A FEW MONTHS AGO I submitted an illustrated book that the publisher intended to print in black and white.
I was actually bummed out by that idea because my strength is in color, illustrated books. And black and white feels so 1950s.
On the other hand, I know that with great images and artsy designers it’s possible to produce an attractive illustrated book in black and white.
But with this particular book, A Quick Guided Tour Through the Bible, the editorial team must have seen red.
And yellow.
And blue.
Those are the colors it takes to produce a book in living color.
The editorial team decided to scrap the idea of a black and white book. They took the plunge into full color.
Last week the editor emailed me. I haven’t worked with him on any illustrated books yet. This is our first one together. So I guess he wanted to check in with me before they got too far into the process of bringing the book to 3-D.
This is a complex job. Only the good Lord knows how many pictures I submitted; I haven’t bothered to count them. And this book has more maps than any other book I have ever written.
The editor said the designers had some questions about how I wanted to approach the book. So he asked me if I had any particular design effect in mind.
I understand that the response I sent made the designers happy. So I thought you might be interested in reading what I said.
At this point, especially with the book going full color, if you’ve got designers who know the heck what they’re doing, turn the dawgs loose. Let them design. Give design the primacy. I’ll cut copy to fit or enhance the design. I’ll write copy to fill in as needed. I’ll find other images as needed.
Let them figure out how to create a book that will win design awards, and I’ll work with them to make the editorial elements fit their needs.
So I’m not thinking about giving them a long leash. I’m thinking we take them off the leash and tell them to attack.
I saw the first designed pages on Wednesday.
Bow-WOW.
Good dawgs.
Note to self: Tag the email you sent that editor. Keep it for future use.
If there’s one thing creative people appreciate more than encouragement, it’s freedom.
Bible Gateway Blogger Grid Member
I love the illustrated style of your reference books — [some content edited out] “The Complete Guide to the Bible” is a nice reference book with some commentary and the “Illustrated Bible Dictionary” is a great simple reference book — I learned quite a bit from it (and I am not a “newbie”) — I think these books are great for Community/Book and Bible Study. They are not preachy (or dogmatic — trying to get the reader saved on every chapter Lol). I hope they make some of the Illustrated books into a Kindle Edition too.
Thanks Wayne. Color, illustrated books about the Bible has pretty much become my brand. They are the books I most enjoy doing. But, there’s also a place for just words. At the moment, I’m working on color projects. So I’m enjoying it a bunch.