The second edition of The Piercing Bible is almost complete! It is scheduled for a June 1, 2021 release. The date was set to coincide with the Association of Professional Piercers' (APP) annual conference, which has been cancelled, unfortunately.
I've been working on the book since November 2019. The original book was released in 2009, so it was definitely time! A tremendous amount has changed in the industry (and the world) since then.
This time, I enlisted the assistance of my esteemed colleague, Jef Saunders to be a contributor. He, like me, is a past president of the Association of Professional Piercers, and a recipient of the President's Lifetime Achievement Award from the organization. He's an instructor at piercing seminars around the world, and at the Fakir Intensives. Jef is also the author of a blog for professional piercers: Confessions of a Piercing Nerd. He and hi lovely wife, Laura Jane own and operate Gamma Piercing in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
One of the reasons I selected him to help (in addition to my massive respect for him) is because we come from different backgrounds and there are some variances in our perspectives and piercing practices. I knew that he would bring in critical information I might miss, if left to my own devices. He's a cutting-edge guy who keeps up with (or pioneers) much of the latest good stuff in the field. I happen to think we made a great team! His contributions really help to upgrade and modernize the content in the Revised and Expanded Piercing Bible.
To round it out, I set up three different social media groups where I asked a barrage of questions to professional piercers about current industry practices and policies. One was an international group, one was open to piercers of various backgrounds, and another was a select group of hand-picked colleagues I trust and respect. Between the three groups and Jef's input, I really compiled a fantastic array of new info for the updates.
Additionally, to gather data for the book, I conducted a landmark piercer survey in conjunction with the APP. It was the first time substantive statistical data about the industry was collected by piercers. We asked 940 professionals working in the United States sixty-four questions about apprenticeships and training, studio practices and policies, income and employment benefits, and much more. The results were fascinating (to a nerd like me, anyway). The stats from it are sprinkled throughout the book, plus there' a new appendix, which provides a summary of the findings, and even a few pie charts!
The entire content has been thoroughly overhauled and modernized with the most up-to-date information available. Even the history section has some new entries about more recent (though ancient) archeological finds. Every one of the illustrations has been refreshed, and there are new diagrams and photos, too. Pop that all into the pretty purple new cover, and you've got a book that contains everything we could possibly pack into 370 pages all about safe piercing. It includes information about body jewelry styles, sizes, materials, and quality, anatomy and suitable piercing placements, aftercare, troubleshooting, becoming a piercer, ancient and modern piercing history, advanced practices, and so much more.
Signed copies and links to the eBook will be available through this page.
I'm SO excited to be able to share this new book with everyone who has an interest in the subject. It was written for a variety of audiences: consumers (people who have piercings or are interested in getting them), folks who deal with pierced individuals like dental and health care professionals, coaches, teachers, etc., and also piercers and apprentices, (or aspiring apprentices) and anyone who wants to learn more about the subject.
