Interview with Todd Kaderabek of Lark Books

Frivolitea: Thank you for taking the time to let me interview you for my blog, Simple Studio Journal. Many of my blog readers are avid crafters. In their crafting work I am sure that they have referred to one if not many Lark Books for inspiration or instruction. So it occurred to me that these blog readers might like to learn more about Lark Books and some of the people who work there.

Frivolitea: How long have you worked for Lark Books?
Todd: I have worked at Lark for close to 15 years. I started here as an author, then was hired to scrape linoleum off the floor of what would become our catalog department. Glamorous days.... I then answered the catalog phone, worked in the shipping department and basically did whatever I was asked. When the production director job became available, I was told it was mine if I could prove myself in 6 weeks. I knew nothing about the job but jumped in, had fun and made it work. And here I am, all these years later.

Frivolitea: What exactly do you do there?
Todd: My job title is Senior Production Manager. I negotiate prepress and printing contracts, oversee the production process of our books, book-plus and multi-component kit titles, manage prepress and printing schedules, and facilitate the importation process of the Lark product line. I also work closely with Sterling's production staff and am a member of the Lark Books management team. Still awake...?

Frivolitea: I understand that Lark Books publishes materials on the topics of crafting, home decorating, cooking, and outdoor living. How did Lark Books, as a publisher, come to focus on these areas?
Todd: Altamont Press (once Lark's parent company) began as a newsletter produced out of the back of Rob Pulleyn and Kate Matthews' fiber studio/shop in New Mexico. That newsletter spawned *Fiberarts Magazine* and it was a natural progression from there to books that focused on not only fiber but the myriad of other craft mediums.

Frivolitea: Does your work touch on all of these topics?
Todd: Yes, I get my hands into everything because if it's going to be a Lark product, it comes through my office at various stages. And while there is some aspect of "a book is a book," part of my job is to not only ensure that the book is a Lark book but that it's the best Lark book that it can be. This is where production advises art and editorial on trim sizes, formats, cover treatments and book-plus components to enhance the overall value of a project. We sincerely want people to be happy with their purchase of a Lark title and to succeed in using the product.

Frivolitea: Do you have a preferred area in which you work?
Todd: I love our photography books. They are very hip and dynamic. We see this on the craft side as well and certainly with our book-plus projects. But as a photographer and someone who appreciates quality photography, I do enjoy our photography titles perhaps a bit more than, for example, an embroidery title. I'm crafty only in the sense of say, Wile E. Coyote.

Frivolitea: Of the books that you have worked on, which are your favorites?
Todd: My favorites are the books that succeed throughout the process. The titles that are a joy from start to finish and then see success on (and off) the shelf. There are plenty of titles that are difficult to produce for one reason or another and it's important not to get bogged down in the negatives. They're not all going to be easy but they should all be as fun as possible.

Frivolitea: Do you have a favorite Lark Book overall?
Todd: My book, of course, A Field Guide to Hot Sauces, now available on eBay for around a nickel, or so I'm told.... I love our 500 Series books and we have a guitar book coming out in October that I'm very fond of -- it's beautiful.

Frivolitea: I know that the Lark Books website (http://www.larkbooks.com/) is a great resource for learning about books that have been published and those that are in the works. Books that have been published are organized by subject and media categories. Books that are in the works are featured in a section titled "Artist Submissions." Do you have any advice to give an artist or writer who would like to be featured in a Lark Books publication?
Todd: If you submit a proposal that is well thought out and of interest to a reasonably sized market, your chances of publication are much improved. Also if the market isn't already flooded with similar books. Bring something unique to the table, be flexible and creative and good things just might happen.

Frivolitea: Finally, I want to ask: Is there anything unique or unusual about Lark Books that might interest my readers?
Todd: We're not all crafters in a traditional sense -- there are plenty of us who have never sewn or knitted but we know our way around a transmission or a fly rod or a camera. And the hardcore crafters on the staff (who are many and varied) just roll their eyes and put up with us -- Lark is a very collaborative place and I hope this shows in our books. It's a fun place to work.

Frivolitea: Thanks for taking the time to talk with me Todd!