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WOW! Women On Writing

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Spotlight Course: How to Write a Craft Book        

In this issue:
Article: Make Your Crafting Pay by Writing About It
Spotlight Course: How to Write a Craft Book
Upcoming Classes & Workshops
Greetings!

Having a hobby is important to your happiness. A hobby or craft is an activity you enjoy doing, something unique to your tastes and talents. Hobbies are also essential to our well being and add more meaning to our lives. They remedy fatigue, allow us to connect with ourselves, and can even lead to a rewarding career option.

Have you taken up a new hobby or craft this summer or developed a tried and true one? Why not write about it!

In the article below, Lynne Garner shares some fantastic ideas for writing about your hobby or craft, and the types of pieces that publications typically purchase. I've already thought of so many ways I can use her ideas for my own craft projects. Lynne also says you can combine all of her ideas to create a craft book! She should know...she's the author of 21 books, 10 of them craft-related, both for children and adults. Her brand new class, How to Write a Craft Book, starts September 3rd, runs for 5 weeks, and is limited to 15 students. I'm so excited about this class! Lynne's students love her.

Also, be sure to check out all of our upcoming classes in the section below. We have several starting soon, including The Unwilling Grammarian (starts today, but you can still sign up), a Memoir Workshop (Aug 29), our popular Blogging Course (Aug 30), and an info-packed Self-Publishing Course (Aug 31).

Happy learning!

 

Angela & Marcia 

 

Angela and Marcia
Angela & Marcia
Classroom Managers
WOW! Classes & Workshops

[email protected] 

 Knitting  

Make Your Crafting Pay by Writing About It  

 

 

By Lynne Garner

 

Many of you love your craft and will want to share it. So why not put all that expertise to use and earn yourself some money by writing about what you know. If you can string words together as well as you knit, sew, crochet, etc. then you're half way there. You will have struggled with the same techniques, found the joy of using a new piece of equipment, and hopefully discovered a few tips of the trade along the way. So who better to write about it than you?    

What follows is a brief outline of the three types of articles you can write based upon your craft:
  • Focusing on the craft itself
  • Writing about someone who makes their living from their chosen craft
  • How-to or step-by-step project based articles 

 

Focusing on the craft itself:

 

Writing about the craft in general offers many avenues for getting your work published. You could produce a feature looking at the history of the craft. You could look at where it originated, renowned past masters, what tools, techniques, and materials have been used, what new innovations have taken place. This type of article will slot nicely into a specialist craft magazine but could also be sold to a general interest magazine that likes to include "coffee table" features.  

 

Doll Magazines

Let's take someone who purchases antique dolls and gives them a new lease on life. You could look at the techniques used to create their new clothes, the sewing techniques, perhaps knitting or crochet. You could also take a look at the problem that working on a small scale can create, plus how to source the right type of fabrics and other materials. This would allow you to produce work for sewing magazines, crochet and knitting magazines.

You could look at the history of one or two of the dolls that now have a new lease of life. This could be offered to magazines that are aimed at the older generation. Linking the subject of dolls to their childhood, you are sure to stir fond memories for many readers. The feature could be worked using a slightly different angle and aimed at magazines for children or people who work with children. The article would look at dolls their grandparents and even great grandparents played with. The subject matter may also be of interest to an antique or collectors' magazine.

Focusing on the crafter:

 

The type of craft article can be called a personality piece. Here you focus on one particular crafter or artist and the work they produce. There are many such people and they are often like yourself and love to share and talk about their work. This type of article could be given all manner of angles ranging from the purely personal (how did they get started etc.) to the business side of the enterprise. For example, you interview the crafter who works with the antiques dolls, covering such questions as how they market their dolls and how they built up their business. This piece can then be submitted to a business-oriented magazine. Although you will be unlikely to be able to pay the person for their time, you could thank them by placing a sidebar giving their contact details, which may lead to a sale or two.

How-to or step-by-step features:

 

Lastly, we come to the instructional piece. There are many craft magazines that focus on this type of feature and encourage their reader to have a go. This feature requires you to be a little more hands on, as you will have to make the craft item.

This type of feature is not only sought by craft magazines but can also be sold to general interest magazines, many of which like to include a wide range of topics. A simple how-to feature on crocheting for the beginner could be of interest to a magazine read by someone recently retired who is looking for a new hobby.

Last but not least, mixing all these elements could allow you to write an interesting book on your chosen craft. These non-fiction books feed the same markets served by the specialist magazines. If you are able to tailor your writing style you could even write two non-competing books, the first aimed at the adult market and the other at the children's.   

 


How to Write a Craft Book Lynne Garner    

Instructor: Lynne Garner

Workshop Length
: 5 Weeks
Price: $175
Start Date: September 3, 2011
Limit
15 Students

Course Description: During this 5-week course students will be taught how to access their knowledge base and use this to write a hobby-based "how-to" book. It is hoped by the end of the course each student will have a completed synopsis, first chapter, and query letter, which they will be encouraged to send to an appropriate publisher/packager.

Course Objectives:
  1. Discover how to unlock "hidden" knowledge within you
  2. Hone writing skills and build confidence
  3. Build a project plan, to enable you to complete the book
  4. Find the right publication route for your manuscript
  5. Complete a synopsis, first chapter, and query letter   

Visit the  Classroom Page for a complete listing and what you'll be learning week by week.  

 

Register  

 

 

 

About the instructor: Lynne Garner has been a freelance writer and author since 1998. Since that time she has written for a large number of magazines both in the UK and the US, having over 300 features printed. She has 21 books published; these include 10 craft-related how-to books, working with both publishers and packagers. Lynne designed, produced copy, and photographed many of the craft projects featured on The Craft Ark.

 


Upcoming Classes & Workshops
WOW! Classes
Below are some classes and workshops that are starting soon. Click on the links to be taken to a full listing that includes a week-by-week curriculum, testimonials, instructor bio, and more. Keep in mind that most class sizes are limited, so the earlier you register the better.

All the classes operate online--whether through email, website, chat room, or group listserv, depending on the instructor's preferences--so you do not need to be present at any particular time (unless a phone chat is scheduled and arranged with your instructor). You can work at your own pace in the comfort of your own home. If you have any questions, please reply to this email or email us at: [email protected] Enjoy!


August 24
The Unwilling Grammarian | 4 Weeks | $140 | Limit: 10 Students

August 29
Write From Your Soul: Memoir Workshop | 6 Weeks | $249 | Limit: 10 Students

August 30
Blogging 101 | 5 Weeks | $125 | Limit: 20 Students

August 31
Independent Publishing: The Definitive Course On Achieving Self-Publishing Excellence and Profitability New! | 6 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 10 Students

September 3
How to Write a Craft Book New! | 5 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 15 Students

September 5
Literary Devices: Fiction Writing Workshop New! | 8 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 8-10 Students

Introduction to the Craft of Screenwriting | 6 Weeks | $150 | Limit: 10 Students

Introduction to Playwriting | 6 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 10 Students

September 6
Mastering Point of View (POV) | 8 Weeks | $150 | Limit: 15 Students

September 12
Creating an Effective Book Business Plan | 4 Weeks | $125 | Limit: 15 Students

September 14
Social Networking for Writers: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and More! | 4 Weeks | $100 | Limit: 20 Students

October 28
Intro to Book Reviewing | 4 Weeks | $100 | Limit: 16 Students

Click here to see all of our upcoming workshops 

 

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