Craft Books

Posted in art supplies on 05/20/2009 10:58 am by admin

Craft Books

DIY Craft Book Publisher - Easier Than You Think

Many people think they can write a craft book - and why not? Really there's not much more to it than explaining what you do - and how you do it - to a friend. Then you just write that down. All you need is a pc and a free program like OpenOffice! The problem people then have is getting that book into print. How do you get yourself a craft book publisher?

Historically that's been one huge challenge, and something that has been as much decided by the perceived profitability of a book as the actual content or quality. Sadly craft book publishing, like any other book production, has long been controlled by the bean counters we all know and love!

Now we're in a whole new craft book world, one where self-publishing is a practical reality. One where sales and distribution can be handled by you almost as easily as you handle email. One where you can take that book you've put your heart and soul into and actually publish it yourself...

... and of course you get to keep the lion's share of the money!

Publish your craft book digitally, which is becoming more and more popular, and you can be looking at up to 90% of the cover price going in your own pocket. Compare that with the ten percent you might get via traditional publishing and you'll see why doing it yourself is the choice more and more crafts people are taking.

I know what you're going to ask next, what about a "real" book? A lot of people will buy the craft ebook you create but what about those who prefer something you can actually get hold of?

No problem at all. Companies like Lulu.com will take the digital file you've already created and print you as many hard cover versions as you like. What's more, you don't have to commit to huge and expensive print runs, you can order as few as just one! Besides a few technical things you need to do to make your cover artwork suit their specifications your craft ebook and its "real" version are the same thing.

The money you make from hard copies is obviously less - you do have to pay for that printed version - but it's you who decides the price and the margins are still greater than via a traditional craft book publisher.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? There must be a catch?

Well nobody can tell if your craft book will actually appeal to a wide audience, and you'll want to do some additional work to promote it, but all of this can be done by you, from home. What's more you can also benefit from the residual income that being a craft book publisher generates. You do the work now but the book goes on selling (and putting money in your bank) for years.

About the Author

There's no need to look for anyone else, you can do this yourself. Click here now: Craft Book Publisher to learn in precise detail how to write, publish and sell your own successful craft books. It's simple, satisfying and outrageously profitable!

when writing a craft making book?

I have it in mind to write a craft making book but I have a few questions. In order for any craft book to make sense there must be pictures so do I take pictures and send them on with my copy and if I do that will I have to do it over again if someone carries me publishing wise?

Oh my goodness, I copyedited a craft book for a coworker of mine a few months ago. This is how everything was transmitted:

(1) Manuscript with printouts of the steps you would like to illustrate. Images should be attached to the pages and should be low-res.

(2) What would be helpful for the designer would be if you labeled each image--something like photo 1, photo 2, photo 3-- just so it's easier for the designer to set art.

(3) MS should be double spaced (please?)! It allows room for the copyedits.

The main problem I had with this particular craft book was that the author didn't really check to see if the craft products he was listing was cited correctly (or as trademarked), which is extremely time consuming to look up and confirm (honestly, I spent HOURS trying to confirm all this Krylon spray paint, which turned out didn't exist). I suggest you keep a personal running list of the products and refer to them as you are writing, so that at least you're using the same wording throughout. Turning this list in with the manuscript would be extremely helpful!

Pers. makes a lot of sense about sending the hi-res images with the manuscript, however, I think you may want to hold off on sending the hi-res art. A copyeditor may have recast your directions enough to warrant a revised photograph, and if you hired someone to take hi-res photos, you'd have to pay to have them taken again. After the copyedited manuscript has been put through to design, you can start having hi-res images prepared. You can either do them yourself (remember to speak to someone about illustrator rights on the images you provide; I'm not 100% sure about this, but you can have this included in your contract), or have a photo shoot set up.

The files you send in should be 320 dpi. At least, that's what my designer tells me.

Good luck!

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