the team being like, wait what, and the
team was like, oh, You're not really supposed to see
that yet. So anyway, so then we announced it because
it was like people were finding it on the internet.
It was for sale at Target, and so people were
finding it. So my pre sale time is like eight
or nine months that I'm going to be talking about
this book through presale, but most books usually end up
(34:50):
having like a three to four month time period. What
we're doing, for example, one of our marketing tactics is
that we have these book plates that I'm signing for
anybody that shows me that they have purchased the book,
and then each week we have a different artist that
is also signing the book plate. So you know, depending
on if you have a favorite artist that we represent
(35:13):
that's in the book, you know, your book could be
signed by both me and another artist. So just like
kind of interesting things. And then well as we get
closer to and we actually have some books in hand,
I can start sending it out to pre readers and too,
some influencers and things like that.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Those pre sales.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
Can we talk about pre sales for a second. Those
pre sales are so important. What they trigger is that
one they show your publishing company that you have been
working your butt off, that people want to buy your book,
and so they increase their marketing spend. Okay, so that's
(35:48):
one thing. There's your publisher, But the biggest deal is
that the Barnes and Nobles, the targets, the small independent bookshops,
those places that still actually have hardcome books will order
based on those pre sale numbers. It's showing that people, Okay,
people are buying this book, we want to have it
on our shelves. So that's really important. My agent was
(36:11):
telling me that, you know, you get a couple of
books that you get to see early on and while
the thousands of books are being printed overseas before they
come over on a barge, and so that some authors
keep their book in their purse and they're just anytime
they walk by a bookshop, they're like, hey, this is
my book, it's coming out, would you do it?
Speaker 2 (36:33):
So like there's a lot of I'm going.
Speaker 4 (36:36):
To be personally emailing buyers at museum gift shops because
I think that's a great place for my book to
be sold. So there's going to be a lot of
things that, like, my publisher is going to do a lot.
They are incredible. I'm so lucky to be with them,
but there's a lot that I'm going to be doing
on my own because i want this book to be
a success. Your first week of sales, if you're trying
(36:59):
to get onto bestseller line, includes all of those pre
sales because it's not exactly like a book is not
officially sold until it is shipped off and landed where
it's supposed to go. So my first week of sales
will include this eight months that I've been hustling for
pre sales. That's your best chance to get onto a
bestseller list, because your week two will only include that
(37:23):
seven days of sales. So you know, I've got eight
months now to try and make this book something special.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
It's fascinating, and have you you know, you kind of
talked about the timeline and have you actually had your
hands on a.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
Copy of it yet? No, I haven't yet. But what's
happening next is so my second pass is done. The
indexer is going through and doing the index and like
where you can find each artist on each page. You know,
all of that very important but more analytical work on
the book. Then the book is pretty much like stamped
(37:58):
and sealed, right, So then I get black and white
paperback version called a galley, and so that's when I
can start sending it out to a few important reviewers,
some marketing.
Speaker 2 (38:10):
People, things like that.
Speaker 4 (38:11):
It's kind of interesting because, like John Grisham, sending out
a galley is like you're reading John Grisham's book and
that's how But for me, you're missing color, You're missing
a lot of what I think is really special about
the book. So I don't know how much I'm going
to be sending the galleys out, because galleys can be
very sad sometimes because yeah, you're not getting the They're
(38:33):
not a great way to tell I think that they
are more useful perhaps when books are more were driven totally.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
Yes, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
It's like John Grisham's galley, like you don't care if
it's hardcover or if it's the galley, Like you're excited
to read it ahead of time. But for my book,
with all of the photos and everything, I just I
think it's gonna end up being kind of like want
won't so, And then I'll get a few hardcover cops
that I can use for very special purposes, but I'm
(39:05):
not going to be able to touch words in the
book pretty much like within the next week.
Speaker 3 (39:09):
I think we all remember when the character, the main
character Andy and the Devilwar's Praduct was on a us
chase to find the latest edition of Harry Potter.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 3 (39:21):
Amanda Priestley's twins.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
I'm not trying to their grandmothers.
Speaker 3 (39:26):
So maybe maybe for John Grisham and the Harry Potter series,
the galleys will work totally.
Speaker 4 (39:33):
Yeah, So we'll see what we end up doing. And
then we will get some books ahead of time before
they actually go to booksellers that we can use for
press marketing and that sort of thing, and so I'll
be able to start sending those out like a couple
of weeks ahead of time, and then you know, you
hope that people will then post about it, being like
this is a gorgeous book, you guys should buy it too,
and that ends up helping your pre sale orders and
(39:55):
all of that, you really start to throw out the
big guns, so to speak, like the last month.
Speaker 3 (40:01):
Well, and I think too that a lot of people
don't realize. They think, oh, you know, we give you
a book advance. A publisher gives a book advance and
then you know, the author will finish the book and
it's out of the publisher's hands. They've invested a lot
of their dollars in an author. So those expectations to
(40:24):
market it, to go on tour to promote are really they're.
Speaker 4 (40:28):
Big, yes, and it's also huge, like if you want
a book to you got to do the work even
after the book is done. This is the really important
part because technically, what they're sending you in your advance
is that they believe X amount of books are going
to be sold. Like that's a guarantee. So you are
try not that you are going to have to give
(40:50):
money back. You're not, but at the same time, like
you're part of that guarantee that those books are going
to sell. So that's what that advance really is for. Then,
for example, for my contract, I have like X amount
of books that have to sell before I start making
any additional money off of the book sales, and then
I think that happens very rarely for authors, that they
(41:11):
go beyond that number and they start getting residual checks.
That's the dream.
Speaker 3 (41:17):
I think it's rare, Meghan. So we know that Liz
is creating sort of a lesson driven book. How often
do you maybe maybe not you so much because you're
the principal designer, you've been doing this for a while,
But do you ever refer your junior designers to books
like these that are you know, where you can say,
(41:39):
open this up, or books that you go back to
for certain design principles or for something like to hang
an art piece.
Speaker 1 (41:51):
Definitely, no. I think there's definitely great resources and a
lot of those books, especially ones that have some little
more generic how tos or new designers or people that
are just design enthusiasts that want to know some of
those standard rules of how how far to hang the
shandily over the dining table, and like you said, how
to hi to hang your artwork. I think there's obviously
some very great general principles in those that you can
(42:13):
learn from and then know that some rules are meant
to be broken, and that you know sometimes your eye
is the best dictionary too, to like figure out what
makes the most sense too. So I think there's there's
a handful of books out there that are great for
designers to start with and just use as resources. And
because there's so much that you you don't learn in
school that's applicable in real life, especially in the residential world.
Speaker 3 (42:36):
Well, and there are also some things that you don't
do every day, like me, get situations, yeah, merges where
you I mean.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
Even in the nitty gritty since I'm not in the
technical stuff every day, I'm like, oh, something that I
used to just be able to like have on the
back of my hand and no memorize. I have to
be like, oh yeah, what was that again? Like I'll
have to look it up sometimes too.
Speaker 3 (42:55):
So well, and Liz, that must be so special for
you knowing that because you're your book is more lesson driven,
more educational versus a coffee table book that let's be honest,
people get coffee table books and sometimes never open them. Yeah,
so your book has some longevity potential to it as well.
Speaker 4 (43:15):
That's the hope that this book in particular is for
people no matter where they are in the art journey,
because it really is like how to find your style,
how to start talking to an artist or a gallery.
Here are some important things to know about buying art. Okay,
you've bought the art, let's install it. Okay, you've installed
the artwork, but you need to store it for a
period of time.
Speaker 2 (43:35):
What should you do?
Speaker 4 (43:37):
What are the types of environments? What is the light
that you can have on your art? What are the
humidity conditions that the artwork can be in? So I
hope that it becomes a reference point of no matter
where people are in their journey of collecting, they can
come back and be like, oh, yeah, I have to
pack art up? What materials should I be wrapping this
(43:59):
art piece? In that sort of thing?
Speaker 1 (44:01):
Well, and Liz, you've already shared what the cover looks like,
which is beautiful share bank the audience. And as a designer,
I love a beautiful crafted exterior of the book as
well too, because half the time that's what I'm going
for when I'm styling things is what does it look like?
Does it have a graphic nature, is it a color?
Is it neutral or is it just you know, big
and bold? So yeah, it's I think you did an
(44:22):
excellent job with that.
Speaker 2 (44:23):
Thanks.
Speaker 4 (44:23):
I really appreciate. It was something that we went back
and forth about. You know, I think Aaron Gates has
done an excellent job of like really thinking about her spines.
You know, we wanted to use a color that stood
out and felt modern, It felt of you know, of
twenty twenty six. We wanted to you know, the cover photo.
(44:44):
I mean, it just says so much like does it
feel inviting to you? Is that a photo that like,
oh gosh, I could never achieve that, or is that
something that I could achieve. There were just so many
conversations that we had about all of the photography options,
and I'm I'm really pleased with what we ended up with.
Speaker 3 (44:59):
Well, we cannot wait to flip through the pages. Thank you,
Liz and Megan. It's been fun to talk about the
book process, and I know that all of us will
be adding more and more books to our libraries because
they never go away and that's a good thing.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Boulevard Beat.
If you enjoyed this episode, please follow along and leave
a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen
so you never miss an episode, and of course, follow
your hosts on Instagram, at Megan bloom Interiors, at CHRISA. Rossbund,
and at Liz Legit. We'll be back next week as
we take a stroll down another boulevard
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