Behind the Scenes

This page features pictures from various stages of the creative process (the print shop, the bindery, etc.), along with a photo diary of Jenna and Sarah’s trip to New York for the 9-11 anniversary.

It’s been quite a profound journey…

The rocking chair in Jenna's bedroom, where she did most of the work on "Through Our Eyes" from September 2001 to August 2002 while living at her grandparents' home in Indiana.






Pictured is Sarah Heames making the book covers on the living room floor of her Los Angeles home. Sarah has been an instrumental part of this project, and in early July, I flew out to visit her and get some help. I needed the companionship! We locked ourselves up in her home, chugged endless pots of coffee, and worked. I would be at the computer laying out the book, while she sat on the living room floor, surrounded by materials used to make the covers. It was quite a scene! We felt like true artists!
I am so grateful for Sarah's help and support. She is such a precious friend.





Jenna laying out the book at Sarah's home in Los Angeles during her July visit.





Jenna during her Los Angeles trip. Despite the cheesy grin, she's on the brink of losing her mind! This was a very hard and exhausting project...

The printers...

One cannot know how tedious and time-consuming printing a book is until s/he gets behind the scenes. It's an amazing process – one I formerly knew nothing about!

In late August – after 11 months of grueling work – I was finally ready to drop the document off at the printers. Little did I know I'd live at that print shop for the next week, keeping a watchful eye over the book. I guess it proved too hard to hand my "baby" over to someone else for the final lap! One night, I was even there until 2 a.m. I can assure you, that was not the norm.

The staff at Printing Partners (in Indianapolis) was exceptional and embraced me as one of their own. I want to give special thanks to Bill Alexander and Jamie Fouty, who spent loads of time off the clock helping me out. We printed so many proofs (a proof is what you print before actually printing the final book. It's your last chance to catch mistakes and make changes). My dear bud Jamie even took a "proof" home with him one night and stayed up 'til 8 a.m. reading. The next day, he had a list of some minor errors he'd caught... this from a guy who said he'd never even been to a public library! I was truly touched.

On Aug. 31, my 150 books were finally ready – well, almost. I still had to "collate" them. The books aren't printed in complete form; instead, they print stacks of pages and you have to put it all together. In total, I had 22 piles of page sections. They are lined up on a table, and you pick up the sections one by one. You really have to concentrate, or somebody may end up with pages missing in his/her book!

Jamie came in on his day off to help me collate. I brought him a 12-pack of beer to express my gratitude. We spent about nine hours collating my books and chatting about everything from Nascar races and Jamaican vacations to family and religion. The pictures featured here document our day together. What a day it was!

The stamp maker..

I realized once the book was at the printers that I forgot to put “first edition” on the copyright page. Oops! That seemed important – what was an alternative?

A stamp!

I found a local stamp maker, Ehrgotts, that made great handheld stamps for a terrific price (and quick turnaround!). I would recommend them to anybody!

These are pictures of the Ehrgott workshop, along with a photo of the stamp. I dig it!

The bindery..

Once the books were collated, it was time to deliver them to the bindery, Plastikoil of Indiana. I dropped them off Sept. 3.

I want to give a HUGE thanks to Jason Uebelhor, who handled my order. He was a real gem! Talented, kind and a great work ethic!

Unfortunately, I can’t say so much for the bindery owner. He was unprofessional and insincere. To be frank, he was downright rude and seemed to detest my project (and me). He personally was responsible for messing up 40 percent of my order, which Jason eventually fixed in the weeks to come. Thank god for Jason!