The book process, part 3

Nope, I hadn't forgotten about my series of posts describing the process of writing a knitting book. I'll pick up where I left off, after taking a lengthy break to actually work on my book...Remember, these posts are based on my experience and to a lesser extent, on conversations I've had with other authors. Different publishers do things differently, so YMMV.

My last post discussed the process of firming up the book contract. Today's post focuses on the process of creating the projects that will fill the book. It is a part of the process that is incredibly fun and exhilarating, yet also a bit nerve-wracking since you need to generate so much creative output in such a short time.

 Exactly how the projects in your book develop depends on whether you are designing all the garments in the book yourself (or with a co-author), or are doing what are sometimes called "author-curated" or multi-contributor books -- the kind where one person does some designing but collects patterns contributed by a multitude of other designers. I've done both.

 If you are doing a multi-contributor book, the process is somewhat easier. Presumably, you and your editor have come to an agreement when you pitched your book about the book's focus. You'll have another chat or two to fine-tune your concept, and discuss how many projects and perhaps some general guidelines (e.g. will the book be all sweaters? all women's garments? what percentage of what types of garments? what skill level or mix of skill levels will be required? etc.). You'll write up some kind of request for submissions, outlining what you're looking for, set up a submissions schedule and distribute it to the people who you want to contribute. Depending on you and your editor, you might to an open call for submissions, mailing or emailing the request to a list of possible contributors and posting the request on your blog or a forum like Ravelry; you might to a targeted call for submissions, reaching out to a small group of people whom you've worked with before and/or especially like; or you might just ask specific people to submit a specific item (or say "I want you to design something; any ideas?"). When the due date arrives, you look over what you have, cull out your favorites and figure out how they fit into your mind's eye view of the book. If you're lucky, you'll have enough or more than enough, and your toughest call will be winnowing down the projects to a manageable number. If you're unlucky, you might have to supplement your call for submissions to generate a few more projects, or design some more yourself.

Different publishers supervise the submissions process to a different degree. You might have an editor who is very closely involved, helping choose the specific items that will end up in your final list of projects. You might have a very laissez-faire editor who doesn't even want to see the submissions, and just wants a list of your finalists. Either way, you'll end up with an outline that consists of the contributor, their project, and perhaps sketches or swatches that they've submitted.

If you're doing the patterns yourself, you'll have to start working fast. You'll need to generate sketches or swatches or both for the projects you're hoping to create. It's hard to generate 20 to 30 pattern ideas, so unless you've included in your proposal a comprehensive outline with all of your proposed projects, you'll have to come up with additional projects to supplement the sample ones included in your proposal. Again, the involvement of your editor can vary. You might have an editor who micromanages your projects very closely, kiboshing this one, suggesting that one, or you may end up with a very hands-off editor who rubberstamps what you do, or you might end up somewhere in the middle. No matter what, you will eventually end up with an outline of projects, and either sketches and swatches or general descriptions to point you on your way.

 One of my favorite parts of the process is next: yarn selection. Here is where a complete yarn whore devotee like myself has a blast.  You get to pick yarn and colors for each project! And the fabulous people at yarn companies send it to you for free because being featured in a book is terrific advertising! Now let's be realistic: it's very bad form to take advantage of the people at yarn companies. They can't give you 15 bags of yarn if you're only making a hat, nor can they send you twenty-five different shades of a yarn so that you can pick the one you like the best.  (Lately some companies will ask you to fill out a form or have your editor call them to confirm that you aren't just making up the book to get free yarn.) You may be asked to return unused skeins so the yarn company can do something with them, maybe use them for sample garments, since good yarn costs money.

There is something so cool about having the entire world of yarn at your disposal and picking your favorites for your book. It can be a very bewildering process, too, since, in case you haven't noticed, there is a helluva a lot of different kinds of yarn out there. I try to think very carefully about my yarn selections, thinking about the needs of the pattern (drape? elasticity?), colors available, what kind of garment we're talking about, gauge required, and so on. Again, the extent to which you have freedom to pick your yarn will depend on your publisher and editor. You may get unlimited freedom or you may be instructed about specific yarns to include (for example, if your publishing company has some kind of close relationship with a yarn company, they may ask you to use some of their yarns). Or in some cases, you may be asked to pick yarns that tally up with the advertisers who tend to underwrite your publishing company's other publications, like magazines. Likewise, the extent to which you have freedom in selecting colors will vary. With "Knit So Fine," we were given a palette and asked to choose yarn shades that conformed, at least in a general way, with the palette. You may not be given a palette but may discuss general color ideas with your editor. Or you may get complete freedom to pick whatever you want. If you aren't given a color palette, you might want to think about creating one for youself, or think about general color ideas and preferences, to give your book a unified feel. If every project is in a different color yarn and the colors don't mesh together, the book might end up feeling less cohesive when it's done.

If you're selecting yarn for yourself, then you probably need to run your choices by your editor, giving yarn company, yarn name and color/color number.  If you're doing a multicontributor book, you might want to run your tentative choice(s) by the designer, to get their feedback.  Once you and the designers have agreed on yarns, you can run them by your editor.  There may be some tweaking done, and your editor may say something like "I think there is too much purple in the second section" and you can adjust, and then when everyone's happy, you contact yarn companies and order the yarn.

It can get nerve-provoking if you are waiting on yarn and under a strict set of deadlines. Some yarn companies are so fast: they send the yarn out the day you ask for it. Others have a longer internal process, and may take up to several weeks to get yarn out. I hate having to contact companies again and nag them about getting yarn, even if I know it's required given the time deadlines of the project.  Occasionally when the yarn arrives, it's not right -- maybe the colors look totally different from the ones on your monitor. Or if you're doing a multi-colored project, maybe the different colors look awful when you start knitting them.  You may have to send the yarn back and ask for a different color, which may delay your project even further.

Pretty much every designer I know ends up using yarn from their personal stash when they write a book.  It's inevitable, really; either yarn doesn't arrive in time, or it's not the right color or gauge or texture; or the project morphs into something completely different, or you have to add projects and you need to start knitting ASAP.

When the yarn arrives, you have to swatch, cast on and whip out those projects.  Here is where all sorts of awkward issues may arise:

• The project doesn't work. Either the idea you had looks terrible, or there are unforeseen problems that make the finished garment look like crap, or the yarn turns out to be a bad match for the project, or maybe you just don't have enough time to complete the original concept.  This happens to just about everyone, and all you can do is your best to adapt, given the materials and time you have. You may have to tweak the project, reknit it, simplify it, or change it entirely, and every once in a while you have to completely abandon it if it proves unworkable.  Bummer.  You may have to add some new project to compensate for a project that gets abandoned in order not to have too few projects for the book.  Another bummer.
• The yarn company supplies yarn and despite your best efforts, it ends up not being used in the book.  This is one of those things that really bothers me, because I don't want yarn companies to think I'm a greedy pig asking for yarn I don't need.  But every so often, things don't work out and there's nothing you can do except apologize and hope the yarn company understands.
• Someone backs out on you. Every once in a while, hopefully very rarely, in a multicontributor book, someone can't make good on their project.  There may be an  excellent reason for it -- death or illness, carpal tunnel, the yarn arrives too late for any human being to finish it in time -- or someone may just flake out on you.  Frustrating, yes, but again, you have to cope.  You might need to add another project, ask a designer friend if they've got something in their back pocket they can provide, or find something you've done that you can fiddle with and add to the projects.
• The project ends up coming out quite different than you envisioned.  Sometimes this can end up working in your favor, and you can end up with a project that comes out better than you imagined. But if it messes up the balance of your book, it can require more adjustments. You don't want it to look too "samey" compared to the other projects in the book, for example.  When working on my first book, I was a little paranoid about my editor looking at the finished projects and saying "This isn't what you proposed at all!"  Silly me.  Editors know that the book proposal is, as is sometimes said, an exercise in fiction-writing because you just can't know ahead of time what will happen with the projects.

You can see from this part of the process how the line-up of projects in a book is a combination of inspiration, luck and hard work.  It's not easy to generate workable design ideas in a short period of time and no matter how organized you are, there are all sorts of unexpected things that can happen to slow the process down or crater individual projects. It can be really hard to maintain a level of objectivity about the designs, too. I find that by the time I'm finished with a project, I have completely lost the ability to view it dispassionately and I usually end up hating it, at least until I've put it down for a while and stopped thinking about it.  I also find that designs look very different when they are on a model and styled by a skilled stylist, and you have to keep in mind that some knitted pieces really need to be seen on a human body to look the way they are supposed to.  On the other hand, nothing is more thrilling than getting projects you've commissioned for a book and having them be absolutely fabulous.  It's magical to watch a designer give you a sketch and a general concept, then turn it into a knitted garment that is beautiful.

Next installment:  photography and styling

A publishing trend?

One thing I've noticed in the last few months, and once again at TNNA, is what seems to be a trend in the knit-publishing world. Looking at recent and future releases, I noticed quite a few books that are re-issues of previously-published works, or compilations of material that has been released before (e.g., a "Best of" selection of items previously published in magazines).

Is this a publishing trend, republishing patterns and content that have already been published before? (Note that I'm leaving out re-editions of books that have long been out of print and are hard to find, like the Alice Starmore books and Principles of Knitting.)

Now let me be clear: I don't think that there is anything wrong or "evil" about this, and I am in no way trying to call out any particular author or publisher. Certainly publishers pay good money for content and I can understand why they want to try to get the most bang for their buck. Repackaging a book is less costly than creating new content -- you just have to take the existing patterns and in many cases you can re-use the photographs, too -- and there's another addition to your catalog. To the extent that you can market the book to an audience that might not be familiar with the prior publications (say, newly-hatched knitters), or freshen up selections to make them more appealing to today's trends, you might do just fine.

But I wonder if this push to publish recycled patterns is ultimately short-sighted. First of all, I have sensed that some knitters feel cheated when they look forward to a new book, only to find that it doesn't contain new content. (If you don't believe me, read some of the Amazon.com reviews for books that don't clearly state they are using pre-published content.)

Second, recycling patterns means that the books aren't reacting to current developments in the knitting world. Admittedly, this may not be a big deal when you are talking about classic styles, or things like socks that don't change much over time.

I wondered if maybe there are very popular patterns that have a loyal following even after the individual magazine is no longer available or is sold out. Maybe compilations are a way for knitters who missed out on the original issue to cherry-pick the best patterns from previous years. But the rise of individual pattern PDF sales means that even if a magazine is sold out, if you really really want a particular pattern, you may be able to purchase it directly from the publisher in PDF form.

Looking at the bigger picture, though, I think that publishers run the risk of making themselves less relevant to knitters by doing this -- and this is a risk that they can't afford to take.

I think there will continue to be a place for knitting design books. Apart from the aesthetic appeal of a beautifully-designed, well-photographed book, and apart from the old-school knitters who prefer books and paper to PDFs and computer screens, there is a built-in economic incentive for the knitter to purchase good knitting books.

Do the math. Buying an individual pattern (paper or PDF) will now cost you $5 or more, depending on the designer and pattern (some complex lace patterns may go up to $12. Again, I am NOT saying these patterns are too expensive, I am just looking at average price). If you buy three individual patterns at five bucks each, you've spent 15 dollars for 3 patterns. Compare the cost of a book: 20 or more patterns, often for that same 15 dollars or less. The per-pattern price is substantially lower for the book. Even if you assume that you might not care for a handful of the patterns in a 20- or 25-pattern book, you're still getting about 15-20 patterns you like for less than a dollar each.

The economics change, however, if I already own some of the patterns in the book. If I already own, say, half of them, then the per-pattern price rises. On a purely emotional level, it just become harder for me to justify buying a book when I already own some of the patterns in it. And again, speaking from an emotional place, I just can't get as excited about a book full of designs I've seen before, even if they're great designs, as I can about the possibilities inherent in a book full of brand-new content.

I think there's the risk of knitters getting glazed over when they start to perceive a lot of published books as simply recycled patterns that they've already seen (even if they are rephotographed; even if some portion of new content is added). With the Internet and PDFs and ebooks eating into sales, traditional publishers can't afford to be perceived as less relevant.

These are just my ramblings, from a book-lover with no publishing-company work experience.... Your thoughts and insights are always welcome.

Blog Tour/Book Review: Reversible Knitting by Lynne Barr

UPDATE: See the entire blog tour schedule, with links here, and enter to win a free copy of Reversible Knitting... Wednesday's post by Grumperina is here.


I'm very happy to be a part of the Reversible Knitting blog tour, and it's nice to be able to tell you about a lovely hardcover book, with interesting techniques and designs, available just in time for the gift-giving season. Reversible Knitting: 50 Brand-New, Groundbreaking Stitch Patterns by Lynne Barr, with photographs by Thayer Allyson Gowdy (STC 2009), just arrived at a bookstore or yarn shop near you (or at Amazon.com, for $18.48 via the link as of the time of this writing; MSRP $29.99).



You might remember that Lynne Barr wrote Knitting New Scarves: 27 Distinctly Modern Designs just about two years ago; although I don't think I got a chance to review the book, I really liked the way that it presented some interesting and novel variations on the humble scarf. So I was pleased to see that Barr has published a second book. Reversible Knitting is quite different in several ways from Knitting New Scarves; it's bigger, for starters; instead of focusing on just one specific type of garment, it focuses on a knitting technique; it features both stitch patterns and patterns for finished designs; and it features the work of multiple designers, in addition to the original patterns of Barr herself.

Folded Scarf, designed by Lynne Barr

Why reversible? and why present both stitches and patterns for finished garments in this format?


Barr explains in her Introduction:

[W]hen my editor mentioned the possibility of creating a book of new reversible stitch patterns and projects, I was intrigued. Certainly I had thought about reversibility while I was working on the scarf book since reversibility is a relevant issue when creating scarves, but I wondered at first if I could come up with enough reversible stitch patterns to fill a book without relying on those that already appeared in other places. . . . Ultimately, my goal in writing this book is to add something different to the stitch pattern references that many knitters may already own, and offer exciting new patterns with a reversible twist. And as with Knitting New Scarves, I hope that what I offer here are some new ways of looking at knitting that will inspire you to explore and create unique designs of your own.

You'll find that Reversible Knitting is sensibly constructed to help you achieve these goals. The book begins, after the brief introduction, with a large variety of reversible stitch patterns -- fifty in all. The stitches are organized loosely into several sections, based on their structure: Faux Crochet (stitches that mimic the look of crochet stitches); Rows Within Rows (motifs that build vertically before moving to another motif or row in the pattern); Openwork; Divide & Combine (stitches are worked onto separate needles, then worked separately before the stitches are combined again onto the same needle); Picked Up (using picked-up stitches for decorative, rather than functional, purposes); and Double Knitting (creating colorwork patterns simultaneously on front and back sides). There are lots of clear, close-up photos of swatches, most showing both sides of the swatch, and additional charts & photos where necessary to illustrate a technique.



The remaining portion of the book is devoted to designs, a total of twenty, including designs by Barr herself, but also a cross-section of interesting designers: Pam Allen, Véronik Avery, Cat Bordhi, Teva Durham, Norah Gaughan and others. Reversible or two-sided stitchwork lends itself naturally to items like scarves and stoles, where either side may show in the wearing, yet you'll find only two scarf patterns and one wrap-shrug-type garment. Here are some of my favorites: the elegant simplicity of Véronik's reversible cardigan:

Lice Jacket

Norah Gaughan's funky & striking reversible cardigan;

Reverse Me

Eric Robinson's cap;

Flip Your Lid

and Teva Durham's Geometric Dress, a knockout for those with the figure to wear it (she said wistfully).

Geometric Dress

Other designs feature cut-out panels and other unique design elements, like these sock-thing-a-majigs:


The total breakdown of patterns is:

• 2 scarves
• 1 wrap/shrug
• 4 cardigans/sweaters
• 1 belt/sash
• 1 hairband
• 2 socks and 1 pr. thigh-high stockings
• 1 bag
• 3 vests
• 2 sleeveless mini-dresses
• and 2 caps.

All of the patterns are for adult women -- no kids', men's or home dec patterns here. Yarns mainly fall into the chunky and worsted range, along with wool/nylon/elastic sockweight yarn (used for all 3 footwear patterns), a lighter mohair blend, one sportweight, and some polar-weight. Sizing varies depending on the garment; scarves are obviously one size, but the bigger garments range from S/M/L to XS to XXL, with the size range depending in part on the method of construction, but several garments have sizes up through the mid-40s finished bust, with one of the dresses (not shown here) going up to a size with a 52.75" chest.

Two-Tone Vest, by Lynne Barr

The book itself is high quality: hardcover, lovely photographs (as usual, Gowdy does a great job creating photos that show the garments clearly and without a lot of distraction, beautifully lit, illuminating the textures and stitchwork of the various yarns and patterns), simple but classic styling, a nice section of additional techniques in the back that will help newer knitters, all the amenities we've come to rely upon with a STC book.

Double-Wrap Stockings by Debbie New

So if you're an adventurous knitter, or are seeking to expend your repertoire or play with some new techniques, Reversible Knitting is a worthwhile addition to your knitting library. It's not a typical pattern book, since it contains unusual methods of construction and less conventional designs, and it's not a typical stitch dictionary, since it focuses on some novel and admittedly more fiddly techniques. But the marriage of technique with some patterns illustrating them, with the ultimate aim of inspiring the knitter's creativity, works well. I'm glad there are designers like Lynne Barr out there willing to take us in new directions, and I'm glad that there are publishing companies willing to put out books that are a little different, that push the knitted envelope a bit.

All photos copyright 2009 Thayer Allyson Gowdy.

For more info on Reversible Knitting, see the STC blog.

Good news, bad news

Do you want the good news first? or the bad news?

Let's get the bad news out of the way. I'm sad to report that on-line knitting magazine Knotions has ceased future publication. If you go to the Knotions blog here, you can read editor Jody Pirrello's explanation of why she could no longer continue to publish. This makes me sad, and not just because I was a frequent contributor. I loved Knotions' emphasis on technique and knitting smart, not to mention the stylish yet wearable patterns. Sigh.

The good news? Fans of former Philadelphian Grace Anna Farrow (nee Robbins) will be pleased to see that she has published her own book of patterns and is offering individual PDFS for download. Her website is here. Loop has some copies of her booklet if you'd like to see it in real life. Lots of lovely shawls, scarves, socks and other goodies with an emphasis on finer-gauge yarns. Congrats, Grace! (It's about time!)

P.S. Happy birthday, Lauren!