Oh Printer Where Art Thou?

Before my printer decided to fire me, I had already contacted a printer that has done multiple books for an author friend of mine. He shot me a price using 20 lb paper, and needed his print broker to give him the cost of using 70 lb weight. That was a week ago...I need to follow up with him tomorrow and move on to another if he isn't interested in this job. Time's a wastin'. I need the books for the first weekend of December. I received an order for a book in the mail today from a man in Liberty, MO who is researching a house in St. Louis County. And the St. Louis Genealogical Society wants five books to sell on consignment in their store.

For my next book I was thinking of doing a photo essay on the barn quilts in Iowa. Basically the owner of the barn selects a quilt square design that they like and has it painted on the side of their barn. These have proven to be somewhat of a tourist attraction for the area. I thought I could photograph the barn, interview the owners and then talk about the area. As I was researching this idea, I came across a woman on the internet who has been commissioned by the Ohio University Press to do a book on ALL the barn quilts in the U.S. There are currently 24 states that have a barn quilt project established in them. She is blogging about her travels as she goes around photographing the barns. That kind of threw a ringer in my plans. Would people buy a book just on the Iowa quilts if they could buy one that had all the states in it? Food for thought...I also don't want to look like I am copying her idea. We were just up in Iowa last weekend, so I photographed the 12 barn quilts located near my in-laws. It was such fun to see them. I really want to do this project!