August 8th
2008
When they told me last week, that what I was about to experience would be similar to delivering a baby, I laughed out loud, wholeheartedly. Fact is, I had no idea of any of that, and who knew, that they would be right? Not short of anticipation I drove up North for a couple of hours to find a small village named Wemding (near Nördlingen). Blue skies, countless road works and equally many slow-moving tractors later I passed the gates of the printing company Appl.
Having expected something much smaller – just like the tranquil village I had arrived at – I was surprised to learn that they actually are one of Germany’s largest printing companies. A friendly receptionist handed over my name tag and guided me through the corridors where we passed one red door after another. “Here you go!” she said and opened one to the so-called “tuning room”, where Mr. Mayer, Mr. Hoffmann and Mr. Plötz, bent over some prints from my book, already were debating about color adaptations. And we’re talking BIG PRINTS, one print showed 32 book pages and so did the flip side.
A tiny correction here, a little more yellow there, it was amazing to watch these guys’ ability to get the max out of my photography. But the most impressive part was still to come: Mr. Mayer showed me the production factory and with it the whole process from the publishing house’s data arriving via computer to manufacturing the printing plates, the final print and – in a nearby factory – the bookbinding process. It almost felt like I had become part of Die Sendung mit der Maus (for the ones who know), every aspect was explained in detail and I couldn’t stop asking questions…
Most exciting moment: When we passed huge piles of Nigella Lawson (Nigella Express and the upcoming Nigella’s Christmas) and Rick Stein (Coast to Coast) prints, just to find equally huge piles of delicious days cover prints… Ahhh, there is my baby!
Meanwhile printing has finished and the 216 pages have moved on to become bound into a – hopefully you will think so, too – lovely book.
delicious days – the book: The German as well as the English version should be available in bookstores and via Amazon.de within the first week of September, around the same time the English version should also become available via Amazon.com. I’ll keep you posted while I’m counting the days and can hardly restrain myself from nail biting ;)
Ooohh yum! And how exciting too! To be involved in the whole process of this, no wonder they say it's similar to giving birth... this is your baby (in a sense!)
Looking forward to getting my copy from Amazon, too bad we can't get signed copies.
And hello, from a new fan ^_^
so exciting! can't wait to see the finished product.
Wowww congrats! I can't imagine how friggin' excited you must be. :) One month to go before I can get my hands on a copy, hooray!
Inspiring!
Wow! Wie cool ist das denn?!?!! Now I'm undecided which version to buy. And buying both would be...well...too much:-).
Feels almost like the last HP-release!
Congratulations!!
wow! i'm so excited... but, i too have to get an answer to the difficult question about whether to buy it in german or english :S
I remember when we had to visit a printer like that as part of my graphic design course... shame they weren't printing cookbooks that day! I am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of your book :)
Das muss ein unglaublicher Augenblick sein, das eigene Buch so kurz vor der endgültigen Fertigstellung sehen zu können. Ich wünsche dir ganz viel Erfolg, obwohl ich glaube, dass es meine guten Wünsche dazu gar nicht braucht!
I am so excited for the cook book to become available! I know what I'm getting for Christmas!
congratulations :-) it must be very exciting to finally see the outcome of all your work...I look forward to seeing it in september.
Congratulations !!!
"a little more yellow there" - shouldn't the photos be as yellow as the food was...?
EDIT Nicky: lol... a good one ;) If you follow the work flow from digital media to print over various interfaces (e.g. photography - white balance - camera color profile - monitor calibration - workspace color profile - lithography - proofing - test prints on different paper), then you'll find out that it's in fact the most difficult part to get the picture in the book look exactly like the actual food does.
Congratulations!!! I'm dying to see the final result ;)
I am DYING to see this!!! I have no doubt this cookbook will set a new standard for ALL others.
Oh I can't wait to get it!
Congratulations!! This is super exciting and kinda inspirational to all of us other food bloggers!
How very fun to get to watch the whole process. I have already informed Santa that he needs to be bringing this book to our house.
da sind wir ja alle sehr gespannt.
Oooh,which version should I chose? Any preference on your side? Usually I try for the "original" version and avoid translations by someone other than the author themselves.
I loved the "Sendung mit der Maus" mention, it conveyed the experience really well.
Congratulations on a pregnancy well executed,
Alexandra
I'm sure this is one of the most exciting moments in your life! And it is so interesting for us to watch this process. Your "pregnancy" was pretty laborious, I think, but your baby is wonderful!!!
Can't wait to get hold of your book in english! Am so glad for you that your baby-book turned out so well!
Will you be selling them directly from the site, as well? I'm based in the States but I'd like a German version - if not, maybe Amazon can help me out with that.
I've been a big fan of the site for a couple years now. If you ever make it through Madison, Wisconsin on a book tour (or for any other reason!), I'd love to cook for you guys at the restaurant. Congratulations again!
Congratulations!!! I'll buy in September!!!
Oh how cool!!! I just got a book contract and wish I could see it at this stage! I still have a long ways to go but it made me SO excited to see yours like this!
Schon sooo gespannt! Bin zum Glueck rechtzeitig in Deutschland, so dass ich mir beide Versionen anschauen kann! Wie sehen denn die Mengenangaben in der englischen Ausgabe aus - gramm, cup oder oz?
EDIT Nicky: Liebe Eva, die englische Ausgabe hat sowohl Gramm- als auch OZ-Angaben. Vielleicht schaffen wir's ja sogar, dass wir uns während Deines Besuchs treffen?
congratulations Nicky! How wonderful it must feel! I'm looking forward to it as well.
Regular visitor - Shy
vorbestellt ;)
Wenn der Postbote dreimal klingelt und mir klingeling im September das himmlischste mit den schönsten Gelbtönen gedruckte Kochbuch in die Hand drückt, werde ich vor Freude in die Luft hüpfen und sofort irgendeine Seite aufschlagen, das Rezept kochen und mich freuen.
Schon im Amazonkorb die Bestellung dieses Traumtages :)
Good luck!
J
Wow, Nicky!
Das muss ein Hammergefühl sein. Freu mich für dich und wünsch mir natürlich so schnell wie möglich ein Exemplar – aber eines mit deinem Autogramm drauf!
Viel Erfolg!
That was a great post !
Good Luck :)
Very exciting - both for you two and your readers! Looking forward to the early September!!
Nicky, I can hardly wait to see what you come up with!!! How exciting to be so involved in the printing process.
Congratulations -- such an exciting time for you. Couldn't have happened to a nicer person. :)
Can't wait to see the final product!
gosh i'm so excited you nicky! would yr book be made available in asia?
Aww that much to really exciting to see all those prints of your books! I would be really excited! The final product is going to be great, I know it will be.
Good luck with the rest of the print process!
Within the first week of September, I will deliver a baby in Munich and your book will be on shelves. Perfect timing, we can compare our experience. Hopefully, my pregnancy didn't last 11 months, 9 is enough! Congrats
Meinen ganz herzlichen Glückwunsch für Dich - eine wunderbare Nachricht, dass das Buch nun bald gelesen werden kann. Ich werde sofort eine Vorbestellung aufgeben. Toi, toi, toi!
Congratulations!!! Can't wait to cuddle up on my sofa and read it!
Great work. I've already tasted something of it thanks to Hande in Rome.
Let us all know when it will be possible to buy it.
Congratulations, I cannot wait to get a copy of your book
I'm so excited for your book, and absolutely HAVE TO get my hands on a copy. You must be so excited and really proud! Please ask your distributor to send some down to us here in South Africa.
will be making a purchase once its out!
cant wait!
Ja, ich hätte auch gerne ein handsigniertes Exemplar ... Herzlichen Glückwunsch!
Hallo, kurze Frage: wird die englische Version des Kochbuchs Volumensangaben haben statt Getwicht? Danke- freu mich schon!
EDIT Nicky: Die englische Version hat Maßangaben in Gramm und Ounces, sowie eine kleine Umrechnungstabelle und Links zu praktischen Umrechnungsseiten im Web :)
Wow!!!!!!!!!!
Jetzt ist es geschafft!!!! Congratulations, und bei dem Kollegen konnte man es auch schon sehen, klasse!
Wahrscheinlich fasst Du es noch gar nicht, oder?
Bin gerade wiedergekommen und Aoki steht dann bald auf der Liste.....you know why!
Liebe Grüsse!!!!!
Great stuff! Congratulations on the baby...
Congrats, congrats, congrats! I already ordered a copy, can't wait to find your book in my mailbox.
Great story about a great product (to be)...
I'm defenitely interested!
[...] gekocht gebacken! Und zwar eine Gemüse-Quiche. Angeregt durch ein Rezept aus dem Buch zum Blog von deliciousdays.com ist eine leckere Quiche entstanden. Mit zwei Personen hatten wir damit gut zwei Tage je eine volle [...]
Hi Nicky,
I just received your blog address from Claudia L. I just browsed some time through it and it is wonderful. I´ll be a regular visitor.
Take care,
Kerstin