Behind the Scenes: The Making of my New Book

From writing to photography and design

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Hi, hello! As you may or may not have heard, I have a new book, LIFESTYLED, coming out this year (December 3rd, to be exact) and it’s finally time to talk about it! I am very excited about this book - it was honestly so hard to keep the details under wraps for the past year.

This book is the natural follow up to my first book MINIMALISTA, which details how to edit, organize, and elevate every room in your home. This book is like MINIMALISTA, but for your entire life. I almost called it MINIMALISTA YOUR LIFE which would have been a terrible title, but does accurately encapsulate the premise.

Behind the scenes: the making of LifeStyled

LIFESTYLED breaks down how to leverage principles of minimalism and organization to help you streamline and simplify everything - from your busy schedule to your health and wellness, career and finances, and even your relationships. Here’s a little behind-the-scenes peek inside the process.

Step One: The Outline

A non-fiction book proposal typically includes an introduction, a table of contents, and a sample chapter so editors can get a good sense of the scope of your book. This means by the time you sign a book deal with a publisher, you’ve already mapped out the entire book in your head from start to finish. I think this is the most difficult (and important) part of the process because your book outline will set the foundation for all of the work ahead. In this case, I knew the structure I used for MINIMALISTA (foundational toolkit, then practical application) had proven successful, so I used a similar framework. Sneak peek, below!

Photography by Vivian Johnson; Featured home of designer Chrissy Hunter

Step Two: The Writing

I have a simple formula I’ve used to write all of my books and this is it: I dedicate two weeks to each chapter. During week one I write a messy (read: low pressure) first draft, and I use week two to tighten up and refine the chapter before moving onto the next. This fast paced process ensures that I don’t get stuck in an obsessive doom spiral because I have to KEEP IT MOVING.

Commiting to this two-weeks-per-chapter process means I can complete a 12-chapter book in just six months. Note: it will be far from perfect at this point, but I will have completed a manuscript, and it will be in good enough shape that my editorial team can give constructive suggestions and feedback. The editing process is lengthy and comprehensive, and there are many talented people working hard behind the scenes. In addition to my wonderful editor Kim Keller, there is an entire editing team assigned to my book who fact-check, grammar check, and even tone check my work. I am super grateful for all of them.

Writing is always better with treats

For those of you struggling to overcome writer’s block, imposter syndrome, or perfectionist tendencies, I cannot stress enough how useful it is to commit to writing a “bad first draft.” Even if it’s truly terrible (it won’t be), you will have gotten out of overwhelm and into action. I know we’re not supposed to quote Woody Allen anymore, but I do subscribe to his maxim that eighty percent of success is showing up.

Step Three: Photography

My goal was to write a highly actionable personal development book that was also lovely to look at, so naturally I teamed up with my longtime collaborator, photographer Vivian Johnson (this is our third book together).

Unlike my last book, ORGANIZED LIVING, this project didn’t require any travel or research or complicated production schedule. To stay on budget and timeline, we kept our photo shoots local to the San Francisco Bay Area, and teamed up with some of my favorite local designers (Caitlin Flemming, Chrissy Hunter, Brodie Jenkins, Becca Meyer, and Paige Block) who graciously opened up their homes for the book, and even jumped in to help with styling.

For each photoshoot, I made a very rough shoot list (meal prep, friends gathering for a party, a beautiful outdoor moment, a work moment, etc.), rounded up necessary props, and then spent one day at each location capturing the visuals I envisioned for the book. This is by far my favorite part because it’s so creative and collaborative and we get to eat all of the props when we’re done.

We like food! We like flowers! Shooting with Vivian Johnson and Paige Block in Marin, CA.

Step Four: Design

Once the manuscript and photography have been submitted, we move into the design phase of the project. Also so, so fun! This book is much more text-centric than my previous books but of course I cared deeply about the aesthetics. Art director, Betsy Stromberg, understood and nailed my vision, and I am so thrilled with the soothing neutral colors and elevated design she came up with (more next week!).

Once the page layout, font, and colors are confirmed, Betsy creates a “book map” and we dive into the photo selection process, pairing each image with the appropriate place in the book so it flows nicely and feels cohesive.

Sample book map for LifeStyled with image TBD

Many of the images we have to work with are super similar, so Vivian often weighs in on which one is the best one so I don’t lose my mind obsessing. See below.

Photography options from the home of Caitlin Flemming. I brought the lettuce!

This entire process takes roughly a year of work, and I am not good at keeping secrets so it’s a miracle I made it to this point without leaking any details. The publishing process was a total mystery to me before I signed my first book deal, so if you are curious about anything, just ask away in the comments, below. I’m also working on a new How to Get Published workshop with journalist and author,

Laura Fenton

- coming soon.

**Stay tuned for the cover reveal, pre-order links, and some more sneak peeks coming soon. Fun things are ahead!