How To Go About Getting a Crochet Book Published

The past 11 years, I have been asked this question many times. In fact I have spoken at crochet events on "Getting Published". One of my talks is how to get published for the first time in a magazine, but this post will focus mainly on getting your own book published.

You Need to Have a Burning Desire

I will give you information I learned from other designers back in 2006 when I wanted to do my own book, but I'll also give tips I've learned from my own experiences. When I first started talking about wanting to do a book I had been designing professionally for a little over a year. That's not a long time in the designing world, but I thought " why not try?" After all, I had 57 designs accepted for publication my first year of designing, and didn't see any reason to wait. And besides, I was so anxious to do this! That's my first tip. You really need to have a tremendous desire to write a crochet book! I say that is very important because your passion and enthusiasm is what will get you through the sometimes strenuous long hours, days and months before you will be ready to turn the manuscript in.

How Much Time Do They Give You To Write the Book and Get the Manuscript In?

The publisher normally gives you around 9 months to finish up, but by the time everything else is done (the tech editing, photo shoot, book design, corrections, proof reading), it will be about a year before the book is actually on the shelves. This can vary with each publisber. And they may even ask you how much time you need. With my latest book, Colorful Crochet Lace, I signed the contract in the fall of 2013 with my due date June, 2014, but they didnt have it scheduled for release till the summer of 2015. When I asked why they said it was because they had another lace book scheduled for 2014. I later found out it was a knit book, not crochet. But you have to expect there will be things you may not be happy about and you just have to go along with it. They even wanted me to cut some of my favorite designs, and that really bothered me! Everything worked out in the end though, and I'm using those other designs (mostly Boho for my blog and Ravelry store).You may have some input, but the publisher makes the final decision on things. They did allow me to have a say on which garment I wanted on the front cover and several other things, but I just want to prepare you.

 Like I said, the normal process takes 9 months to a year, but in the case of my first 2 Kooler Design/Leisure Arts booklets, (Crochet in Style and Crochet Young and Trendy), my 14 designs in both books were accepted and actually published within 5-6 months! The reason for this was that I had the projects all finished and when I contacted them, they had a  "slot" to fill and I was at the right place at the right time! That was so exciting! When I submitted those designs, I had never even submitted to a magazine before, so never even tried to get published. Later some known, designer friends said, "Mary Jane, do you realize that sometimes it takes a designer 20 years to get a deal like that!?" I had no idea, which made it even more exciting! After those booklets had been published, I found out that was very unusual though and would rarely ever happen that quick. I got busy designing again and went on to get more and more garments and accessories accepted for publications later that year (2005).

I really wanted to do a book, like many of you, but had no way of knowing how to go about it. You may have the same desire and questions I did and I'm here to help you! I felt lost and had no idea of how to get started. So I just began emailing various designers I knew of who had published books on crochet. I had met some personally at the Chain Link Conference or TNNA but others I found on the internet, after seeing they had a book.

My First Step in Finding Out What To Do

I had the idea to email crochet authors to ask how I could get started and even if they thought I should be pursing this, after such a short time designing professionally. I was pretty nervous thinking I'd be bothering them, because we all are very busy with many deadlines. I probably wrote 10 authors for advice, hoping I'd hear back from at least one. To my surprise, I got a reply from each person I had written. All but one, wrote back being very supportive and encouraging in my quest to write a book. The one negative email I received said, "You have not paid your dues and should not be trying to write a book". I was shocked she said that to me! I was thinking, "Not paid my dues? I have been crocheting for over 36 years!" It really upset me and if I had listened to her, I probably would not have been a successful crochet book author to this day. I'm so glad I did not listen to her. The others were so sweet to give me long, detailed tips or advice on how to go about accomplishing this dream of mine. I'm telling you about this person because you need to know there will be people who are negative and you can't let anyone discourage you from achieving your dream.

Which Publisher Should I Send my Book Proposal To?

I know from experience, this question can haunt you, but it's one of the most important of all. You can drive yourself crazy trying to decide on this. I suggest going to some place like Barnes and Noble or any place that carries crochet books. Plan to take your time, because you don't want to be rushed with this step. Be sure and take a notebook and ink pen with you for taking notes. Look through all the books that catch your eye. You want to notice their format, how many photos they have, if they have stitch pattern charts, how small or large the print is, how many pages, their style and whether or not they have a cover that pops and catches your attention. These things are all important. You want to look at every detail, even whether or not they have a photo and info on the author. I'm surprised that some publishers don't think it's important to have a section for the author. With my first 2 books, the publisher (Krause - branch of F +W)  gave me a whole page spread toward the back. This impressed me.  Even though you have written down info on several publishers, you can only submit your proposal to one at a time. It's considered unethical to submit your book idea to more than one publisher at the same time. It's easy to find their email addresses on the web, along with whether you should send your query letter by email or regular mail. For 11 years, I have always communicated by email.
After saying all this, I got this advice from a designer/publisher back in 2006 who taught classes on getting published, so I don't know how up to date it is. She said,
"Get a copy of Writer's Market and read the list of publishers there. Sometimes, they have requests from publishers looking for writers."

Write a "Query" Letter

Even though you are allowed to send the proposal to only one publisher at a time, you can write each of them a "query" letter at the same time. The purpose of this letter is to ask them "permission" to send a proposal. You never send a proposal to a publisher without asking their permission. One reason is because they have many people contacting them and let's face it. They are very busy people and the only proposals they want to take their time to look at, are ones they are interested in. When you tell them what your book is about and the details, they'll know immediately if they've done a book recently that's similar or whether or not they think it will sell. They're only interested in book ideas they know they can make money on. Anything else is a waste of their time. But if you have a really good, and unique idea, they will want to latch on to you and will ask you to send your proposal right away. You may get multiple publishers wanting you to send them your propossl, but as I said, you only send it to one. If they are all interested, after reading your letter, that's more stress on you, wondering which one it should be. All 20 publishers were interested in my proposal and I can't tell you how hard it was for me to finally decide who to send it to. That's another story in itself. If you're interested, let me know, and I'll be happy to tell you why I chose the one I did.

How Much Info Do I Give Them about My Book?

At first I worried about giving them too much information on my book, because I didn't know if they would steal my idea! But I can assure you, if you are writing to a known publisher, you have nothing to worry about. They are honest and professional and are not going to steal your idea. So rest easy! Not only that, but once you have written down your idea, it is automatically copyrighted, as long as you can prove its yours. Back in 2007, when I came up with my Graduated Stitch Method of making fitted and shaped crochet garments without increases or decreases, I wrote a letter with all my info on this and mailed it to myself so it would have a postmark with a date.

Some Things to Include in Your Query Letter 

1. You don't want to make your letter too long or they may not read it. Most people in the know would say it should be only 1 page. But make sure you tell them what your book is about and the better your letter is, the more it may persuade them. Once you write the letter ask a friend to read it and let them give you feedback on whether or not it sounds interesting.
2. The Book Acquisitions Editor will be the one reading your letter and the most important thing to them is that they want to know how your book idea is different from all the other crochet books already published. They are interested in "new ideas" - not just your designs.
3. Give them ideas for a title. You want them to imagine this title in print! Giving an idea for a sub-title may help too.
4. You need to tell them where you have been published along with a couple of pictures of your designs.
5. Not only your experiences in the crochet world, but you can list your background like jobs, etc. I mentioned being a supervisor for House of Lloyd/Christmas Around the World, Real Estate and my singing career.
6. Sending pictures of your already published designs is important but if you have any designs you want in the book that are finished and photographed on a mannequin or person is a good idea. They will see your work visually and not just read about your descriptions. Some publishers request you to send one of your finished designs along with your proposal (if accepted), so they can see your work up close. They will also want a sample of one of your written patterns.
7. Publishers are also interested in what social media you are a member of, mainly because they need to know if you are willing to help promote your book. This is important to them and you'll be far more attractive the more you can do to advertise yourself. This includes posting about it, setting up book signings, which better your chances. This is something to probably reserve for the proposal, when accepted. When a publisher sends you a proposal package, they will ask you lots of questions and this is one of them.

Advice from Susan Huxley (designer/author/publisher) who gave a talk at a conference I attended. This is advice for proposals that have been turned down:

                      "Publishers have expert advice, trend information, and 
                          reader interest polls at their fingertips. Perhaps what 

                          you're offering isn't marketable? Or the niche is too 

                          small to turn a profit?"

What Happens after the Proposal is sent?

After you've decided on a publisher who gave you permission to send your book proposal, they will probably send you a proposal package with lots of questions and this is when you can go into much more detail about the book. You need to have patience as you sit back and "wait", crossing your fingers that they'll like your book idea. I was told from the beginning that it could take up to 3 months to hear back from a publisher. This really concerned me because many of my designs were trendy and I was afraid by the time the book was published, they would no longer be in style. But to my surprise, I heard back from the publisher the first week on all my books!

What Happens After Your Proposal is Accepted?

After your book has been accepted they will send you a contract. My publisher sends you a cash advance. This is because they are a traditional publisher, who pays for all costs to make the book happen and they write you a royalty check 2 - 4 times a year. Of course, if you are self publishing you won't get the cash advance or royalties. That's another story. Some people have been very successful at this, but I would not recommend it on your first book. There is so much involved and you need to be more known in order to market your own book, to make your job easier. I've never self published, but have considered it and may do so in the future. You can read more about self publishing vs traditional publishing from Kathryn Vercillo of Crochet Concupiscence, one of the most popular crochet related blogs on the web.

What Happens After Your Contract is Signed?

Half of your advance will be sent after they receive your proposal and you will get the second half after the manuscript is turned in. They will also send you a packet either by regular mail or email with much more information on how to begin the book. You won't be alone. They assign you an editor and she will help you along the way and the two of you will become very close with all the communication! She'll send you guidelines to go by and a sample layout of a way you can make sure everything will fit onto the number of pages. You'll be so excited to get started! My advice to you is that no matter how busy you are with other things in your life, make sure you work on the book every day, even if it's for a short time some days, because it's easy to get behind and you will start to panic. While I was working on my last book, Colorful Crochet Lace, my sister was in the hospital for 15 days and I stayed with her every day. It was hard to focus and keep my mind on crochet since I was worried about her, but if I had it to do over I would have made sure I worked on my designs there too. I ended up having to hire 4 professional contract crocheters to stitch up some projects that were actually photographed for the book because I just ran out of time. Don't put off getting things done, no matter how busy you are. Let your desire to see the finished book in your hands and in stores be what drives you!

 Good luck to you in your quest to have your book published! If you have any questions or think I have left anything out, don't hesitate to ask!

Hiring and Paying Pattern Testers

As a Designer How Much 

Do I Pay Pattern Testers?

As a mentor for those having dreams of becoming a designer, I have been asked this question numerous times. I really do not know what the standard pay is, so I can only give you my thoughts from my own experience. When I was working on my book, Positively Crochet! (Released 2007), I wanted to have every pattern tested before mailing the projects  to the publisher and I too was in a delima over what to pay. Back then, I was pretty active on Crochetville, a social media site for crocheters, and people were talking about testing patterns. I posted that I was looking for testers and another designer  warned me to be very careful about having a stranger do it for me since she had someone steal a pattern that way. So then I decided to ask women I knew personally if they'd be intested. I still don't know what other people pay, but I wanted to be fair. I had already had designs in other designers books, such as Vickie Howell, Kim Welker  and their publisher paid each contributing designer $100, which is not much at all, but I knew it would also give me exposure since I was so new at the time and it was well worth it to me.

Based on all that and the fact I was paid only $100 to design it and stitch it up, this gave me some ideas. I figured that someone who had never tested a pattern or had anything published wouldn't be real particular about it. So I just started asking people I knew, including teenagers who were beginners. I told them I didn't have a lot of money, but if interested I would give them 2 choices.
1.  I'd pay them $30-$40 to test a pattern + they could have the pattern and keep the project, OR
2. I'd buy the yarn and they could keep the project for themselves.
Each one of them were very happy to do this. Some were beginners and most were thrilled that I'd even ask them. Since they knew me, they were happy with the pay, but I have no idea what someone else would expect to be paid to test a pattern. I'm sure it also has to do with the type of design and how large or small it is.  If you're a member of the national CGOA group, you could ask there. I know there are people who are professional pattern testers.

I actually prefer a person who hasn't crocheted long to test my patterns because they  notice the little things. For instance, they will make a note if I forget to say "sew seams", "fasten off" and other obvious things. Sometimes an experienced crocheter  would automatically go ahead and "sew seams",  but forget to make a note to me saying I left it off. This was frustrating.
On Crochet That Fits, (Released 2008 and voted "Best Crochet Pattern Book of 2008"), I didn't have every pattern tested like I did on Positively Crochet  because so many of the patterns in that book are beginner level. Some people are surprised the "Little Black Dress" on the book cover and my famous Cap Sleeve Top, featured on the Knit and Crochet Now TV show are easy enough for a beginner. With my interview we demonstrated my Graduated Stitch Method of making shaped garments without having to use increases or decreases. The Cap Sleeve Top is one of my most known designs because my publisher (F+W) allowed  the show to put that pattern on the website for anyone  to have access to. It's been in several crochat alongs also, which made it more popular. I only had some of the intermediate patterns from that book tested.

On Colorful Crochet Lace, published Aug 2015, I had to hire some experienced people to stitch up 5 projects for the book, since I didn't have time myself. There were circumstances in my life that would have kept me from meeting my deadline if it hadn't been for these friends who came to the rescue. The gals who stitched those up were like pattern testers also, since they had to follow the pattern. Of course I paid them more because they stitched up the actual garment that was photographed for the book.

The Tech Edited Copy - What New Designers Need To Know

I mentioned in my last post I had finished with the book, but that it wasn't really finished. I said it still had to go to the editor and tech editor to be checked. I'm updating this to say all the tech editing has been done and checked for any mistakes, and will be going to print in a few days.

No matter how confident you are with your wording and instructions, you will be surprised to know that after the tech editor checks the patterns they can come back all marked up and you're thinking, "What in the world? I thought I worded everything perfectly and every word I wrote was clear."

 After all, I have pattern testers who were able to stitch up each and every project without any trouble. As a matter of fact, I have always told my pattern testers to try and make the project from my instructions without asking me any questions. I need to see if they understand everything I wrote. In the 10 years I've been designing professionally I have probably had a tester ask me only 1-2 questions to make something more clear. I use crocheters of all skill levels and experience, but I really prefer younger, beginning to intermediate crocheters to work up the projects. I have found that the more experienced crocheters tend to ignore or not notice if I forgot to say sinple things such as "Fasten off", "Turn", "Sew side seams", or common things in a pattern most people would know to do if it weren't stated. But the newer crocheters will always add that in a note to my patterns. I do appreciate the fact they caught that it was not mentioned in a pattern since some people would not automatically know what to do. Another reason I'm confident about my pattern writing skills is that the pattern tester I chose for the Ivory Sweater on the front of Positively Crochet was only 16 years old and she didn't have to ask me one single question on the instructions.

Having said all that, your ego can quickly get inflated after you've viewed the tech edited copy. There are some wonderful tech editors in the crochet designing world and I admire them more than they know. I could never do what they do. It's just not in the makeup of my brain to wrap my thoughts around some of the math a tech editor has to check on grading the sizes.

Knowing I was turning in my 5th book, I was feeling even more confident than I was on the last book. I was so proud of myself, thinking it would not be nearly as marked up as the last one. But to my surprise, it's marked up just as much as the last. I could be devastated but I've learned not to be and I'll explain why.

It's not that my patterns could not be understood or that it's not possible for them to be worked up the way I originally wrote them. They are very clear, but there's something you need to know about tech editing in order not to get discouraged. Even though I have used the proper crochet language, there are more ways than one to word things in the language of crochet. This all depends on the format and wording a particular publisher or editor wants. On my first book, when I stated the measurements for a purse, I said 11" x 11" without handles, which seems fine, right? But the tech editor had marked that out and wrote "excluding handles". That was no biggie, but with my next book I wrote "excluding handles" on all the bags. You guessed it! It then came back from the tech editor with "excluding handles" marked out and she had inserted "without handles". Go figure! I began thinking that tech editors just wanted to change things to make it look like they are doing their job. I've changed my mind on that now and really respect tech editors. This has always been the most frustrating part of the book process for me. Another thought I've had is "There's no way I can know if what they marked out and reworded in the pattern is right without having to remake the whole projects again myself from their instructions. So that's the point in which I have to just "let go" and trust the tech editor with her years of experience in this area. It's hard to do this but you really have no choice. After all, they are professional tech editors and get paid to know what they are doing.


But the longer I design, I've learned to be patient with this process and know that my baby, "the book", I have worked on and carried for 9 months is in good hands. On the last 2 books, I remember thinking I could not possibly know if what the tech editor changed was right (without remaking it) and was so incredibly worried there would be many major errors after the book was published. But really, there were 4 very minor things that needed corrected, which would not have any affect on the finished product with those instructions.

If you are interested in more of this process then by all means, keep reading. I want to give you some examples of wording the tech editor changed.

1. I wrote "end off", because it's shorter and they want the patterns condensed as much as    possible, but the tech editor changed it to "fasten off", which is also acceptable.

2. I wrote (at the end of a row) "sl st to top of 1st sc". The TE wrote "join with sl st to first sc". What I wrote is not wrong, but just another way of wording it.

3. I wrote "(3 dbtr-cl made)". She said "(counts as 3 dtr-cl)".

4. I said "oval loops" She said "oval rings". To me a ring is always round.

5. I said "with front facing". She said "with RS facing". Either way is good.

6. I said "sh" for "shell" and "loops for "loops", but she changed it to "shell and "lps". Same with "tog" for "together". I wrote "tog", again thinking of condensing the wording. I've always been told to use the abbreviations, and I used the ones that are in the publisher's other books. I actually studied their other books and was trying to go along with that template and wording. See what I mean? I shouldn't be complaining though. Everything will turn out ok, and once a book is actually released all this frustration is forgotten and overshadowed by your excitement!

I hope this post has been helpful to designers who are hoping to get a book published someday or if you are in the process right now. What I've said should help you not to panic and cry like I did the first time I got my marked up book back to be reviewed. Happy crocheting and happy designing!
 

The Process of Writing a Book

                                  

I really want to get back into blogging again so I can keep in touch with everyone and give valuable information if you have dreams of becoming a professional designer. After 10 long months of working on my next book, I'm basically finished and I feel free!

   Yeah! I can breath now and get some much needed sleep. This has not been easy for me. I've had one obstacle after another during the past year and there were times the stress was so intense that I wanted to quit.

But I kept plugging along, taking one day at a time and finally got through it. There is no way I would have finished by my deadline if it had not been for some close friends and a couple other professional designers, stitching up some of the projects for me. They were great and so willing to help when I panicked and needed them. Those who helped (also mentioned in the book) are Renee Huffman, Melody Kelley, Deb Kociszewski (designer and teacher) as well as Renee' Rodgers and Natalia Kononova both professional designers. I say I'm finished with the book, but that's not exactly true. What I'm about to say will give anyone out there wanting to be a designer, a little peak into my life of designing and authoring books. Hopefully you can learn from my experiences.

Even though the whole manuscript has been turned into the publisher and all the finished garments and accessories have been shipped to Loveland, Colorado, where Interweave Press headquarters are located, I will be receiving the manuscript back from the tech editor soon marked up with changes or corrections for me to go over. 

This doesn't necessarily mean my instructions will be off, but the tech editor checks to make sure my math is right (for the larger sizes from xsm-3x) and that I worded the patterns to be easy to understand in the correct crochet language. This is very important. If you're a beginning designer it's imperative that you study the language of crochet, which includes a lot of comas, etc in the right places. Don't be scared. It's really not that difficult at all. Just pay attention to the wording in other patterns and learn where to put those commas, semi-colons, parentheses, hyphens, etc. Write your own pattern and practice with the wording. Then have a friend see if they can understand it. I'm actually known for writing easy instructions and get comments and reviews from crocheters all the time stating that. Of course that makes me happy because one of my goals as a designer is to make crochet easy for everyone. But of course, I had to learn too how to use the right wording.

After I've checked the marked up copy and sent it back to my wonderful editor, Michelle Bredson, they'll put the finishing touches on the book and then it's off to the printer! I hate the fact this book won't be released till next summer (2015). After I'd already signed the contract for the book, and realized it would take that long for it to be published, I asked why, and the book acquisitions editor, Kerry Bogart told me they already had other crochet books coming out this year, but they didn't want to let mine go. There was nothing I could do about it. The designs I came up with for the book are fashionable and should be in trend for 2015 as well. Some of my pieces are timeless, and most can be worn for years to come! More exciting info later!

It always feels fantastic to finish up a book, but one thing I am super excited about is the overall theme and backgrounds for the photo shoot with the models! I've had a dream of a certain theme outdoors for years but my other books had to be photographed in the middle of a freezing cold winter, once even in Wisconsin when the wind chill was -45 degrees! I know that may be hard to believe but I was there! This time the photo shoot was in Denver, Colorado and my editor said it went great! Wish I could have been there but I trust her and the stylist working with the book to make a beautiful finished product. I wish I could tell you the name of my book and what it's all about, but I'll have to wait to get the go-ahead on that from my editor. And as usual, the book will be available on Amazon later and can be ordered in advance to be shipped to you as soon as it's released. The book will also be carried in all the major bookstores, such as Barnes and Noble, Books and Co, Borders, and craft stores such as JoAnns, Michaels, and hopefully Hobby Lobby. I will keep everyone posted as I'm allowed to reveal any info on the book!
Thanks so much for all your support and cheering me on as I've gone through this very fulfilling process! I need a huge break (at least through Christmas), but would you believe I have another great idea for another book? I'm itching to do that too, but it will have to wait!