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-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

Update from Studio Madge

Image from Wikimedia Commons by Mathematica Details under a Creative Commons Share Alike 3.0 License

My straw pile has grown exponentially. I am quite certain there is circus music playing in the studio. I have a week to finish the bulk of my book and then a lot of looming travel that is going to keep me away from the studio. It's turning out to be another crazy summer. I am hopeful for a lazy summer next year...

I've completed 28 of the 30 core projects and I need to whip up 2 more. Then I need to create 9 more variation projects (I've completed six), finish the step by step instructions, write the chapter openers, write the tools and materials information and plan the techniques section. Then it's a matter of mapping out and packing up materials for the step by step shoot in August and getting it all to the publisher by July 30th. Plus there's Bead Chic coming out at the end of this month and the PR blitz I need to work out for that and the looming trip to CHA... Ah to have more hands and more hours!

On top of that we have a variety of other wacko things happening behind the scenes here and I know you all know I've been stressed to the max recently. Though folks around me seem convinced it will all work out, I can't be sure of that until I'm sure of that. It's complicated.
Breathing deeply...

I'll be back tomorrow with another fun Teen crafts project for ILoveToCreate. Until then...if you're as hot as we are around these parts...stay cool or if not, take that figuratively!

xoxo
Madge

How To Write and Publish a Craft Book Part Five

St. Basil's Cathedral Image from Wikicommons by David Cranshaw under Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike
3.0 License

I sold my seventh book. I negotiated and signed the contract. I have begun the tedious process of creating the projects. Everyone has a different approach to this. Mine begins with an idea. Then I write my introduction, which fleshes out my idea. Then I create the outline. I determine the focus of each chapter. I don't work from chapter to chapter because I like to bounce around to the design that captures my fancy at any given moment.

My daughter started watching Cake Boss on Netflix. What a brilliant show, what an amazing artist! What I love is the moment in each show where Buddy's brain kicks into overdrive and he comes up with the concept. The thing I love is the graphic visual representation they create of what he's thinking. That is exactly how I design. I am inspired by something...an image, a motif, a pattern and then my brain begins to form an idea. So let's say it's a turret from an iconic building in Russia. I begin to think about how I can take some beads and wire and make a turret?

Then I make the design. It's never as easy as just thinking about it and making it...because there are basic laws of physics that I am defying with every twist of the wire. Just like the Cake Boss has to deal with fondant and icing and cake that may not cooperate, there may be a carnage of epic proportions around my desk...bits of wire, broken beads, funked up findings all sprinkled liberally with juicy expletives, but eventually with persistence, my vision becomes reality. Then my husband looks under my desk and shakes his head.

How in the heck do you do that in one day?!

It's Hurricane Madge!

Now if only I had a team of minions to do my bidding. Hey make this wire curl on the jig for me! You, hammer out this sheet metal! Over there, stop slacking and get this wire wrapping started!

Sigh.

I'm a team of one. One stubborn, impatient and determined woman who when inspired with an idea will insist on seeing it to completion. Therefore, in reality, my determination trumps my impatience every time.

If you want to write a craft book, you'll need to find out how to take your ideas and make them real. You'll need to fine tune your design and writing patterns and make them work to your advantage. You'll have deadlines, sometimes insanely short ones, and you will have to meet them. Deadlines are not arbitrary. Deadlines revolve around the entire team who is, in fact, waiting patiently to take your finished pieces and your concept and make a book. So...in reality...there are minions. They aren't your minions though because they're working for the publisher.

Damn.

I need to work on that.

I will be insanely busy for the next two months. This is the shortest deadline I have ever had. I am doing my best to take it one design at a time, but in light of the other things on my plate, it's a daunting task to say the least.

E...gads.

Enough blather, I have a book to make!

Love
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...

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