2017 News

Before I get into the updates I have for Your Blog to Book I want to say a huge THANK YOU to my clients for entrusting me with their stories and photographs over the last 9 years. Over 160 books have been designed since that first one in 2008! It means the world to me to be able to bring your stories to life and preserve family memories.

Now onto the updates and news for 2017.....
My kids are getting older and are all in school now so I've had more flexibility to work daytime hours. That means I work more traditional hours and have weekends free to spend time with family. My days (or nights rather) of working late into the night because that was the only time the house was quiet are behind me.

I also have expanded my design services to include wall art decor and fiber art. I learned to crochet in 2016 and add new products to my shop on Facebook all the time. Book design requires a lot of detail work and crocheting and sewing allow me to continue to be creative but it in a completely different way.

You can find my Facebook page under my main business page, Carrie Pauly Photography & Design.

Why the bear logo? Years ago we lived in a campground as the caretakers and I wrote a blog called Raising Cubs in a Campground. My blogger name was MamaBear and it has stuck all these years later on Instagram and Twitter.  I wanted to distinguish the fiber design side of my business from the graphic design side and decided that sewn/crocheted products would be set apart with the @4MamaBear name.

This blog will remain active as a way for book clients to find information and see sample books, but you'll find my new website www.carriepauly.com the new launch point for projects and design inspiration. carriepauly@gmail.com at any time.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A Year In Pictures - turning your blog into a family album

Favorite family recipes:















Special holidays...













Special vacations....













....all preserved in in a beautiful hardcover book for each of your children and their future children thanks to the archival quality of the paper used in printing these books.

How do I get the most blog book for my buck?

I recently taught a bookmaking class to a group of moms who were interested in learning how to create books for their families. One of the topics I covered was the many challenges of taking information that is written for a blog audience and transforming it into album format. In this series called "How to get the most book for your buck" I will share suggestions on what to keep in mind as you add new content to your blogs...and subsequently material for your blog books.

First up.....Video Posts.

There are two ways to approach this challenge.


1) Pay $1 (per video) for a screenshot of the video so you have a visual reminder of what the video was about.


And/Or

2) When you post a video also post a description of the video. Not very many bloggers do that because lets face it, using words to describe Junior's first steps aren't necessary everyone's strong suit. So instead bloggers say "check out this video of Junior on the move...watch for the part where he starts singing too."

Set the scene. Describe the emotions of the moment. You will be glad you did! Too often some very special moments are excluded from books because the text from a video post couldn't stand alone without the video to fill in the gaps.

Keep in mind that the screenshot of the video does not have to be the very first moment of the clip. I can fast forward to any point and make a screenshot - or mulitple screenshots for that matter.

An example of how to include a video post in a blog book:

These final pages in AnniePearl's book would not have been the same without the pictures of the video. Remember that the details that make a big difference in the final product, but by working together I can help you get the most book for your buck!

3,565 pages

That's how many blog book pages I need to design for my current clients.

Everyone has been so patient with me as I take the time away from designing to give people quotes and to put a rush on the Stellan Will Live project.

That being said, I still feel the need to focus on the clients that are counting on me to create blog books for them. Some have been waiting for months and with two rush projects on my plate unfortunately they will be waiting a little longer.

I do not want to turn away new clients by any means, but until further notice I will not be able to promise any additional books before Christmas. Nor will I be able to offer quotes within a weeks time. I have to look at every single post in order to get an accurate page count and as you can imagine that is very time consuming.

I will create a second waiting list for people who are interested in having a book made in 2010. If by some miracle I am able to create (and proof) more than 713 pages a month for the next 5 months, I will gladly open the first list back up.

Thank you for your business and patience as I adjust to increased workload!

As always, feel free to contact me with any questions!

Thank you,

Carrie

Frequently Asked Questions

How much will it cost to turn my blog into a book?

Blog books take a LONG time to put together. Expect at least a month of importing/formatting posts and a minimum cost of $800.

Please see read this post for a general idea of how long your blog book would be.

What kind of blogs can you convert to a book?
 
I can convert any blog that I can copy and paste information from. It is the client's responsibility to provide the images as jpegs from a source other than right clicking on the image in your blog posts. The image resolution isn't high enough for those files.
 

How long will it take to get a book into my hands?

Turn around time will very greatly depending on my workload and the type of project. Blog books take more time do to the time consuming nature of designing custom layouts for each post.

I don't live in Minnesota. Can you still design a book for me?

Absolutely! I do most of my business through email but am available for phone consultations as well. Your books are sent directly to you from the printer.

This post about screen shots shows how you can view preview pages of your book through email attachments.

I just started blogging. Can you design my book as I blog?

You bet! I typically wait until you have at least a month of posts so I can get a feel for the layout style that matches your style of posts (photo heavy, text heavy, or a combination of photos & text)

I've been blogging for years. Do you give a discount for multiple years?

I don't give a discount for multiple years, but I DO give a 50% discount on additional copies of the same book.

Why would I order multiple copies of the same book?

Blog books make wonderful gifts for family. Blogs often take the place of a baby book so think about tucking a special copy away for when Jr. is older.