Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The book's cook!

My wife loves to cook. And I am very grateful for that. I get to enjoy some really amazing meals each night. I watch sometimes as she takes all of the varied ingredients, carefully putting them together in just the right quantities and order, and then producing a meal that looks great, smells great, tastes great, and is healthy for me!!

So, I was thinking about book design and how I go through a very similar process in creating a book. I first consider the final outcome, and then collect all of the ingredients, making them all work together to produce a cohesive product.

The authors provide me with the ingredients to use and the kind of meal they want. It is up to me to use my pantry of goodies to make it taste great, smell great, look great, and be healthy for the reader.

And so, after all these years of "cooking books," I can consider myself the book's cook! And I don't have to worry about cutting myself! Well, paper cuts . . .

2 comments:

  1. John. John. John.

    You can make it sound as if it's a matter of "ingredients" and "measures."

    But, we know it's not really only that.

    Your parable one step further......

    We both know the MAIN ingredient in your wife's marvelous cooking is -- her love for the world's greatest book designer.

    And, that's the reason your books come out so great.

    Because you care and love not only the books -- but for their authors.

    I thought I was only getting a book designer.

    I also got a buddy.

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  2. This is my first question posed to your blog-site:

    What explanation is your public relations dept. planning to issue on the following burning question:

    Why does your international readership have to wait since August 2010 for inspiration to be posted on this blog?

    As a man well-respected and loved, we need your periodic (not so long) positive input on life.

    A fan.

    ReplyDelete