One of the wonderful things about working for a craft book publisher, is finding new talent. It is easier than you think to propose a new book idea. If you have a truly unique approach, or have developed a new technique for an old craft – there just might be a book.
Here is a simple 3 step process.
1. Develop a unique concept or approach. Take a look at what makes your book idea unique. That means more than hearing it from your friends. Take a serious look at the industry: what books have been recently published in your craft, what makes your idea different from their idea, how will your approach the subject differently, and who is your audience. Still got a good idea?
2. Write your proposal. Basically, we want to get a very clear snapshot of what this book is about and your qualifications to write it. A proposal consists of:
• Synopsis of the book: what is the subject, how are you going to approach it, how does the book work, how will it teach the craft, and why will it inspire the reader? • Table of contents • Sample chapter, photographs of some of the projects or designs, • Review of the audience and the marketplace: list competition books, who published them, what is the price, and any other information you know about them • Your bio: tell us why are you are qualified to write the book
3. Submit your proposal. Package your proposal and samples and send it to a publisher. Of course, here at F+W Media. Make sure to take a look at each of our imprints to see which one is best for your idea:
Krause Publications Jay Staten (jay.staten@fwpubs.com), editorial director
North Light Crafts Tonia Davenport (tonia.davenport@fwpubs.com), acquisitions editor
David & Charles Jane Trollope (jane.trollope@davidandcharles.co.uk), commissioning editor
The important thing is to do your research. See what is in the market, who
is publishing what, and what other kinds of content delivery do they
have. I always feel bad when a really great book comes along, but I
don't publish in that area.
Then what happens at the publishing house? Stay tuned for next week.
Yep, I'm one of those crazy people who just doesn't like the end-year holidays. It isn't that I don't like the meaning behind the holidays, or that Christmas has become way too commercial (which it has, in my humble opinion). It's all the "stuff" -- and I'm not talking about presents. I'm talking about all the preparation -- planning, gift buying and making, present wrapping, postage, telephone calls, party planning, travel -- you get the picture.
Well, it's July, which means the holidays are just around the corner. I talked to my sister last night about what to do this year. She has big plans for all of us (which means about 50 people--I have a very big family) to spend the holidays at the old homestead. Gag!
"Oh, no!" I cried. "That means I've got to actually be cheery and make something 'happy.'" I hung up the phone and buried my head under the sofa pillows. Then, a light bulb went on -- Big Print Quilts by Karen Snyder. We just got the advance copies of the book in-house
Karen Snyder has designed a whole book full of great quilts you can make with Big Print fabric. I have some really weird Santa fabric that was given to me a few years ago. So I went flipping through the book and found Karen's Feature Presentation. It's perfect for my needs and the Santa fabric.
All the quilts in the book are designed to feature big prints, and be easy to make. I thought of using a different pattern, but this one is perfect! It actually makes me happy. So, I'm off to the fabric store to buy matching green and red to work with my fabric-- maybe I'll work in black to match my "holiday" spirit. Here it is:
At least the kids in the family will love it. So, what's up your sleeve for Christmas craft projects. Post a picture, share the wealth.
Last month I experienced a little "adventure in crafting" that I wanted to share. My experience begs the question: How far are you willing to go for your crafts? Here's how far I ended up going!
The Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival was slated to be held June 6-7, and in spite of the high cost of gas, a nice summer drive and some fiber shopping sounded like a great way to spend the day. Since we were having some interesting weather, I checked the forecast on Friday for my Saturday trip and saw that I could expect occasional thunderstorms. I knew that at least part of the festival was indoors, and a little rain never scared me off of a shopping trip, so I decided to stick to my plans. Well...
When I started out Saturday morning, it was raining very lightly in Cincinnati, but the weather channel said the area I was heading for was clear. Over the course of my 2 hour drive, the rain got worse and worse, to the point where I could barely see the road! However, as I got within a half hour of my destination the rain slowed considerably and soon I was only driving in a light drizzle. As I pulled off of the highway and struck out on the country route that would take me to the festival, I was fairly confident of a day of fun ahead of me. As I continued to drive, though, I found myself fording small creeks running across the road. The farther I went, the wider and stronger these runoff creeks became. Finally, I reached Franklin, Indiana, a town that is just before the fairgrounds I was heading for.
I had to ford a fairly large bit of water to get into town, but I made it just fine. I drove through town, but on the other side of town... the road was blocked. The water was too high to drive through. By now it was lunch time, so I was happy to stop in town for lunch and wait for the water to drop so I could get across to the festival.
After lunch, I was dismayed to find that the water on the road toward the festival had risen, not dropped, and that there was no westward exit out of town that wasn't flooded. Reluctant to turn back after coming so far, I nevertheless decided it was time to give up and head home. So, I drove east through town to find that the way I had taken into town was also blocked by water--and so was every other entrance and exit to the 16-square-block area that made up downtown Franklin, Indiana! I was trapped! When I started to hear rumors that the current water would take 24-48 hours to lower enough to make leaving possible, I got nervous. When I heard that 4 more inches of rain were expected overnight, I got VERY nervous. When I found out that the area I was trapped in had no hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, etc., I was a wreck! I was miles from home with only my car, the clothes on my back and a cooler with 2 sodas!
Now, I was in quite a predicament, but sadly, many of the residents of Franklin were suffering major losses due to the flooding. The area was declared to be in a state of emergency and the National Guard and Red Cross started showing up. The Red Cross did set up a shelter for the people displaced by the flooding, but it was OUTSIDE the area I was trapped in! As the day wore on, it became clear that my only choice seemed to be to sleep in my car in the 80-90 degree weather. Fortunately for me, in spite of the many losses they had suffered, the people of Franklin, Indiana are very kind people, and a wonderful couple took mercy on me and offered me a room in their home for the night. I cannot say enough about how wonderful and gracious everyone I encountered was! Anyone who found out that I was trapped far from home was so kind and helpful, and helped to find me a place to stay that wasn't already filled by one of the displaced locals.
Luckily, that overnight rain did not show up, and the waters were cleared away by morning, so I was able to head back home. I've never been so grateful to drive in to my driveway in my life! The worst part, of course, was that I didn't even get to shop for any fiber! Just kidding.
So that's my story--how far have you gone for your crafts?
Jay here. And I just heard some great news. The Minnesota Quilters are recognizing Darlene Zimmerman as "Minnesota Quilter of the Year." I love regional, guild shows. The shows become a wonderful place for everyone to gather together to have fun, renew friendships, make new ones, get inspired and learn. The Minnesota group is the largest "all-volunteer" quilt show in the US, with over 50 volunteers pulling together to make it a success. This year they are celebrating their 30th anniversary--and they are hanging 620 quilts. Congratulations! By the way, the show is June 26-28 at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, MN. Check out their website -- better yet, check out the show.
Of course, their choice to recognize Darlene's accomplishments in the quilt arena is very near and dear to my heart. Darlene is a wonderful inspiration. Her first book was published in 1992, and her most recent book -- Quilts from Lavender Hill Farm -- just came out. That's 16 years of really great quilt publishing. Darlene has taught us all so much. Darlene ventured into new territory with this book. It is all about time, place and great quilts. I highly recommend it.
Darlene's life is pretty full these days. She also has one of the special exhibits at the American Quilter's Society Quilt Expo in Nashville, TN this August. The large quilts from the new book are there. The exhibit is sponsored by EZ Quilting by Wright. She will be signing books there -- make sure to stop by and say "hi."
I'd love to hear what your guild is planning. Just drop me a line or leave a comment.
You know, mycraftivity.com is a great place to set up an online presence for your guild. You can have your own group, private blogs, keep everyone up-to-date on guild happenings via the calendar, and have your own "show-n-tell" via the gallery. You could even set up a "virtual" guild. If you want some help setting one up, just let us know. We'd love to help!
Hello, Jane here. I’ve just heard from Pam Lintott, co-author of Jelly Roll Quilts (if you're in the US find the book here) and founder of The Quilt Room, that she and her daughter Nicky have started a new blog from their website. As you would expect from The Quilt Room team, it has lots of great news about new fabric collections and neat ideas. They also have an online shop, which is stuffed with the latest goodies and very efficient in getting orders out quickly, in my experience.
Pam and Nicky launched their book at the International Quilt Market in Portland last month. Have a look at their Portland Quilt Market photo gallery to see them with some of their favourite designers, such as Heather Bailey, whose fabric features in one of the quilts in their book. Fellow author Mandy Shaw (Quilt Yourself Gorgeous due out in July) also appears in some of the photos, as do I (gulp!). We had a great time at Market, and afterwards I was lucky enough to carry on with a bit of a quilting odyssey. I made it as far as Sisters, about 150 miles south east of Portland, where Jean and Valori Wells beautiful shop, The Stitchin’ Post is located. They will be holding their annual open air quilt show this weekend, so if you are in the vicinity please go and take some photographs and then upload them to MyCraftivity so that the rest of us can imagine we were there too!
