I discovered quite by accident that I could
design a doily of my own after crocheting other designers' patterns all
my life. One evening, I was too lazy to get out of my easy chair to find
a pattern. There on the stand beside me sat my ball of thread with a crochet
hook stuck in it, seemingly begging me to crochet.
I had no pattern in mind, but I picked it up and started the familiar
hook-and-pull-through motion. Two hours later I had made a beautiful 12-inch
doily! I sent it to one of my favorite craft magazines and was dumbfounded
when the editor phoned to offer me $85 for it - a far cry from the $5
or $10 I had been getting for my doilies at craft shows. That was the
beginning of my designing career, and I haven't stopped since. I soon
discovered I could create designs in knitting, tatting, and plastic canvas
too.
If you love to design crafts and would like to have them published, follow
my TEN FREE STEPS TO SUCCESS.
STEP NUMBER ONE: FIND THE MARKET
My first original creation was submitted to a magazine I had subscribed
to for most of my life and in which I had admired the work of other designers.
After it was accepted for publication, I began to look for other craft
magazines in book stores, magazine racks, garage sales, flea markets,
in the doctor's office, and in the homes of friends. I started making
a list of editors and their addresses. As your patterns evolve, look for
the magazines who publish the type of crafts you design. For instance,
you wouldn't want to submit your crocheted project to a plastic canvas
or knitting magazine.
The next step is to send a self-addressed stamped envelope to each publication
asking for their publishing guidelines and/or editorial guidelines. Publishing
guidelines will tell you how to submit your material - whether or not
to send a photograph first, how to package your project, and the correct
address to send it to. The editorial guidelines will tell you what they
are looking for in the months to come in craft designs.
With experience, you will learn which editors you want to work with.
I prefer the ones who drop me a postcard letting me know my package has
arrived and then let me know their decision within six weeks to two months.
Some will hold projects for months before deciding to publish or return
the project.
Lastly, keep a current file of editors, their addresses, phone numbers,
and their guidelines. And always stay on the lookout for new publications.
STEP NUMBER TWO: BE ORIGINAL!
Make sure your idea for a craft article is original, not a copy of someone
else's work or pattern. Use your own ideas and you won't get into trouble.
Let your creative powers loose because we all have them. We just have
to let them work for us. You might get an idea from someone else's design,
but NEVER, NEVER copy it. Your originality will pay off for you, because
editors are looking for something different, something no one else has
thought of before.
STEP NUMBER THREE: BE THOROUGH
To prepare your package for submission, place your craft project in a
plastic bag and label it with name and number of the article. I use a
9 x 12 envelope for most things, but some things like a tablecloth, afghan,
or baby ensemble might need a suitable box. In the same envelope or package,
include a self-addressed stamped envelope or at least sufficient postage
for the return of your materials.
Your editor needs information, so be sure to include accurate instructions
for making your craft in double-spaced type and a cover letter typewritten
in single space. Include your name, address, telephone number, FAX number,
E-mail address, and social security number.
After I had been doing this for awhile, I made a special form for submitting
my designs thus eliminating the need for a cover letter.
Here is a very important tip! Keep track of how long your design has
been gone. At the end of the third month, I drop the editor a note asking
the status of the project. Sometimes it will come flying back and that's
OK, because then I have the opportunity to submit it elsewhere. And sometimes
I will get a contract in answer to my inquiry!
STEP NUMBER FOUR: TOOT YOUR OWN HORN!
In your cover letter, tell the editor about yourself and your experience
in crafting. List your credits and the magazines you have been successful
in selling your designs to. You could include tear sheets or copies of
previous publications. If you haven't sold anything yet, tell them how
long you have been doing crafts, how much you like it, and where you have
sold your work - craft fairs, garage sales, friends, and relatives, etc.
Don't be afraid to brag on some things you have designed . . . the color
scheme, the usefulness of your item, and how much it will be admired by
crafter's who want to make it too. You are a gifted crafter, and let the
whole world know. Stop keeping it a secret!
STEP NUMBER FIVE: SET A GOAL
Start thinking about how much time you have to devote to your crafts,
and decide how many projects you want to send to publishers - one a week,
two a week, five a month, or 36 a year. Whatever your goal, strive to
reach it, and soon you will be sending in more than you planned. Keep
projects in the mail. The secret is to keep things going out on a continuing
basis, and eventually you will have checks coming in regularly.
STEP NUMBER SIX: PRICE YOUR CRAFT
Editors can't read your mind. Let them know how much you expect to be
paid for your hard work. When I submitted my first doily, I had no idea
how much to ask for it. When the editor phoned to tell me of her interest
in it, she asked, "How much do you want for your doily?" I told
her I was new at this and had no idea how much they pay for doilies. She
answered, "Anywhere from $50 to $250." If you want to, tell
them your prices are negotiable. If your asking price is not for them,
and if they are interested in your project, they will make you an offer.
It might be less than your asking price but often they have offered me
even more than I had asked for.
STEP SEVEN: RECYCLE
If you design something, and you decide you don't like it yourself, send
it in anyway . . . editors sometimes like things you don't. Don't worry
about rejections. If your project comes back, clean it up if necessary,
improve on it if needed, and send it off to another editor. Some of my
projects have gone out three, four, or as much as ten times before they
were accepted for publication. They have to fit into the editor's scheme
of things at the time. Seldom have my designs sold the first time out.
STEP NUMBER EIGHT: KEEP RECORDS
Keep track of all expenses and sales, because if you are serious about
this business, you will need deductions at the end of the year to offset
self-employment tax.
Keep records for each project you design. Jot down everything that happens
in regard to each one, the date you submitted it, who you sent it to,
your price, when it came back rejected or the date you received a contract
or purchase agreement, the date your check arrived, where, when, and in
what magazine it was published, etc. A loose leaf notebook worked fine
for me until I got a computer; now I put it all on spreadsheets. I used
a separate sheet of paper for each design. Putting a name and number on
each project is very important to help you keep track of them. Keep copies
of all instructions, contracts, check stubs, etc. for future reference.
STEP NUMBER NINE: BE OPTIMISTIC
This is important! Work on something every day! Keep your mind open to
new ideas, and always observe the crafts others make to keep up with current
trends. Treat this fun hobby as a business or an eight-hour-a-day job,
and you can't help but be successful doing something you love to do!
Don't expect to get suddenly wealthy but do expect to be well paid; you
are an expert! You will get a lot of satisfaction knowing someone appreciates
your work enough to pay you for it. No one will be looking over your shoulder,
and you can work when you feel like it with only the deadlines you set
for yourself.
I am always busy . . . barely finishing one project before moving on to
another. There aren't enough hours in a day to follow through on all my
ideas. Having my own design business has given me exciting goals for my
"golden years" and a sense of accomplishment I never dreamed
possible!
STEP NUMBER TEN: BE PERSISTENT!
Please don't give up if the first project you send out gets you a rejection
letter. If you like your design and are convinced that some editor is
bound to like it too, KEEP IT OUT THERE so they can see it. It won't sell
in the drawer at home! Lots of time if an editor doesn't purchase your
design, it isn't because he or she doesn't like it. They may already have
enough similar items or they don't have room for it in the particular
issue they are working on.
Follow my example:
1. It won't sell at home in the drawer.
2. Get it out there for someone to look at.
3. If it comes back, look it over, clean it up if necessary and send it
out to another editor the very next day!
4. Don't keep a finished project laying around. Get the instructions typed,
stretch, starch, and iron. Get them into an
envelope - on the way to an editor.
5. If you don't make your goal for one month, set a higher goal.
6. Send out at least one new project every week along with the ones that
have been rejected, and I promise you, YOU WILL
BE SUCCESSFUL!
KEEP THE PROJECTS GOING OUT, AND THE CHECKS WILL COME IN!
GOOD LUCK!
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