How to Write and Publish a Craft Book-Part Six

You may have wondered what happened to my How To Write and Publish a Craft Book series. Well, I've been a little busy writing a craft book that will be published next spring! I had two months to create 30 projects and 15 variations, write the instructions and the romance copy, write the tools and materials front matter, plan the techniques section, write an intro, bio, dedication and thank you section...and prepare for a week long step by step photo shoot. That's not a lot of time, really. I've had six months or more on some of my past books. Since this book is a little more complex than my more 'impatient' titles, the projects took more time and more effort to conceive and create. The task was daunting and thankfully I rose to the occasion. Ya gotta love when that happens!

When you're working on a craft book, you have to be willing to dive in and make glorious messes. A lot of wire ended up in snargled bundles under my desk, beads were broken, head pins were mangled and I rejected many designs that just didn't quite have what it takes to be 'book worthy.' There is a lot of frustration followed by an occasional moment of Zen and you have to be able to turn off your inner critic and take a few risks. If your book is just like every other book on the subject, how on earth will it sell? It's important as you're working on the text to remember that a distinct voice reflects your distinct personality and that the reader will feel welcome to stick around and explore if you aren't lecturing them. No one, really, likes to be lectured. No one, really, enjoys reading dry and boring instructions. Trust me.

Also it's key that you be aware of trend and try as best as you can to look forward and stay relevant. Things are shifting so much faster these days and there is so much free information on the internet the consumer has become far more savvy and discerning. If your book is filled with stale ideas and out of date designs, it's not going to sell. I get all of the major fashion magazines, I look at what's happening in the craft and jewelry blog world, read the jewelry making magazines and I check out the sites where people are selling their jewelry. What seems to be trending and what seems to be on the way out? How can you take the trends into a new direction? Can you predict, based on Haute Couture and street savvy design where things are heading and can you interpret that in your work? If you can do that, your book will stand out on the shelf.

I've still got a little more writing to do and some instructions to rework, but for the most part, I'm finished and it feels good. Writing a book is a bit like having a baby, except having had one without any anesthesia I can attest that having an actual baby is really, really hard while writing a craft book is only really hard. Both have tremendous rewards and both will eventually leave you and make their way in the world. The best you can do is to prepare them for success. That means you need to look at every aspect of your book with a critical eye and keep fine tuning it until you feel it's ready. Trust your editors, share it with others whom you trust for some input and ultimately, believe in yourself and your vision and do what feels right.

And once your book is published, don't let the nasty trolls who leave crappy reviews on Amazon bother you, until I see THEIR vastly superior and sanctimonious craft book published, I take their nastiness with a grain of salt. Those who can, do. Those who can't, become critics.

Love and Crafty Kisses
Madge

How to Write and Publish a Craft Book Part 4

Photo Credit Andrew Potter 2008 (I just noticed the impromptu dandelion bracelet!)

I've got some big news I can finally share. I've sold my seventh book! Insert trumpet flourish here! I can't share any of the details of the contents, but I can say that it's a jewelry focused book with a fresh twist on what is already on the market. My book projects and instructions are due in house by July 30th. So I have my work cut out for me. It's not a lot of time, but I can do it. I work well under pressure, like most designers I tend to work to the deadline anyway. Might as well make it sooner than later to avoid the inevitable procrastinating. Plus, this is the fun part! I get to create something new!

I would like to branch out and write some books that aren't jewelry focused, but for now that's the niche for which I am known and in which I do well. In a rough economy when publishers are really taking a hit financially, they're unlikely to take too many risks. People spend a lot of time being absurdly stubborn and relentlessly specific about what they want to do and how it has to unfold. Then they make a litany of excuses for why things aren't working out. More often than not it's because they're not willing to be a little flexible. Take some yoga. Bend a little. Or you can just dig those pretty little heels in and keep insisting that you're way is the only way and see how far that actually gets you. Publishing a book is all about the fine art of compromise. I wish I could say it was just about fine art, but that would be a lie. It's about making money. Money pays the rent. Then you can make all the fine art you like and not have to worry if it sells because it's not feeding your family, it's feeding your soul. There is nothing romantic about starving. You can't eat your conviction for dinner and your kids can't wear your stubborn pride to school.

Once you've sold your book, you'll be presented with a contract. Do not sign the first contract. DO NOT SIGN THE FIRST CONTRACT. Period. Read every single word and go over all of the math with a calculator and a fine tooth comb. Make sure you understand what it all means and ask a lot of questions if you don't understand. Set up a time to meet with the contracts person over the phone to talk about the contract in detail. Ask for specific clarification of anything you don't understand. Ask why you can't have more, why this has to be like this or that, go over every line for specifics. You can negotiate a better deal, but you have to ask for what you want. You need to know what you want first to do so, so you'll need to figure that out for yourself. I can't tell you what you want. Ask to remove anything you don't like, they may say no, but you should ask anyway. Ask for more money, ask for fewer restrictions, pay attention to what rights you are signing away and if you don't want to say, give the TV and movie rights away, ask to remove that clause. Be willing to walk away if the deal isn't good. Even if you are desperate, do not negotiate from a place of desperation. They liked your idea enough to buy it, so you should get paid well for it. The first contract is not a good deal. Trust me.

Making a craft book is a huge undertaking. You will likely be spending countless hours on the designs, instructions, text and concept. Then you will spend countless hours on the editing and organizing. Then you will spend countless hours on PR and Marketing. Make sure you get paid well for your time, but remember that your craft book is only part of the equation for making money, the other part comes from the notoriety you create that you can parlay into other paid opportunities.

I like to take a Sharpee to a printed copy of the contract and start marking out things I don't like. It's fun. Whee! Just keep a fresh copy so you can see what you've slashed out when you talk with the contracts person. Everything is negotiable. You may not get everything you want, but you will have to ask to get it. Ask, ask with conviction. This is not the time to be shy or timid or flaky. Be a diplomat and a pirate. If you don't negotiate a better deal I can guarantee that you won't make much money. If you don't make much money, you have only yourself to blame. The person who creates the contract does so with their best interests at heart, that's called good business. Now you respond with your best interests at heart and get a good deal. Negotiate.

It took me six books to finally get a really good deal. Had I hired an agent, I'd probably have done better sooner. You can also opt to show the contract to a lawyer. You may want to do that because they'll probably find things you won't. Craft books don't make a lot of money, so it can really eat into your royalties if you have to give a percentage away to lawyers and agents, but on the other hand it might make all the difference in your profits. It's a balancing act. You have to make some big decisions, so educate yourself.

Once you've signed the contract, the work begins. You need to take this seriously. Meet your deadlines, do quality work, focus on the tasks at hand. I recommend that you make a plan. Figure out how much time you have, how much work you need to do, double that because things will always take longer than you expected. Once you've signed your contract, been assigned to an editor and you've got a solid plan, it's time to start making a craft book.

I'll be back with some advice about that soon in my fifth installment in How to Write and Publish a Craft Book.

Cheers,
Madge

How To Write and Publish a Craft Book Title Part Three

I am so, so, so excited to finally be able to share my new book cover with you! Insert trumpet flourish here...Bead Chic is now available for pre-order on Amazon! The book debuts this summer and it's a fresh approach to jewelry design for the novice. There are 36 core designs each with a variation for a total of 72 designs! I have a wonderful roster of celebrity guest designers who created variations of many of the projects and I think you're really going to love this book. Each chapter shows you another way to approach designing and changing various elements of a design to surprising effect. I really wanted to help bead stringers become jewelry designers and stop copying other people's work and instead dialog with them through design. Also I've been hoping to help people get over the need to have 'that one bead'...because that is often impossible with the millions of beads on the planet and ever changing inventories to find the exactly same bead.

I have a few things to share today. Firstly it is crucial that your cover reflect the inside of your book. I had one cover that really didn't serve the book inside and it was sad to see the book not sell as well as I think it could have with the right cover. It took us several versions of this cover to find one we all could get behind. I loved having models in the book because it's a fresh approach to a jewelry title, but I wasn't loving the full shot of a model on the cover because the jewelry was getting lost in the shuffle. I love the way this cover looks. It's fresh and compelling and makes you want to pick it up.

There is one small nit-picky thing that bothers me with one of the memory wire segments on the necklace, but by the time I noticed it there was no time to Photoshop that error out. C'est la vie. I'm going to have to be okay with it. Ergh. Memory wire, why must you resist turning with such...resistance?

When you sell your book and you get your contract, try to insert a clause that allows you cover and design approval. I think many people don't realize that authors of craft books have very little input into the book design process. We often don't have a clue what the book is going to look like until we get our galleys for final review. Everything is done by committee and if you've not asked for design approval, you're not on the committee. I've often felt that a committee is the worst way to do anything, because everyone has a different agenda and a different POV. That being said, it is what it is and unless you're ready to write the book, create the projects, take the photographs, layout the images and text, edit the book, contact retail outlets, sell the book, pay for printing, store the books, ship the books, deal with book returns and consignments...if you're not ready to do all of that, you're going to need a publisher. You're also going to have to find a publisher you trust and trust that they want your book to sell as well as you do. So that means shopping around, asking questions, digging deep to find out what the 411 is about working with a particular publisher.

If you can find a publisher that you trust who will get behind you and support you, they'll most likely respect your vision and try to support it with a lovely design. They want to sell the book too. I think a lot of authors sort of forget that they are also responsible for how the book turns out and how it sells. That means being sure your contract affords you the ability to have input. It means promoting the book. Which I will start doing in a few months when we get closer to the publishing date. Artists sometimes aren't so great at the business side of things, but that's a matter of focus. If you want your book to do well, you can't work your arse off making it and then sit back and wait for people to find it.

Like most things in life, you get out of them what you put in.

I have shipped off my samples for the next book proposal. The acquisitions editor is working on a pitch and I should know if I have a hit or a strike out by the end of this month. Stay tuned...

Cheers,
Madge

How to Write and Publish a Craft Book Part Two

Firstly I wanted to announce a winner of a BIG PRIZE from The Shape of Things to Come! Erika Michaels COME ON DOWN and claim a fabulous prize package!If you email your snail mail address to margot@margotpotter.com I will forward your info to the fine folks from Scrapbook Adhesives!

Secondly I promised a design here today which is MIA.  Why?  Because I was busy finalizing the details on my new book proposal... I have got to stop making promises!

Thirdly that leads us to my second installment in my How to Write and Publish a Craft Book Series!

(Sneak Peek of a Design Sample for New Book Proposal Copyright 2010 Margot Potter ALL RIGHTS RESERVED!)

Yesterday I finished the final sample design for my book proposal.  These designs are meant to show the publisher what my vision is for the book.  They may or they may not make the final cut, but they're a starting point.  It's important when you're creating sample designs that you not get too attached to them.  The editorial team may not dig what you're throwing down and you as a highly sensitive artist have to suck it up and accept that not every creation is going to change the universe.  You can almost always find another home for your ideas if they're good.

I finished my final design and fine tuned the title, introduction and chapter breakdowns.  There are five chapters in this book and since the topic is a little more complex than my past titles, there are fewer total designs.  I created ten samples with two designs representing each chapter.  This really gives a nice POV on my concept and should help the Pub Board decide on whether or not they'll buy my book.

There is a team of people that regularly review book proposals in every publishing house.  Once you've gotten the approval from editorial and worked with an acquisitions editor on creating a presentation of your idea, the acquisitions editor will present it to the Publishing Board.  They meet on a regular basis to review concepts.  A lot of the decisions revolve around the opinions of the sales team.  Why?  Because they're the ones in the front lines meeting the buyers.  If they don't think your idea will sell, they're not going to approve it.  So even if it's a fabulous idea...if they feel that they can't sell it, they can't sell it.  Even though it's a tough pill to swallow when your brilliant concept gets rejected, it would be a far more bitter pill to work your booty off on the book and watch it tank after publication.  I have a file of good ideas that are patiently waiting for the right time to be developed into full blown proposals.

Publishing is a business.  Things are tough these days for publishers which means they can't take the sort of calculated risks they could take a few years back.  Try to really be on point in terms of what is trending and what is emerging so that your title is really relevant, marketable and enticing to the sales team.  Do your research because if you can't convince them that your idea has merit, they're not going to buy it.  So go to book stores and review what's in the craft section with prominent placement.  Get craft and fashion magazines to see where color, style, texture, motif and other trends are heading.  Surf the internet and start looking for connective threads.  That's where you'll find a solid and marketable concept.  If your initial idea isn't gelling with the trends, keep reworking it until you're satisfied that it's relevant.

If the stars align, the acquisitions editor gets behind your idea, the Pub Board approves it and your title sells, you will be assigned an editor.  Be nice to your editor.  Don't cop an attitude.  If you can't play well with others, try self publishing.  Your editor is your lifeline and only connection to the publisher and if you piss them off, you're going to find it tough to get anyone to listen to your ideas.  The editor is probably not going to be the person who sold your book to the publishing board.  You don't get to choose them, though if you've worked well with someone in the past you can certainly request them again.  So when you send out your proposal, wave a magic wand over it and say a few magic words in the hopes that you get an editor who gets you and will get behind you as you forge the wilderness of creating and publishing your book.

I'm waiting to hear from the acquisitions editor on the proposal I've submitted.  She may want me to change up some of the project samples, she may want me to fine tune my idea, she may not like my idea!  If she does like it, she may need for me to present a targeted demographic breakdown and provide her with statistics for my blog, website and social networking sites.  Yes, you will be your own PR and Marketing department, so if you want to sell a craft book you'd best build up an online presence first.  That's a big factor in selling your concept.  The acquisitions editor is a very, very busy person.  It could be a month or more before she's ready to propose my idea.  So stay tuned...