This week we held our first full editorial meeting with editors from Bloomsbury.
It is still two years until The New Sylva is published, and probably nine months before the editorial, design and marketing teams ‘launch’ the book within Bloomsbury. Between now and then some critical decisions need to be taken. The authors met with editors, Richard Atkinson and Natalie Hunt, to decide page size, layout concepts, and various style issues. We have now decided the book length (over 400 pages), and started discussing paper weight and type, fonts and other important issues.
We looked at the flatplan, which Sarah Simblet has prepared as more than 200 thumbnail sketches showing every spread (see above), to show both text flow and illustrations. This is being used in deciding chapter length, distribution of illustrations, and the flow of information throughout the future book.
After a productive meeting, the authors took the editors into an ancient forest to see some oaks that were already 600 years old while Evelyn was writing his Sylva in 1662.
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This looks like a terrific book – restores faith in publishing
Thanks Andrew. I agree very much regarding your comment on publishing although I suspect that it will be this type of illustrated book that may survive best against the onslaught of digital media. However flash the presentation and convenient the medium there is no replacement, and never will be, for holding a beautiful book in your hand. I say this as a real enthusiast for all things technical.
Reblogged this on Gabriel Hemery and commented:
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A glimpse inside your hulking task. Thanks.
Thanks. Hopefully less a hulking task, more a sylvan delight! Let’s hope that we don’t get lost amongst the wood due to the trees.