I'm Writing a Book!

Hello friends! So today is my 28th birthday, and I thought what better way to celebrate than to let you in on a little secret I’ve been keeping for the last few months? You may have noticed my blog posts and newsletters have been pretty sparse since the New Year. That’s because I’ve been spending all of spare time (aside from running an interior design business and taking care of a baby!) working on a very big, very exciting project.

I’m writing a craft book!

If you felt like that was a little out of left field just now, welcome to my brain last September when I was first approached by my now editor. I’ve been blogging for nearly 8 years now but I never really considered myself a writer. Needless to say, that is changing now! I have been thoroughly enjoying the book writing process so far and I’m excited to share more details with you on what’s been going on behind the scenes here at Stevie Storck Design Co.!

What the book is going to be about

My book is all about crafting and decorating your home with artificial flowers! Faux florals, greenery and plants are experiencing a renaissance in the home decor world. Never before have they been more lifelike or more widely available than they are now. In my own home and for my interior design clients, I always mix faux in with fresh because it’s beautiful and practically maintenance-free! And for crafting, you just can’t beat the longevity and versatility of faux. In my book (official title coming soon!), I’ll teach you how to create lovely, long-lasting decor for your home using silk flowers and artificial greenery. There will be DIY’s for every season, including tabletop arrangements, wreaths and unique decor projects along with lots of tips, tricks and techniques I’ve learned along the way! The book will be published in November and available wherever books are sold.

How it all happened

Back to September of 2018. I was just coming back from maternity leave, and trying desperately to navigate running an interior design business while being the primary caregiver of a 3 month old baby. One day, I get an email from someone named Tiffany from Fox Chapel Publishing. Tiffany is an Acquisitions Editor which means it’s her job to acquire new manuscripts for publication, either by contacting existing writers or recruiting new writers, which is what she did with me! She told me she had been wanting to propose a book on crafting with silk flowers and had come across an old DIY wreath project of mine via Pinterest. I’m pretty sure it was this one or maybe this one. Anyway, she said she enjoyed reading the tips I wrote along with the tutorial and asked if I would be interested in authoring a book. We had phone call a few days later to discuss the details and over the next couple of weeks we brainstormed ideas together for the proposal. The book proposal was presented to the Acquisitions Team at the end of September, and then it became a waiting game. I stayed in touch with Tiffany over the months, but by the time Thanksgiving rolled around I felt pretty sure the project wasn’t happening. I was hopeful, but also cautious. I was super excited about the concept we came up with and flattered to even have been approached about writing a book! Becoming a published author wasn’t necessarily on my bucket list, so if it didn’t happen or just wasn’t the right time - I was ok with that possibility too. Long story short, I received an offer in January and officially signed on as an author in early February.

What’s it been like since then? What’s next?

I am in the thick of creating the floral arrangements and projects for the book and I pretty much think about flowers 24/7 now. Even in my dreams at night, I’m shopping the faux floral aisle at my favorite craft store. My deadline is in about 2 months and I have a lot of work to do before then! While all of my content creation energy is being put towards the book, my blog will probably be a little slow, but I’m excited to share lots of behind the scenes goodness on Instagram. So be sure to follow me there and sign up for my email list if you want to be the first to know about book updates!

I’m also excited to share that I will be working with my dear friend and longtime creative colleague, Savannah Smith Photography on the images for the book! We’ve scheduled the photoshoots for late April, so stay tuned for some fun behind the scenes on both of our Instagram stories then! Her handle is @savannahsmithphoto, if you love weddings, travel and cute dogs you’ll definitely want to follow her! After my deadline, the book will move forward into the editing and design phase. At that point, I should be able to share more information, like the date pre-orders will become available and the official release date! I’m also hoping to plan some fun local events around the book launch this fall, so if you live near York, PA stay tuned for that!

So that’s the secret I’ve been keeping - I got a book deal! Eek! I am so thankful for this unexpected but very welcome development in my creative career journey. All I can say is WOW.