As part of an ongoing series on the acquisitions process, I am going to talk a little bit about how to use a book as part of a business plan to start making a career from your craft.
One of the questions I received from the Etsy Virtual Lab was whether it was possible to make a living from writing craft books. While I comically responded that it totally depended on where you live, the reality is that the answer is “not really”. I suspect that her real question, was: Is it possible to make a career from my craft and the answer to that is “definitely”. How can a book help with that:
What publishing a book does is really give you more credibility to expand your platform. It will be much easier to secure magazine articles, become contributors to collaborative projects, spin out products related to your specific craft, gather teaching and lecture appointments with shops and guilds, secure a fabric deals, produce DVDs and on it goes. It’s all about building a groundswell of publicity as none of those things I mentioned are going to make you a living wage on their own, but if you are savvy with your focus, realistic with the time involved, dedicated to the industry you are crafting within, and have a reasonable head for finances, then there is real money to be made by coordinating all of these opportunities and each is contributing a few thousand a year.
Next week, I’ll share some thoughts on self-publishing…
Related Posts:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
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2 Comments
Loving these little blurbs Susanne!
Susanne, this series is wonderful. I caught it late, but have been following along ever since. I am really interested in what you have to say about self publishing. I have friends who have gone that route, and have heard their take on it. As I have stated before ,your series has been invaluable. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge and insight.