(Jan. 05) About editing

About editing
Oh boy! I could write a whole guide about Mount Pleasant Cemetery, the stroll I'm working on today.

There are so many great spots throughout this cemetery! I'm now facing the difficult task of choosing to mention one great panorama over another. 

Sometimes, I also have this kind of problem when the text is too long. I have to sacrifice a perfect little sentence to make room for more down-to-earth information for the sake of clarity.

The good news is that it's a bit like with renovations. Once it's done, you forget about all the great ideas you did not get to realize and you start enjoying what's been accomplished.

Still wondering which ones I should choose...

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(Jan. 04) About feedback

About feedback

What a great feeling! My Bloor West Cool Stroll is officially cool. I did it with my two teens a few weeks ago and my 19-year-old son is taking his friends there today!

All of this in one block (Bathurst, Bloor and Markham): 
Sonic Boom (for second-hand CDs), Honest Ed's (so tacky it's pure fun), Suspect Video & Culture (for real finds in horror B movies) and Beguiling (wall-to-wall comic books).

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(Jan. 03) About flexibility

About flexibility
Wow, life has a way of "getting in the way"!
On my way to the café (my office, remember?), I noticed I had forgotten my phone. I walked back and saw my neighbour on the sidewalk (and babysitter of both my kids when they were preschoolers). She was walking towards me with a grocery bag. I cracked a quick joke, already somewhere else in my mind, thinking we were both heading inside our respective home when my French brain realized what she had just told me: "I think I broke my wrist..."

Four hours in the Emergency room!

Then I left her in the good hands of her daughter.

(Solid broken bone which they had to put back into place. Aouch!) Not exactly what I had planned for the day. Not exactly what SHE had planned neither. 

Back to the regular program

I'm now catching up with my program (writing beautiful Rosedale Valley Road Stroll) after putting my husband in full charge of grocery shopping and dinner. (See what I did here? I delegated!)

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More posts on the making of a guide (Toronto Urban Strolls 2)

(Jan. 02) About motivation

About motivation

When I don't feel productive, it always helps me to remember author Henry Miller's advice: If you can't create, work. 

The fun part of any production is the actual act of creation but it requires a certain quality of presence that is not always attainable. Work, on the other hand, down-to-earth little actions that need to be done in order to realize something concrete, can be adapted to any kind of circumstances and time frame. 

I enjoyed some down time with my family and friends in the last week and did not get to write a full stroll but I got to do a few side actions that required less "brain work", such as selecting the best photos. 

OK, back on track!
To get back on track when writing after a period away from the computer, I need to reconnect myself with the purpose of the book I'm writing. 

In the present case, my guide's purpose is to pass on my enthusiasm for all the whimsical surprises Toronto has to offer. 

My goal is to provide friends with a fun (and relatively inexpensive) way to do something different together.

As I go through the best photos for my Sherbourne High and Low Mix Stroll, I can see how it totally fits the bill!

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Allan Gardens at Sherbourne and Carlton: a great free outing until the end of the Christmas holiday (read some comments on yelp)

(Dec. 24) About working in cafés

Welcome to my office (Part two)

This afternoon, I'll focus on gift wrapping! But this morning, I've worked on finding fun sub-titles for the intro pages on each of my strolls (less demanding than writing on a full stroll).

Once again, I worked in a café today.
This time, an old lady I often see reading the café's newspaper asked to sit at my table (her favourite spot by the window being taken). I wish I'm as "present" when I'm in my 80s! She reads the sections one at a time, returning it on the counter to get the next. Many people chat with her along the way.

I cleared her side of the table to make room for her then sat back to work, with my earphones on.
Gasp! She grabbed my cup of coffee, having decided I was done with it (there were only two gulps left but I always drink it to the last drop, however cold it is). I had to gently insist... 

Now she's mumbling as she reads, to concentrate. Never a dull moment!

Merry Christmas!

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(Christmas fun related posts)

(Dec. 22) About research

Yesterday, I took a little break from my computer. (I was starting to feel the strain in my neck!)

I finished my research for the Mount Pleasant Indulging Stroll with my friend Kerstin. We had a bite at Thobors (some of the best croissants and pastries in Toronto, as far as I'm concerned, and the founder of yummybaguette.com agrees with me). Note that they're closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

I bought myself the gift my husband will give me for Christmas! A gorgeous vintage brooch from DDavis Objects at 667 Mount Pleasant. (I intend to wear it at the end of a long pendant.) The owner and staff are so upbeat and fun, we had a ball, and I learned that most of the ambitious pieces of jewelry there are made out of real vintage (but never used) rhinestones by the designers.

I noticed cute candy kebabs at LeFeuvres Chocolatier.

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(Dec. 20) About photos

About photos:

I suspect these two sculptures are from the same artist, don't you agree?

One was taken on the estate at the corner of The Bridle Path and Park Lane Circle, for my Edwards Gardens Mansions Stroll:

The other one, I took on Markham Street (Mirvish Village) for my Bloor West Cool Stroll:

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(Dec. 19) About maps

About maps:

I just finished positioning the 52 walks which will be featured in Toronto Urban Strolls 1 and 2 on a double-page map (to be included in the guides).

I think it spreads nicely!

Now, back to writing. I'm currently working on the Edwards Gardens Mansions Stroll. Some of the estates have interesting art on their lawn.

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(Dec. 15) About timetable

About timetable

It took me two hours to work my way through 1,200 photos I took while doing research for my West Toronto Railpath Stroll and  extract a "Best of" file of 120 pictures.

It took me five hours to write the stroll description, using my 1200 photos and notes as a reference. (I really love this stroll!) I need one more hour to place the photos of the stroll in the InDesign template.

Back to the future
In order to figure out a schedule, I have to focus on the goal: to have the guide in the stores by the first week of April. Which means:

1st week April:     Guides in the stores
End of March:      Books sent from the printer to the distributor
End of February:  Final material sent to the printer
Early February:    Proofreading and corrections

So I have between now and early February to:
• Select the best photos for each stroll
• Write the description for 23 strolls 
• Supervise the creation of the book cover
• Write the back cover and the author's word inside the guide
• Work on the indexes
• Write a Sales sheet for the Sales reps 
• Update the info in Toronto Urban Strolls 1
• Maintain my blogs, FB, Twitter 
• Be a mother and a wife
• And go out with my girlfriends (to maintain my sanity)

OK, it seems my timetable is doable. (Doable Timetable... That's the name of my next rock band).

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(Dec. 14) One step at a time

At the moment, I'm looking at the template of the guide on my computer, the "skeleton" my husband prepared for me this week. It's gonna be my life for the next month (with the exception of a few Christmas hiatus).

I've been there before. This is the moment in a project where one is oscillating between elation (The book is going to be so good!) and petrifying panic (What have I gotten myself into! I'll never be able to deliver in time! Abort! Abort!).

One step at a time
Now, I'm about to work on a first stroll. I'm starting with my West Toronto Railpath Stroll (one of my favourite walks in Toronto). 

First step: Sift through 1089 photos taken between 2010 and now to remember everything interesting about this stroll and to create a "Best of" file of approx. 50 photos.

Second step: Write the stroll's description directly in the InDesign template. (This way, I don't get carried away and can better stick to a words count which will fit in that space.)

Third step: Based on what I described in the assigned space, I will select 28 photos from the "Best of" file to be featured in the guide. 

Go Nat, go!

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(Dec. 13) About chapters

About naming chapters

In non-fiction books, a chapter's title is usually repeated at the top of each page. When deciding on a chapter's title, it's a good idea to make sure it provides the readers with enough hints to help them quickly understand what it's all about.

What's in a name

With this in mind, I chose to give my strolls a two-part name. (In my case, the name of the stroll is the chapter's title.) The first part gives a hint about the location of the walking circuit (the name of a street, a section of the city, a park or a neighbourhood). The second part gives an idea of the appeal of the stroll (feeling of the neighbourhood, special feature, natural asset).

For the coming guide, I came up with the likes of OSSINGTON Effervescent Strip Stroll and HIGH PARK Cherry Blossom Stroll.

I found most of the names for the new strolls but I'm still unsure about a couple of them. There's one around Sherbourne Street. I first named it the SHERBOURNE STREET Old & New Stroll to reflect the contrast between the old houses and the high-rises you find there. Then I read a very good article in The Star accurately describing the mixed feeling one gets along Sherbourne. 

Now, I'm considering SHERBOURNE High & Low Stroll in reference to the high brow/low brow reality. It also works to describe the architectural contrast. 

Hmm... still debating.

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(Dec. 12) About communication

The importance of communication

I sent an email to let my illustrator Johanne Pepin know the material to make the maps has been sent. (It's very important for everyone involved to have the same information!)

She's currently working on her other projects, including a coming exhibition in her little town of Côteau-du-Lac (not too far from the border between Ontario and Quebec).

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(Dec. 11) About the layout

Time flies!
I finally shipped the maps to my illustrator last Sunday.

About layout software
Then, I bugged my husband to make the "skeleton" of the guide for me. He worked from the first Toronto Urban Strolls so it was just a one-hour job (it would have taken me six hours).

My guides are made with InDesign software. My husband, who's also the editor-in-chief of L'Express de Toronto (Toronto's French weekly), did the full layout of the first two editions of Toronto Fun Places. Eventually, I got better at it and now, I can work directly on the guides templates made with InDesign, my dear hubbie polishing the job once I'm done.

Which leads me to my most important piece of advice to anyone wanting to self-publish a book, who doesn't master a layout software: Sleep with the graphic artist! 

(Did I say that out loud?!)

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(Dec. 07) About flexibility

About being flexible
This morning, bad internet connection at my favourite local café/office. Tried to work around it as long as I could. Then, got cut cold right in the middle of a phone conversation with colleague (battery died on me). Changed café. A guy sat at my table (no biggie, communal tables are more and more in fashion these days). The guy was drunk (at 1 pm), not good. He insisted on having a "conversation" with me despite my uninviting intense-working-mode face and my earbuds...

I'm back home working at my kitchen table.

Today is the day I complete the maps for the new guide.

(Photo by Anyayasabel borrowed from deviantart.com website)

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(Dec. 05) About research

About research
Today, I had to go back to verify the stroll around Roncesvalles. I wanted to find the prettiest street linking Roncesvalles to Sorauren. Still undecided, I'll have to have a better look at the photos I took.

I'm really glad I did! I learned that one of my favourite store Mrs. Huizenga has just moved down the road, closer to Queen, in what they call Lower Roncey (where there used to be a Goodwill).

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(Dec. 04) About research

About research
I picked up my friend from Montreal at Union Station Sunday night and she's leaving today at 5 pm, which means I've been focusing on taking her to places where I need to take photos for Toronto Urban Strolls 2.

Of course, we could not do this 24-7. I played the chauffeur, stopped at a Starbucks to work (thanks to wifi) while she had a business lunch. Then, I took her to Shops at Don Mills (the suitable finish for my new Edward Gardens Mansions Stroll (including a walk around the Bridle Path).

Shops at Don Mills is really pretty at this time of the year. We had a bite at Glow... because I love the decor. Food was good and at the end they brought a tray of $3 dessert shooters to choose from.

We had a great time at Anthropologie where I showed great restraint while my friend splurged (she actually just read this line and insists that this doesn't qualify as splurging). 

Later on we went to Koreatown to try a restaurant. We ended up doing everything wrong at Bryan's BBQ (606 Bloor West) thanks to a series of misunderstanding between us and our waiter regarding complicated rules to approach their all-you-can-eat deal. 

Bottom line, don't order their all-you-can-eat deal if you're not a male teenager or if you've eaten in the three days prior to your visit to Bryan's. (I had chosen the place for the exotic experience of eating under funny looking vents over the grills installed at each table.)

Today, I think we'll go to The Junction. There are a few restaurants I want to visit.

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(Dec. 01) About being self-employed

About the "flexible" hours of the self-employed
Gosh it's fun to be one's own boss!

11:12 pm and I'm still at it...
I promised my illustrator I'd send her a package by Monday with the info for the 24 maps I need her to draw for the coming guide and I have a visitor coming tomorrow afternoon from Montreal for two days. 

One thing I can tell you, it's that "liquid paper" is not dead! (Well, not for this photoshop-challenged writer anyway). I have to erase all the street names on the Google maps I use as a reference before I can write the ones I'm keeping, at the place where I want them, so you (future readers) can get a useful walking map.

My motto: One map at a time.
(Good music helps.)

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(Nov. 28) About working in cafés

Welcome into my office
I love working in cafés.

Yesterday at a café, my neighbour asked me what I was doing (he saw I was playing with Google maps. I showed him the guide). We ended talking about all the great places in Toronto. He knew them all! If there were more people like him I'd be out of business. Turns out he is a magazine photographer with an eye. He was waiting for his wife to finish a girlfriends activity... (our kind of guy!). 

Three more walking circuits to do (I was supposed to be done by now but life got in the way).

About research

Sometimes, I have to go back to the photos I took of a neighbourhood to refresh my memory in order to select the best circuit. Yesterday, as I was working on my Roncesvalles Revamped Stroll, I was trying to remember how far north on Roncesvalles I wanted to go. I wanted to make sure to include the cutest little vintage clothing store: Maggie's Farm (431 Roncesvalles Avenue). 

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(Nov. 25) About dead-lines

About dead-lines
Yesterday and today, I've been slavering over Google maps to trace my circuits (thank to a great little feature on Google Maps!). I use it to create a rough of what I want my illustrator to do for the guide. 

We're going for the artisanal look. My illustrator Johanne Pepin will trace the circuits with carbon paper on watercolour paper, which she will then fill with soft pastel colours. Street names are hand written. She's also working on the new cover for Toronto urban Strolls Part 2 while preparing an exhibition. She's an angel...)

OK, fourteen down, ten to go! 

(Mental note to Nathalie: Don't forget you have friends over tonight for the Grey Cup and you need to feed these people if you want to keep your friends.)

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(Nov. 24) First blog about the making of Toronto Urban Strolls 2

First blog about the making of...
Saturday November 24, 2012

Today, I've decided I'd write a chronicle of the making of my next guide so those interested in self-publishing can learn about the process involved. (Those books don't just happen!)

My first guide, Toronto Fun Places... for families, is currently in its 5th edition and has sold over 40,000 copies. My second guide, Toronto Urban Strolls... for girlfriends (Part 1) was released last Spring. It made the Globe & Mail's bestsellers list in the Canadian non fiction category and sold 5,000 copies in 3 months.

I'm currently working on a Part 2 for Toronto Urban Strolls as well as the second edition of Part 1. My goal is to release both guides next Spring. We'll see how it goes!

I spent the last two months doing research for 24 new strolls I want to include in Part 2. It meant going out to take photos any time it was sunny. Yesterday was all grey, but the day before, I spent a fabulous day in and around High Park. Gorgeous!

Now, I'm down to a list of bits and pieces I need to go and shoot. I still need 3 sunny days before all the leaves are gone.

Writing Toronto Urban Strolls is pretty much like being pregnant: 

1) From one pregnancy to the next, you forget about all the work involved, only thinking about the outcome.

2) It's growing inside of me. 

3) I'm getting bigger (with all this research in the cafés, bakeries and cute restaurants).

Got to go. It's sunny outside!

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