Friday, May 18, 2007

Publishing Yarns

Here's another interesting read about the publishing industry - but this time from Publisher's Weekly. It is a few months old (I think late summer 2006) but will give you insight as to how the publishing world works (or tries to). This article sums up what the NYTimes had to say - that this whole book selling thing is a total crapshoot.

I'm not so sure how I feel to have my professional life be a crapshoot but then I guess I am no different than anyone else. It doesn't take much to lose a job these days, does it? Who was to think the "knitting thing" would have lasted as long as it did? I know it certainly threw everyone in the yarn industry for a loop. These cycles used to come and go. The old timers used to say it was a seven year cycle of up and down. But this boom blew everyone out of the water. I pretty much missed it because I wasn't working in the yarn industry while it was booming with its celebrity induced craziness. But hey, if that's what it took to get young women to pick up the needles, let's find some more celebrities - preferably young since America is disgustingly youth driven - I hear Dakota Fanning knits - she's up and coming, she's very young and talented.

No matter, I think what knitting does for people is great - it gets them to slow down, think about things and re-connect with why anything made by hand is wonderful, to enjoy the process of the making, like people used to. To feel satisfied with a job well done and be able to hold a thing they made in their hand or share it with a friend. And if it also gets knitters together in yarn shops, cafes, bookstores, and subways, all the better. I know that most of my best friends are knitters, stitchers and sewers and that either we met through knitting, yarn or I got them interested.

While we are talking marketing here, this is a good article about Burt's Bees from the NYTimes. I love their stuff and have been buying it for years at the food coop. But I saw it at CVS the other day and this article tells you how and why it is there. But what are they going to do about all the bees dying - this is a big problem here in New England for the honey producers and orchard owners.

Thanks for all the rah! rah! I'll order a book comments yesterday. I truly appreciate it! When Kristin Knits gets closer to publication, I'll be talking the book up and you'll be able to buy it via PayPal on my website or send me a check. I don't want to take anyone's money early for fear of totally messing up my book-keeping. With summer coming, life is going to be crazy and I'm trying to keep it less crazy by not creating extra hassles for myself.

Here's a cute kitty picture to get you through the weekend. I'm off to CT to teach those two classes at the Ewephorbic Knitting Weekend.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for pointing out the interesting articles. I can't help thinking that knitting blogs have been instrumental in inspiring a few budding and perhaps not so budding knitters. I also like Burt's Bees products and keep tubes of the lip balm in all my coat pockets.
Is there anything sweeter than kitttens? Okay maybe puppies, bunnies, lambs... Enjoy your weekend!

Sherrill said...

Kristin...my daughter loves the kittens...thank goodness we are way over here in Washington State...otherwise she would be at your door. :)

Dakota Fanning said...

Hi this is Dakota Fanning! You should come check out my Blog sometime. I talk all about my knitting there.

http://www.liquidgeneration.com/blog/dakota/blogger.html

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the link to the Burt's Bees article. I wonder how the ingredients will change now that the company is no longer a 'Mom and Pop' (if it ever really was) - and I wonder if the new owners even care about the bees that die day by day - they may have their own 'bee farm' similar to the factory farms that raise most of the beef in the US (sad).
I have made several projects from your embroidery book and am looking forward to your new knitting book.
Michele

Anonymous said...

Very interesting article. So now when I buy books on Amazon I won't ignore the polite request sent a few weeks later to comment on the books...maybe down the road some bright young book editor will start adding customer reviews to their market research!
I have your embroidery book and am waiting for the knits!

Andi Stern said...

Anything is a crapshoot really. DH has been out of work since December, currently deciding if he wants to be an AFLAC rep, but it would be "feast or famine". Growing up with an auto patternmaker father, it was feast or famine, dependent on the cycle of production, dependent on sales, dependent on strikes or slowdowns. His dad was an attorney and they had the same thing, only their famine didn't involve beans and cornbread, more like chicken instead of steak. :) I think there are no guarantees, we all live on a fixed income at any given time, and you just gotta do what you are here to do. Everything else will take care of itself. Thank you so much for the window into your world.

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