The Making of Kooky Pets book. Chapter 1
With this very post starts my new adventure of sharing with you the process of making my forthcoming book: Kooky Pets. If any of you have been wondering what I’ve being doing about during the last weeks since I announced it, I’ll let you know: making decisions.
Sometimes, this is the most tedious part of a project but it saves a lot of energy and frustration when you have our goals clear before you actually start taking action. That’s why I always like to make all the important and small decisions before anything else. These include the general scope of the project, content, design and artistic direction, texts, publishing, marketing and pricing.
The task of taking decisions can be a little frustrating at times. For me, the most important goal is always to remain true to the main spirit of the project and to follow my instinct, instead of being carried away by fears. In this case, the original spirit of the book is the experience of creating a collection of unique creatures with the priceless collaboration from you, my blog readers. That’s what the real heart of the project is so my only concern should be to keep it rolling before any side considerations. It is supossed to be a continuation of the exciting experiment that we embarked on last year, when I invited you to help create a bunch of imaginary pets.
About the fears, I want to share with you a few confessions. Considering that so far this is going to be a self-published book, there are quite a few things that could dampen this beautiful experience:
- The small distribution and small reach of this publication.
- The lack of monetary compensation.
- The possibility of not seeing this work re-published ever.
- The doubts about how much this will really help me promote my career as an author/illustrator…
Now, the good news is that I’m leaving all these clouds behind to just concentrate on the positive aspects of it all:
- This is such an unique and beautiful project. It’s fun and it has been created with the illusion and enthusiasm of other people who make it even more exciting. It’s worth to be experienced!
- Throughout the Kooky Pets workshop at this blog, I have already experienced how other people can feel joy about it. I want to take this a step further with a book that people can enjoy.
- In terms of success, money and reputation, you never really know what’s going to happen next when you put out a book. So, let’s enjoy it and expect the best from it!
- Being able to share my world with other people is the best that I can expect to happen from my work. After all, that’s the ultimate reason why I’m doing this. Even if I only sell a single book, if the feeling is authentic and it’s really there, then it’s worthwhile.
- Any more reasons? Here is an important one: I don’t really believe in making decisions with my logical mind in the so called ‘conscientious’ way. All the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life were from the most intuitive part of myself, made with passion, illusion and without fear. Every time I don’t do things this way it seems to turn wrong for me…
In my next post, I will share with you some thoughts about the spirit of this project and how important your feedback is in the making of this book. Before that, I’d like to let you know about the most practical specifications of the book from the publishing point of view. You’ve been asking quite a lot and I wouldn’t like to take advantage of your patience so I don’t want to keep this uncertainly any more. You want to know a little more about the Kooky Pets book? There you go:
Kooky Pets Book details:
Title: Kooky Pets (provisional working title, YTBD)
Author: Text, illustration and design by Koldo Barroso; featuring the conceptual collaboration of the Kooky Pet Team!
Hardcover. 60 to 70 full color pages. (YTBD)
Product Dimensions: 7×7 inches
Manufacturer: Blurb
Publisher: self published (open to offers from publishers)
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Imagination, Illustration.
Age: Young adults and adults. 12+
Release date: Spring 2010 (YTBD).
Pricing:
- 1st Limited edition $25 to $35 (YTBD).
- 2nd edition will be more expensive. (YTBD).
- Ebook edition downloadable for free.
Editions:
- 1st edition only available for contributors and commenters of the Kooky Pets in this blog. Hand signed. Includes extra bonus material.
- 2nd edition doesn’t include bonus material and is not hand signed. It will be published later than the Limited edition.
- eBook edition. It will be published later than the former book editions.
Plot: Inside all of us lives a secret creature called “Kooky Pet” who catalyzes our most intimate dreams and wishful yearnings. This book comprises a collection of portraits of these absurd and fun pet characters, including research information and witness descriptions.
Compiled with the collaboration of a team of erudite scientists, this is the product an Internet and social media experience where blog readers are co-creators as well as protagonists.
I’m so excited! And the free ebook will be a great way to show it off to friends, too.
I, too, am excited! I’ve heard and read good things about Blurb. It’s understandable about the fears you listed above, but it is about the journey. No need to go it alone. Thanks for sharing and allowing your Kooky Pet Team to be a part of that journey.
don’t worry about any of that stuff, koldo! you are so talented, and these guys are such fun little creatures, already it’s a huge success! i can’t wait for the book
Thank you for sharing the emotions involved in stepping out on the limb of uncertainty. As talented as you are, I must say I was surprised that you had any feelings of self doubt.
You have provided a life lesson without your being aware of it.
From the perspective of a child – “Why do grown-ups always think so much?” “Why can’t Mr. B just do it the way he wants and not think about it?” And so the conversation goes………
Sending wishes of only the best for you and yours.
Thank you all for joining me in the rollercoaster of excitement. With your support, I feel can do anything.
To be honest, I’m not really worried about the future. All I want to do is to share this experience with you or it would make no sense at all. Thank you for sharing your priceless energy!