Mailler and B3 community member, Tracy K.B., posted this photo to our wall on Facebook a few days ago and we just had to share with everyone here on our blog. She and a bunch of mailler friends get together to work on chainmaille projects and enjoy some yummy food, so she thought she’d make jump rings – out of jello!
We love extra detail of labeling the bags with the size and stats. Just such a cute and creative idea, Tracy!
By Rebeca Mojica
In part 1 of our “Publishing Your Crafty Project” posts, we reviewed submitting crafts projects to magazines and multi-authored books. In this follow-up post, Rebeca addresses what it’s like to publish your own book. If you’re thinking about publishing your own crafty book, this is a must read.
Read more in the post below and download the FREE PDF for an in-a-nutshell comparison of self-publishing vs. using a publisher.
Writing a Book Writing a craft book is no joke. It is a labor of love. The chances of you getting rich, or even earning a decent amount of money, from your book are next to none.
The average book in America sells fewer than 5,000 copies. According to one source, of the titles on the shelves in retail stores, 93% never sell more than 1000 copies in their lifetime. Some of the books that have spent weeks on the New York Times bestseller list don’t even sell more than 50,000 copies.
Most new writers only earn 1.5-8% of the cover price for each book sold. (Note that percentages can vary for the same book, depending on if the book was sold through Amazon, through the publisher’s book club, etc.). Do the math—this is not a lot of money for potentially 60, 100, 250+ hours worked. For small craft books, if the publisher pays an advance, the advance may only be $1,000. The book might need to go to a second printing for the author to begin to receive any royalties at all … and the majority of books do not have a second print run.
So after all of this, why would anyone want to publish a book? Well, it certainly can open doors and will greatly enhance your credibility as an artist/instructor. It is deeply satisfying to tackle such a large project and have the wonderful feeling of accomplishment that comes from writing a book. It can be thrilling to see your name in print.
For more info, see The 10 Awful Truths about Book Publishing and Book Industry Statistics.
You need to have a market for your book so that the book will sell. If you are using a publisher, you must prove there is a market for your book. Your book proposal should list all the reasons why and how your book will sell.
To build enough influence to sell a book, you’ll need to establish yourself as an expert in your field. A great way to do this is by having single projects published in magazines, as already explained. Have a website where you engage your students and readers. Teach classes. Build your newsletter mailing list. Do whatever it takes to get your name out there as often as possible.
Be prepared to similarly promote your book. Set up a website devoted to your book. Write blog posts and other articles promoting your book. Create press releases for your book.
When you are ready, prepare a book proposal. Even if you are self-publishing a book proposal can be a useful tool to help keep your focus as you write. Your proposal should include a complete outline of your book, the total number of pages, at least one sample project and/or chapter, biographical information as well as a complete analysis of the market: What other books exist on this topic? How will your book stand out? Why will people buy your book? How large is the market for your book? Is the market growing or shrinking? A great resource to help you through this process is Write the Perfect Book Proposal: 10 That Sold and Why by Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman.
If you want to use a publishing house, send your proposal to multiple publishers. With any luck, you’ll hear back within a few months, and with a lot of luck, you’ll have your pick of publishers. Contact authors that have used those publishers to see what their experiences were. Some publishers will request the book be fewer pages, or you change your focus slightly. It is up to you if you want to change your original vision in order to finalize your contract.
If you are self-publishing, some places you may wish to check out include authoragency.com, Xlibris.com, iUniverse.com and “1stBook-publishing.”
Below are some at-a-glance pros and cons to self-publishing vs using a traditional publisher. Download the PDF at the bottom of this post for a printable version.
And good luck to all those seeking to get published!
Read Part 1 of the series: Getting Your Craft Project Published in a Magazine
Last week, Rebeca spoke at the Chicago Craft Mafia’s January Craft Racket about getting your work published in magazines and collaborative books, as well as publishing your own crafty book. We hear questions about this all the time (in fact it was the subject of one of our first “Ask an Artist” posts) so we though we’d share the resources she presented at this meeting and open up our blog to comments and questions from maillers and other crafters about getting work published.
Below is part one of a two-part series. This post, along with its FREE downloadable PDF, focuses on getting your work into magazines and multi-authored collaborative books. Part 2 tackles how to get your crafts book published.
Publishing Your Crafty ProjectBy Rebeca Mojica and Lindsay Obermeyer
Getting published in magazines and collaborative (multi-authored) books. Having a single project published in a magazine or book is a great way to get your feet wet with publishing. Obviously it requires far less work and commitment than writing an entire solo-book, and you can get your name out in front of thousands of people who otherwise might never hear of you.
There are far too many trade magazines to list here as each industry—beading, woodworking, felting, quilting—has its own publication, and often, multiple publications within the industry. You know your craft well, and so you should know which magazine(s) are appropriate. Some of the biggest craft book publishers include C&T Publishing, Interweave Press, Kalmbach Publishing, Krause, Lark, North Light, Potter Craft, Storey Publishing, Visual. There are dozens more. Go to the bookstore or visit the Crafts & Hobbies section of Amazon.com to get the names of different publishing companies that might be a good fit for your project.
Magazines usually have “submission guidelines” pages on their websites. Sometimes they’ll also include an editorial calendar. Book publishers often post “call for submissions” on their websites.
• Familiarize yourself with the magazine (or book publisher) and types of projects they publish. Make sure that your project completely aligns with the techniques their readers are interested in
• Read their submission guidelines. Each company has slightly different requirements; make sure you understand exactly what they require.
• Follow the guidelines! This should go without saying … but you’d be surprised at the number of people who send in low res images instead of hi res images, or who forget to write an introduction to their project.
• Write clear step-by-step instructions, using proper grammar. Have someone proofread what you’ve written. Revise, then have someone else proof it. It can be helpful to have both someone familiar with your
craft to proofread, as well as someone who doesn’t know anything about it. It is a great sign if the “outsider” can understand your instructions!
• Take excellent photos for each step of your project. The editors might combine some steps for space reasons, but give them more than enough to work with. Make sure the background is not distracting. It should be a solid color, with no texture. If your hands will be in the shots, get a manicure and make sure your fingernails and hands are smooth (Avoid French manicures; they may look cute in person, but when your finger is magnified for the printed image, it can be very distracting. Also avoid colored nail polish. If you must use polish, use a clear polish, or a color that is close to your natural skin tone. Try to avoid shiny
polish, especially if you are using flash on your camera.) If you are not taking photos and instead are creating illustrations, make sure to also have an illustration for each step of your project.
• Have someone test your instructions
• Triple check the materials list. You want to make sure people will be able to buy exactly what they need to succeed in making your project; if the materials list is incorrect, that will frustrate readers.
• Include your contact info. Most magazines also request a (short) bio and headshot.
• Consider selling kits to make your product. This is a good way to make a little extra money. If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of selling kits, you should be able to tell folks where they can purchase products.
(You may not feel it is your responsibility, but readers will be upset if they come to you and you can’t help them.) For more, read an interview with a former jewelry magazine editor: How Can I Get My Crafts Projects Published?
Congratulations! Your design idea has been accepted by an editor for inclusion in a book or magazine. Now you need to get started making that project!
Most manufacturers and distributors are willing to supply you with the necessary materials in return for their product being listed. If not, they will at least send it to you at wholesale cost without you having to meet a purchasing minimum. Many companies have designer project request information posted on their websites. If not, give the company a call and ask who would be the best person to submit your query. Usually it is the marketing or education director. Your letter (email) should include your project details, why their product is perfect for what you are doing, and where it will be published.
Vendors get many requests, often from folks wanting to do a project to post on a blog or website, so they frequently will require proof of print publication. Ask your editor if he or she will support you by writing a letter of reference (a letter that includes the name of the magazine or the working title of the book, your name and the project’s working title.) This letter needs to have the editor’s contact information or be on company letterhead. Many editors have established connections and may send you what they want you to use in terms of materials, color and manufacturer.
Remember to send a thank you to the one to assist you. Write this thank you on your finest stationary and post it by mail. Yes, this small step will make you stand out from the crowd and guarantee that when you need help again, they will be happy to assist you. This same advice goes for the editor as well. After all, you want them to accept another of your fabulous projects! 😊
Read Part 2 of the series: Publishing A Crafts Book
Those of you who are on our mailing list have been invited to participate in a few secret sales over the past few months. We started doing these as as way to offer some of our inventory that is not part of our regular stock but that we know our customers could use to create some awesome things. Because these items are very limited (often we have just one or two bags of rings available) they sell out in a flash leaving lots of folks in the dust, disappointed that everything is sold out before they have a chance to shop.
One way we intend to improve these sales is by giving advanced notice of the date and time the sale will release to everyone on the mailing list about a week in advance. That way, people won’t miss out just because they didn’t check their email soon enough on the day of the sale. We started doing this with our Maillers’ Choice kits and it seems like it helped last time.
We would also like to open up the suggestion box to you all. What do you feel we could do to help keep these sales fun and fair and limit your frustration with the über-speedy sell-outs (other than creating an inventory cloning device, that is *wink*.) Take a moment to fill out the 1 question survey by following the link below. Thank you in advance for your thoughts!
Submissions for January’s Featured Product of the Month Contest are closed, and the B3 team has cast their ballots to determine the finalists…..which means it’s time for YOU to cast your vote to determine the winner. Folks this month were challenged to create a piece that featured our enameled copper jump rings. The submissions showcase the brilliant color these rings are known for. Voting will close January 31st. Voting is only allowed once per computer so choose wisely!
To share the survey, we recommend you copy the link to this blog post and use that in any emails, blog posts, or social media posts you’d like to make about it (we’ve noticed some weirdness in the past with sharing the link directly – it sometimes like to bump people out of voting that haven’t already.)
February’s featured product will be our anodized aluminum scales! Lot’s of folks have requested that this be a featured product so we can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeves.
NOTE: The submission process changed as of January to use a more private format than Facebook. We still encourage folks to show off on Facebook if they like, but we thought this might lower the intimidation factor and open up the contest to even more folks who are making cool stuff but just aren’t so sure about putting their creations out there yet.
