Betsy Mitchell brought you the initial installment in this new weekly feature in which we will attempt to give you a look at just what it is the editors of Del Rey/Spectra do. As she mentioned last week, we just don't sit at our desks reading manuscripts all day. As an editor working on the "non-fiction" list of Star Wars books, our way of distinguishing between the novels and the behind the scenes/Essential Guide type books, I spend much of my day working with artists, designers, and our publicity and marketing teams.
Currently, I am hard at work on Bonnie Burton's upcoming book The Star Wars Craft Book. The book features fun Star Wars related crafts for all skill levels. There are felt finger puppets of characters such as Greedo, Yoda, and General Grievous; a giant Jabba the Hutt body pillow; a stuffed Wampa doll made from washcloths; and a big AT-AT Herb Garden created using soup cups, Pringles cans, and duct tape. The book is a lot of fun and sure to bring a smile to anyone.
Part of the process for this book was to photograph all of the crafts. So I flew out to San Francisco with the book's designer Brad Foltz, of Foltz Design, and there we met up with Bonnie Burton and the photographer Bob Sondgroth. We spent four full days crafting and taking pictures. Morning to night Bonnie and her helpers, myself included at times, would put finishing touches on the crafts as Brad art directed Bob and his assistant, Steve, on the set of the photo shoot. At the end of the day Brad and I would retreat to the hotel and review the day's photos and start placing them in the page layouts. The days were long and exhausting (I can't tell you how many times I jabbed a finger with a needle) but they were also incredibly fun and further proved to me how much fun this book will be. Plus, I discovered I could make my very own Tooka plush doll (see photo below)! I was most impressed with myself.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so instead of more of my rambling here are a bunch of photos I took on set that are worth thousands of words. Click on each one to see a larger version.
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I'll be back soon to show off some of the finished layouts from the book.
Look for The Star Wars Craft Book by Bonnie Burton March 29, 2011, or pre-order now from your favorite bookseller.
Check out the previous post: Cubicle at the End of the Universe: Betsy Mitchell
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