Finally, after all the posts about other people's wonderful work, and all the teasing about supplies I've been buying, I've genuinely started working on Carlos's book, the body is as solid as the thought that holds it in place (and yes, it's in all lowercase). Over the last couple of days, since finishing up a recent paying editing project, I've been processing more of Carlos's photos of Buenos Aires graffiti and putting together the layout for the book in InDesign. Just in case you don't believe me, here's a pic of the title page (click thumbnail for larger image). 
The pages are 8.5x11 right now, but will be trimmed to a smaller size later; that's what all the white space is about. The Spanish side of the book will have the same layout and use the same pictures, but I haven't done that, yet.
And to mark the occasion, I just got a new printer that prints large formats, so I can print the signatures on 11X17 paper. I bought a brand-new Epson R1800 on ebay in a very exciting auction, where I was nearly outbid at the last moment. Even with the escalated bidding, I saved about $90 on the retail price. On top of that, the guy I bought it from lives in New Jersey and dropped it off at my house last night, 6 hours after the auction ended. Fastest ebay delivery on record, I suspect.
I haven't plugged it in or even taken it out of the box yet because I've got one more item to buy for the "studio" before I'm ready for production, and that's my IKEA free-standing counter. This will go under the window where my worktable is now, so I can stand up and build things at the right work height. The table will shift over perpendicular to the counter, where my storage cabinet and computer desk are now, giving me an L-shaped workspace. The cabinet will go over where my folding bookcase is now, by the door, and most of what's in the cabinet now will go in the free-standing counter drawers. The only thing I'll have to get rid of is my computer desk, which is a shame, because I've really liked it. It just won't fit anywhere else. Sigh. Oh, for a loft!
Monday, I order my counter and go look for paper for the signatures. Tuesday I start building the cover. I'm still debating how to fix the signatures in, whether I want to glue or sew them in. I kind of like the idea of sewing them in with a Japanese-style stab stitch through the cover (which would make it look like it has "stitches") and scoring the paper, since it's only 10 pages with overlays. The other option is to pamphlet-sew the signature to endsheets and glue one side of the endsheet to the boards. I'm not keen on that one. Too much stress on the endsheets, I think, though it's very sturdy paper. Well, that's what mock-ups are for. More pictures and progress reports later.
Love, love the counter. Isn't it a rush buying equipment for your studio? For some reason, it's particularly exciting to get a new work surface. Congratulations! Here's hoping it meets all your needs.
Posted by: BookGirl | October 14, 2007 at 05:37 PM
Yeah, I'm psyched about the counter and the printer both. It's a little scary though, since I'm working mostly off my savings right now. It's a big, scary step, but I'm really determined to make it work. I do love having the right tools and the right space to work in though. Thanks for dropping by and for the encouragement!
Posted by: Lee Kottner | October 14, 2007 at 08:11 PM