March is National Crochet Month

I have been spending the morning catching up on the blogs of the crochet professionals participating in the National Crochet Month blog tour.  Although today is only the 3rd day of the event, there is some fascinating reading to be done!

see the full tour schedule

It is amazing to me how many different niches there are to explore in the crochet world.  From the history to the future, from the tools to the runway, and everything in between, what I have read so far in this blog tour has been eye opening. I look forward to see what others are going to write!

My turn comes on March 9th, so please check back then for an update!

Blogging and Submissions

When I first started this blog, I thought it would simply be a matter of time organization to continue blogging and working submissions.  I discovered I was wrong.

Getting a submission together can be all encompassing.  There are many details to focus on, and I find that some aspect or other of the current project is always running through my mind.  It may take only 20 minutes to write a blog, but how many stitches of a swatch can be completed in that time?  Once a submission is done and sent in, I feel free to write again. 

I found an interesting thread on Ravelry about this very topic.  It seems that many designers want to share their submission with the world via their blog once the project is completed.  I can identify, as it's a way to decompress and finalize the fact that the submission is done.  Yet most publishers want these submission hidden until they have had the chance to review and choose to publish or not.  Therefore, some designers choose to reveal "hints" in their blogs - type of yarn used, stitch techniques, etc. - without actually revealing what the project was. 

For my own sanity, it's easier for me to submit and forget.  I know it will be a long time before I hear back from the publisher.  Therefore, once the submission is mailed out I start looking for my next project, pushing the previous one from my mind.  It's not easy, after spending as much time on it as I have, but it is necessary to keep looking forward.  Once the submission is in, it is no longer in my control, so I let it go. 

While the ideas are bouncing around in my head for the next submission, I blog. 

Successful Crochet Designers

A long time ago a close friend once told me that it appeared that the secret to success in the crochet design world was having a blog.  The formula, as she saw it, was that others in the industry saw the blog and referred more people to it.  Somewhere along the line it would be seen by someone in the television industry, and once an interview was secured, so was your future as a crochet designer.  Interesting theory.

It turns out that there may be quite a bit of truth in it.  Most "make money online by blogging" sites delve into the necessity of back links, or links from other well known sites that rank high in Google's list.  These back links should be from sites with similar subject matter.  The more of these links, or referrals, the higher your blog will rank on Google's search list.

Once your blog shows up in the first couple of pages from a Google or Yahoo search, more people check it out.  The odds of someone clicking on an ad on your blog increase exponentially.  Every ad click is counted and credited by AdSense and the owner of the blog then gets paid.  Every referring ad to Amazon to a product you discuss on your blog also generates income.

Yet there is more to becoming a successful crochet designer than being web savvy.  The great ones not only make every gift they give to anyone for any occasion, they also publish their designs frequently.  From what I have learned about these designers, they churn out at least 15-20 designs per year for various publications.  This means that for every magazine, book, and web site they checked the editorial calendar, had an idea, sketched it out, made a gauge swatch and submitted it and waited for an acceptance letter and contract.

Things turn around a bit once a designer is known to editors and yarn companies.  The designer may start receiving requests from them.  Although I have found no information on the web about this, I suspect that higher prices are paid per design at this point.  As the amount of publications increase, the more well known the designer becomes.  They may be asked to appear on a craft show on television.

Another friend once said "if you like what you do, stick with it and the money will come."  Great advice for any field, but especially crochet design as there is a lot of non-compensated work involved before any financial achievement is gained.