words, writing

words

etikser

The words we write are part of who we are. That was my motivation, I think.

I decided early this year to work on collecting my bits of writing in some sort of permanent way. Not to publish it, but to have it for myself. Also to have it for those in my life who might care to read it, and maybe keep it.

My goal was to assemble it all in a way that would make turning pages a pleasure. Something with sturdy covers, good quality paper, etc. Nice enough to wrap in tissue paper and hand to someone as a gift.

It started old school with printing copies and storing my work in a three-ring binder. Functional, but certainly not gift worthy.

Eventually, I decided to use the formatting from one of those companies that produces photo calendars, photo cards, and photo books. And chose their simplest style 8 inch by 10 inch photo book product, which includes stretchable text boxes.

I selected about 25 of my written pieces and some of my photos, and set to work. It was tedious. There was no ‘cut and paste’, so it took a lot of ‘delete and re-type’. Start overs, and of course, proofing. It was a project to make everything fit and have a sequencing and flow that made sense and looked good. I enjoy that sort of work, but it’s not something you can throw together in a couple of days.

Ta da … I completed one collection in the spring, and I just finished another for the winter. This isn’t an ad for photo companies, but their production and the paper products they use were more than I hoped for. Coffee table book quality materials, glossy pages, attractive covers, and nice binding. It optimized what I had to offer.

The costs were reasonable, and I’m happy to have a personalized keepsake to gift this Christmas.

For me, for myself, I get to leaf through the pages and feel like the words I write matter. And see that they have a little bit of permanence.

Published by etikser

https://etikser.home.blog/

15 thoughts on “words”

  2. What an excellent idea! I have thought my blog would be somewhat of a “keepsake” for those in my family who come after me who may be interested. (I can only hope!) But I do like the permanence of a real live book. Kudos to you for making it happen. Enjoy your day!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  3. Years ago when I first started blogging my mother-in-law printed all of my posts out up to that point and bound them in a book for our family as a Christmas gift. To this day my children, who are all practically grown, love looking through this history of our life.
    I think it is important now, more than ever, to actually print and have hard copies of our words and images. It matters now and it will matter in the future.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  4. That sounds like a wonderful idea. I’m curious about the how-to of what you did. Would you consider posting the specifics of the steps you took and the tools and products you used? I’m sure I wouldn’t be the only reader that would be interested.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Sure. And thanks. I can tell you quickly I used snapfish, and with discounts, which are always available, I did 22-25 pages for about $20 a photobook, including shipping & handling. You sign into an account, upload whatever photos you want, and then get to work typing your text. You also can manipulate the designs on each page to really get what you want. Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to comment.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a comment