How To Write and Publish a Craft Book Part Seven

Phineas Taylor Barnum by Mathew Brady Public Domain Image from the National Portrait Gallery

I realized after I published my last How To Write and Publish a Craft Book Series post that I'd not really finished the series. Why is that? Well, my little chickadee, that is because after you write and publish your craft book you will have to promote your craft book. Yup, put on the PR and Marketing hat my friend, it's P.T. Barnum time!

"Without promotion something terrible happens...nothing!" P.T. Barnum

I am currently working on an e-book about personal branding, viral marketing and self promotion and I hope to have it finished very soon. Until then, here are a few tips and tricks about marketing your book. As I mentioned at the start of the series, the publisher is not going to do the bulk of the marketing. That is up to you. I like to think of it like this. If I spent months and months planning the perfect party, decorations, food, music, theme...and I never sent out any invitations...who would I blame if no one showed up?

Me. I'd blame me. While I slumped in a chair making pouty faces in my fabulous frock, I would blame me.

Yes, my fine friend, it is up to you to send out the invitations. That means promotions on your blog, your social networking sites and your website. If you don't actually have a blog, social networking presence or website, I suggest that you start by building these before you write and publish any book. People aren't just going to find your book, you need to tell them about the book and why they simply can not live without it. Get them excited and make it easy for them to find and purchase your amazing creation.

Make sure Amazon has the "Look Inside" feature activated, join Amazon Associates to get a referral fee, offer free books to colleagues to giveaway on their blogs, promote the book through Facebook and Blog freebies and sneak peeks. Generate buzz and excitement. If you send out a newsletter, make sure you start promoting the book before it goes to print, maybe even give your fans a little incentive, if you sell your book on your website, offer them a special fan discount. Have review copies sent to prominent people in your industry. If someone reviews your book positively, post a link to the review in your blog and on your social networking sites. The more you create threads that lead back to your book, the more people will find it, which is, of course, why it was called the World Wide Web once upon a time and why some folks still jokingly refer to it as the 'interwebs.'

Once the book is 'born' your job is to teach it to walk and then help it to run. If not, your book is not likely to succeed. Like every aspect of this process, it ultimately falls on you to make it happen. Resting on one's laurels, even if you've had a few successes, is never a good plan. I work each and every single day to build my brand, promote awareness and to generate buzz about my books.

If you don't like hard work and you don't want to put the time in to make your book a success, I suggest you refrain from taking the journey. There is nothing worse that pouring your heart and soul into something and then watching it shrivel up and die. You and only you can make the party a success, so make sure you get those invitations in the mail and get ready to pop open that champagne! Huzzah!

Oh and to those who believe they're 'too old' to reinvent themselves, PT Barnum didn't start his first circus until he was 61 years old! It is never too late to become the person you've always wanted to be.

Love
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 1

People often ask me how to go about writing a how-to craft book and getting it published. I do have some information about this on my website in the Fun (Mostly) Facts section. I'm working on a new proposal so I figured I'd give you a window in the process. We'll see if this book sells and if it does I'll share the journey. If it doesn't, we'll talk about why. I won't share my actual designs or ideas though. Lesson one: keep your cards close to your chest.

A book proposal starts with a series of big ideas. I like to have about three or four general concepts/topics to present to my publisher and we narrow it down to something they think has legs. If you don't already have a publisher, you need to fully develop an idea into a presentation or a pitch and do a 'blind query.' That's how I sold my first book. Start by doing some research. See what kinds of books are on the market and what books are selling well. Go to the big box craft chains and book stores to see what's on the shelves and what has prominent placement. That should tell you what's selling. Try to glean a sense of overall trend based on the publications in your forum and what's hot in the related blogs and places like Etsy. Now think about what you can add to the conversation. What kind of a book isn't there on the topics that are selling well? What audience isn't being reached that might be receptive to the message? That's your proposal. Pick a publisher that reflects your style and go to their website to see what they want for a query, do exactly what they ask of you. Nothing annoys editors more than people who can't follow basic directions.

My most sage advice is: Don't annoy the editor. As a former editor I can attest to the fact that I stopped working with people who annoyed me no matter how talented they were. Be savvy, not flaky. You're not a biscuit.

Making a how-to book is all about picking a target reader and giving them information they can really use in a format that is clear, concise and hopefully entertaining. If it's too pedantic, it won't stand out on the shelves. No one likes to read stereo instructions...or boring how-to books. You need to find an angle that is unique, but not so far from center that the publishers are going to be afraid to take a risk on it. I have personally noticed that the best selling craft books seem to be focused on one thing, like wire or knots or PMC or collage or journaling or metalsmithing. So make sure whatever you do, your title has a focus and a voice. I tend to the pu pu platter approach because I'm restless and impatient and I hate doing the same thing for too long, but I'm cracking the whip and doing a focused concept this round.

You do not need to write the entire book before you propose it, the publisher will want to work with you to develop a concept they know will sell. I start with the title, the introduction and a chapter breakdown. This helps me to organize and fine tune the book concept in my mind before diving in. I like to come up with a clever title that also clearly states what the book is about. The Impatient Beader...it evokes an immediate visceral response right? Don't get too attached to your title though, because the publisher may change it. I decide what 's going in the front matter, the focus of each chapter, the number of projects based on their complexity and the standard how-to book length and the number of variations. I create samples that show a cross section of what the book is going to be about. I also visualize the book and the layout and try to give them a sense of what I'm seeing up front. That being said, they get to design the book. If you're just starting out, you'll also need to create a chapter header and a sample set of instructions, they need to get a sense of your personality and the vibe of your book. Most publishers have detailed information about what they want in a proposal on their website. My publisher has a form they like folks to fill out.

Generally what the publishers want to know from you is:
1. What makes your book unique? Why should we buy it?
2. Who is your target audience and why do you think they'd want this book?
3. What sort of audience have you cultivated? Do you have an online presence? What are your blog stats, Facebook fans/followers, website stats?

(If you don't have a website, blog and a Facebook page, I think that you really need them before you propose a book...although a successful Etsy shop could get your foot in the door, not having an interractive online presence means you won't have a platform for promotion and it's mostly up to you to promote your book. You can't rely on the publisher.)

4.What makes you an expert in this particular medium or field? Have you been published and if so, where and how often? Why should we work with you?

Let me just state for the record as someone who has published 5 craft books and is ready to publish her 6th that you aren't going to make a fortune on craft books unless you can self publish and you have a very large niche audience willing to buy your book. You will hopefully negotiate a decent contract and make a nice little royalty egg twice a year along with your advances, but it's about how you parlay that prestige into other paying opportunities that will help pay the bills. Don't go into this thinking that selling one how-to book will be enough to quit your day job, because it won't. Believe me.

I'm going to propose my next book soon and if it (hopefully) sells, we'll take the next steps together. If not, I'll pitch another idea until I get one that sticks! I have contacted my editor and we've selected a topic she thinks will appeal to the publisher. I have six out of ten samples created, an introduction and chapter breakdowns. Today I'm working on more samples and fine tuning my concept...wish me luck!

Cheers,
Madge