Planning meeting

End of last month I had my planning meeting with Search Press.  This is the last thing I had to do before I can properly start writing.  I was advised not to write too much before then because we don't fully decide upon the content of the book until that meeting.

So for the last couple of months I've been planning my book, breaking it down into sections and subsections, deciding what best fits where, what to include and what not to include.  I want to make the book as comprehensive as possible but I also have to consider that if I try to cover too much I won't be able to go into much detail so it's a fine balance. I've been using some great writing software which has made it easy to plan, but more about that in another post.

My editor Edd

I met my editor, the aptly named Edd, and luckily he was happy with my plan for the book.  So rather than discussing the content of the book it was more about allocating space to each section planned, establishing the word count and sorting deadlines.

The book has 6 large sections with smaller subsections.  Rather than write the whole book and then send it to him to edit I'll be submitting a section around every 6 weeks.  That way he can start editing one section whilst I write the next.  My overall deadline is April to have the whole book written as it goes to print in June.  Ideally I'd like to have written most of it by December as I hate leaving things too close to the deadline and having to rush. Plus I think it would be nice to start 2014 knowing that most the hard work on the book has been done already. 

I also got to meet with Juan the head of art and talk about the overall look of the book, what kind of images we'll be using, rough layout ideas and the cover.  I also met with Mary the publicity manager so we could talk about the marketing of the book.

The other thing we decided on was the title for the book....but more about that in a future post.

At the moment my plan is to write the first section of the book this week.  I've sent my son to stay with my brother for the week so I have 6 whole days child free in which to write!  Fingers crossed by the weekend the first section of the book will be written and with the publishers.

Sewing Week

I may not have managed much work last week but I did fit in more sewing than usual.   My son was off school sick last Monday but was happy to play in the playroom where my sewing machine was so I managed to squeeze a bit of sewing in.  I made a needlebook and a quilted scissor case so I could carry a sewing kit in my handbag without worrying about anything sharp poking through.

On the Tuesday I had a meeting with Julie the editor Sewing World Magazine and Will from Abakhan Fabrics came along.  We were discussing features ideas for next year, got a feeling I'll be doing a lot of writing!

After Julie left I gave Will a hand sewing lesson, he has decided to learn to sew this year so I thought I'd start him off with the basics and get him making a pin cushion.  That's why I wanted to make my sewing kit safe to take with me. Doesn't he look proud?

Then on Saturday I went to Venn School of Sewing in Cardiff where they were holding a Dress a Girl Around The World sewing weekend so I made a pillowcase dress.  I would have liked to stay for the whole weekend and made several more but unfortunetly my husband has had manflu all week and passed it onto me. Now feeling rather rough, but on the plus side if I'm still ill then I may get to do some more sewing instead of working this week.  I struggle to just do nothing but sewing is relaxing and surely medicinal too.

Dress a Girl Sewing Session

Above is my pillowcase dress.  The pillowcase I was using had a couple of little marks on it so I embroidered some stars over the top of the marks.

I also managed to pick up some great storage boxes for my fabric (which keeps overspilling the huge amount of storage I already have!).  2 for £10 in The Works these boxes are big, bright, colourful and sturdy, you can view them online here there's other designs in the shops themselves too.  I bought 4 from the shop but then ordered another 4 online when I got home as my son and husband kept trying to pinch mine! I got very tempted by The Village Haberdashery Sale yesterday so have tons more fabric coming later this week - good thing I bought more storage ;-)