We all know that Kanye West doesn't do anything "small." Thus the compact dimensions of his self-help book 'Thank You and You're Welcome' may seem odd but it was all part of West's approach/plan. TheBoomBox caught up with co-author Sakiya Sandifer, who broke down how the book idea was born.

"The concept was inspired by a book that I previously wrote: 'Think, Think, Think and Think Again,'" Sandifer told The BoomBox. "Once Kanye saw the format, he wanted to put his ideas in the same format and since I had previously [done] it he called on me to assist him."

An accomplished author and speaker in his own right, Sandifer and West have been friends since childhood. The duo came together in 2007 to start work on the book.

"People have always been approaching him [Kanye] to write a book but he didn't want to write a book about his life stories," Sandifer explained. "That's not really what he's about. It's more about freedom of expression; a person going after their own dreams [and] finding their own light. We wanted [a] book geared to helping people achieve that."






The book, which retails for only $10, features both large and small type, with specific colors chosen to evoke the emotion of each concept. Among them is the recurring theme: 'Think It. Say It. Do It.' An idea that, Sandifer says, is his favorite-if he had to choose. Also causing a stir is a page deemed as "blank" by some critics but Sandifer makes it clear that every piece of the book was intricately put together.

"We spent as much time writing the book as [we did] designing the book. Each color represents an emotion. If you look at the 'Know Your Worth' [page] it's in green. The yield sign is yellow. The 'I Wonder' pages are sky-blue. One page doesn't have any words on it because the whole thread represents rage, it [says] 'I Hate the Word Hate.' Graphically, that spread is saying something. It's not like it's a blank page, like there's nothing there. To me graphically [that] is the best looking page in the book.

"This is a first of its kind. It breaks all the rules. A traditional printer would not allow us to print a black book just on cardstock with spiral bounds. We knew we wanted to have final say on the creation. That was another reason why we decided to do self-publishing. I want everybody to form their [own] opinion. Don't form [your] opinion off of everybody else's opinion. Read if for yourself."

Although initially on sale via West's blog, 'Thank You and You're Welcome,' is also available at Amazon.com.