Sunnyshore Studio is pleased to announce the formal launch of its publishing arm, Sunnyshore Studio Publishing. Here is the story of its birth and a sketch of its future.
Story of its birth
In the spring of 2016, Jason Dorsey began to conduct a series of interviews with Camano Island old-timers and people who loved the Beaches of Camano. These interviews were published on the Sunnyshore Studio blog. He realized that these interviews opened a window on the rich history of Camano and began to think about publishing a book with these stories, and each beach illustrated by members of his family.
Jason purchased a Mac computer and the Adobe cloud APP (with program like Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Premier Pro) with the hopes of learning the Adobe sweet of programs so he could publish the book himself. Meanwhile, he continued to conduct over thirty interviews. Spring quickly turned to summer and summer to fall, and he hadn’t begun to learn InDesign. The plan was for the book to be published in time for the Grand Opening of Sunnyshore Studio, December 2nd.
Something had to give.
On October 4th, Jason reached out to a friend and member of his previous congregation in Indianapolis, Tom Peck, a retired Graphic Designer. Tom indicated that he’d be happy to help with the project. Jason quickly reached out to his wife, Jenny’s cousin, Sharilyn Stachler who is an editor and she said she’d be thrilled to help with the project. Jason didn’t have money to offer either Tom or Sharilyn, but they said that they’d help anyway.
Sharilyn worked her editing magic and Tom worked his graphic magic and the result was a beautiful book, The Beaches of Camano. 600 copies were ordered from Gorham Printing in Centralia, WA. The book has sold out. A second printing was ordered today.
In the second book project, a biographical sketch of his dad, Jack Dorsey, and a celebration of over 50 years of his artwork, Jason took a crack at doing the graphic work himself. Tom was gracious enough to send the Beaches of Camano In Design template to work off, he helped with the design of the cover, and when it was finished provided a second set of eyes to tighten things up. But the bulk of the graphic design work fell on Jason. The project brought Jason to his knees in writhing agony as he tried to learn a new program. Somehow he muscled through.
Again Sharilyn provided her editing gifts, and this time she received a stipend for her work. The book hardcover, limited edition, Jack Dorsey: Sketch of an Artist was also printed at Gotham printing. Because Jason was ahead of schedule, the book was finished in time for the second weekend of the 2017 Mother’s Day Studio Tour, three weeks before the original due date of Father’s Day. It sells for a hefty $40, but that is less than a $1 per painting, with over fifty of Jack’s paintings showcased in it.
The next step of Sunnyshore Studio’s publishing venture was to contract with an author who is not a part of the family to publish her book. While the author, and the book subject, must remain clouded in mystery for a little while longer, this was a significant step forward in entering the world of Publishing.
A Sketch of the Future
The aim of the publishing arm of Sunnyshore Studio is to share beauty with the world one book at a time. Rather than receiving submissions of books from authors, we will be choosing book projects based our our criteria and values.
One of the first orders of business is to build our infrastructure. This includes taking our first steps into the world of E-Books as well as obtaining a book distributor. But most important is establishing the bookkeeping process and systems and hiring a bookkeeper.
While many of the book projects that are being discussed are under wraps and can’t be shared at this time, one can.
It is our intention to publish the complete I Remember series of children’s picture books written by Jason and illustrated by Jason and his father, Jack. The first of these, I Remember Fishing with Dad was published by Just Dust Publishing which recently closed their doors.
Each book explores a theme of life by telling a story illustrated by delightful watercolor paintings. Together the books will weave the life of a boy growing up on an Island in the Pacific Northwest.
The second of the series, I Remember Running through the Woods, is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2018.
If God gives strength, this little artist studio tucked in the firs and cedars on the south end of Camano Island will be a hub of creativity, beauty and literature for years to come!
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