Author Archives: cabinart

I Saw Two Books and They Look Great

On Friday, FedEx brought me a book with 2 sample books, The Cabins of Wilsonia, in it. Each had a slightly smashed corner. (I know how NOT to package the books when they get mailed to you.)

I applied the decal to the cover of each and it looks really good! Nope, you don’t get to know yet.

Next, my husband carefully measured a book while I called a packaging supply company. We found 2 potential boxes, and they are shipping a sample of each so I can try them today.

No worries – I’ve done business with this company for about 25 years. They are NOTHING like the printer and binder – they say it and they do it when they say they will.

On Wednesday I will show you the cover of the book. I am waiting until the person whose cabin is on the cover sees it first.

THE CABINS OF WILSONIA BOOK SIGNING

The books, The Cabins of Wilsonia, are supposed to arrive today. This may mean they arrive at some truck depot in Fresno where they sit over the weekend or it may mean a big rig comes to the hardware store in Three Rivers. (Bless Mike McCoy and the Three Rivers Mercantile for making their turn-around space and fork lift available to me!)

No matter when they arrive in Three Rivers, I will be bringing them (not all 1529, but a reasonable transportable amount) to Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery on Tuesday, December 16.

Here. Let’s make this easy:

The Cabins of Wilsonia

BOOK SIGNING

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 12:30 – 5:30

125 SOUTH B STREET, EXETER, CALIFORNIA

IF YOU PRE-ORDERED:

If the books come on today, I will begin shipping to those who live far away on Monday. LET ME KNOW IF YOU PLAN TO PICK THE BOOK UP IN PERSON SO I DON’T MAIL IT FIRST!!
If the books come on Monday, I’ll try to ship on Tuesday a.m. before the book signing.
If you paid for shipping and would rather not wait, come to the book signing and bring your receipt. I will refund your $5 mailing.
If you didn’t pay for shipping, bring your receipt and retrieve your copy.
If you live far away or can’t come on Tuesday, I will be there again the following Tuesday, same time.

DETAILS FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T PRE-ORDER:

The price is $81, which includes tax BUT NOT SHIPPING.
If you want a book shipped to someone, the price is $86. (Yes, I know it is a weird amount – I often specialize in weird.)
If you want to order the book, you may do so using Paypal (the send money option) or through the mail (I accept checks) to P.O. Box 311, Three Rivers, CA 93271

I do NOT accept credit cards – bring cash or checks if you plan to buy a book.

(This is because I don’t have a smart phone or a Square, because I don’t get cell phone service where I live – unbelievable, I know. Yes, I have AT&T. No, it doesn’t work at my address. Yes, I am sort of glad about that.)

Where is “The Cabins of Wilsonia” Now?

This is the tracking info from the freight company. Also includes the printer and binder names and addresses if you want to write to them and say what you think of their service. . .

Probably not a good idea.

Now I want to know if the books will arrive in Three Rivers on Friday or if they will sit in a depot in Fresno all weekend.

The Cabins of Wilsonia In Transit!

Today I got a tracking # from the book printer. Conway Freight shows that there are 1529 books, The Cabins of Wilsonia, on 5 pallets, last in Cincinnatti, Ohio.

The estimated delivery date is December 12, which is Friday. It is supposed to rain on Friday. We need rain.

They will come to the Three Rivers Mercantile. Don’t you just love small towns? That is the best store, with the greatest owner and employees!

We had visions of taking the “new” pickup with the trailer and the Botmobile to retrieve the books. Not if it is raining! We need the rain. (I said that already.)

When they arrive, I will order shipping boxes, apply the decals to the covers, sign each book, wait for the shipping boxes to arrive, fidget, check the UPS tracking #s, learn how to print postage from my computer or visit the local Post Office to learn how to best facilitate sending all those books at the busiest time of year, the time I was hoping to avoid by ordering the books in July.

Never mind. They are coming. Rain is coming too. We need the rain. (In case you were wondering. . .)

New News

The Cabins of Wilsonia didn’t ship on Friday.

Now the binder says it will ship today, Monday, December 8, 2014.

Do you believe them?

It is a little hard to not be cynical. Time to go outside, sit in the sunshine, and knit a little to take the edge off all this, ahem, umm, stuff.

NEWS??

Today I went digging around in my old emails and paperwork from the printer. I found what I think is the name of the binder. After Googling it and finding a phone #, I called the place. OF COURSE there was an automatic phone answering system, which listed names that meant nothing to me. The last choice was “zero”, so I pressed that and got some dude’s voicemail.

I left a message with my name and number, asking him if I had a book in his bindery and asking him to call me back.

Silence.

Suddenly, I had an email from the so called “customer service” representative. It said this:

The binder just called and said they plan to ship books on Friday. I’ll let you know when I have confirmation.

Coincidence? Probably not.

A sure thing? More will be revealed. . .

The Cabins of Wilsonia may arrive before Christmas.

Words From the Book Printer

Feeling antsy, anxious, and many other sorts of nervous and negative emotions, I emailed the printer’s “customer service” representative to inquire about the upcoming book, The Cabins of Wilsonia.

Multiple rows of knitting later (I don’t smoke or bite my nails), I received this response:

I apologize for the delayed response.

I contacted our Purchasing dept for shipment details. It turns out that your books have not shipped yet. All we know at this time is that due to mechanical problems with their binding line they were unable to bind and case bound books for 4 days. It sounds like they are up and running again and are prioritizing the backlog of work. Our Purchasing guy is doing what he can to get firm details on when your books will be able to ship.

I know this is very distressing news. I’ve made it very clear to everyone on how important it is to get books shipped. We are doing everything we can to work with the binder to get them shipped as soon as possible.

Don’t you feel reassured? I think she meant to say “any case bound” rather than “and case bound”. I bet she is a bit anxious and nervous every time my name pops up in her in-box.

Excuse me. I need to return to my knitting.

Something Tangible!

The decals for the cover of the book have arrived and they look WONDERFUL!

Sorry, you’ll just have to wait until the book is here to see them. I’m just so doggone mean about that kind of thing. At least you know that I can keep a secret. 😎

Now, if a truck with 2 pallets of books would just arrive, maybe I could sleep through the night without bad book dreams.

The Cabins of Wilsonia IS coming soon, I just know it!

Meanwhile, I’ve been messing around with the look of this blog. It’s just nervous fidgeting.

2 News Items About The Cabins of Wilsonia Book

Are you wondering why I have been silent? Easy answer – I had nothing to report.

Now I have 2 things to tell you and one reminder.

1. The book printer agreed to have the book binder ship directly to me. The proposed date of arrival at my studio is November 21. Time will tell. . .

2. The book printer is sending me the cover sticker. According to UPS tracking, it will be at my studio on Wednesday, November 12.

After the books arrive, I will order shipping boxes and then will apply the cover stickers and sign books and ship to those of you who pre-ordered, Lord willing and the creek, et cetera. . .

Nope, you don’t get to see what it looks like until it is in your hands! Maybe I will post a picture of one on this blog, but I think it will be more fun for you if you first see it when you open your box. (I don’t know about you, but I certainly could use a little fun around here!)

The reminder: The early bird price of $70, including tax and mailing, is good until November 19. You can mail a check made out to Cabin Art, P.O. Box 311, Three Rivers, CA 93271 or use the Paypal button here and your Paypal account.

The early bird price is now expired. The book is now $86, which includes tax and mailing.

While We Are Waiting

I got word on the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia, but until I see it, I don’t feel confident about it. As it gets closer or if there is confirmation of something, then I will let you know.

Meanwhile, back at the drawing board, a cabin owner wasn’t thrilled with the way her cabin will appear in the book. She timidly asked a few questions, because she is kind that way, and I told her that I can redraw it for her any way she would like. Being sweet, she said, “I don’t want to add to your work.” I said, “That’s how I earn my living!!” We laughed, and then she said she would like me to redraw the cabin for her. (This is called a “commission”.)

I took many photos, we had some conversations to clarify details, and here is both the first and the second drawing of her cabin.

As it appears in the book

As she requested it

I completely understand. People like to see their cabins as they envision them. For the book, I showed cabins in part, occasionally in whole, and with many details. This involved cropping. If every page showed one cabin in its entirety, the book would be boring.

Trust me on this. I am a professional. 😎