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Do you have a minute? I could use your input about something.
As you probably know, I recently released an ebook about weaving. I may have mentioned this once or twice. :-)
Well, it’s been out for about two months now. Interestingly, I’ve had lots of visitors to the book’s page and my online store, but comparatively few sales.
This data tells me that there’s something about the book itself or my website that isn’t quite right yet. I’m trying to identify what it is. Can you help?
I’d love to see more self-publishing in the craft community, and I’m sure your insights will be super-helpful both to me and to others.
So, if you’ve looked at this ebook, and considered buying it, but ultimately didn’t, would you be willing to share what it was that prevented you? Feel free to leave a comment here, or you can email me.
(No worries at all, by the way, if you didn’t make the purchase. I won’t try to re-sell you!)
Thank you!
I want to buy it since I’ve recently become very interested in weaving. And the projects look extra cute! But, fact is, I currently have no money to give you (my husband lost his job and I make very little as a receptionist). So my purchase will have to be put on hold for awhile.
I am trying not to spend a lot of money right now. However after looking at the book's page, it is on my wish list for next month.
I was laid off earlier this year; I've kept the page with your book bookmarked, and in my list of “things I want if we ever (we will, I just worry some days) recover from my layoff”.
So the reasons why I haven't bought it yet have nothing to do with you, or the site, or the book, or the marketing. I'm just working on free projects right now while our personal economy is broken.
Hmmm. Well, aside from my habitual ADD defense mechanism for getting into new things (“Step away from the craft. Step AWAY from the craft!) what struck me was the cover.
I Love the photo you've chosen for today's entry, and wonder if you could use it large. The six photos on the cover now are, to me, too small, and the colors don't have that suck-me-right-in quality that today's big photo does.
Hope the comment is helpful, and won't be hurt if you read and delete!
That's great feedback, Anitra – thank you so much! I agree about the cover – I need to sharpen my design skills there…
Aside from the fact that money is tight.. I like to buy things that I could preview first.. maybe put a sample page etc.
Thanks to all who have commented so far!
I'm seeing a lot of comments about how the current economy is preventing purchases. I totally get that – the economy is affecting all of us in some way.
The economy, however, is a factor I can't control. May I have your feedback on the factors I CAN control? What can you tell me about the book itself, or the website?
Thanks!
Boy, I don't know why it's not selling. It looks like a great idea! Especially since weaving can be pretty pricey. I personally haven't purchased it simply because I don't have room for another craft right now lol. The price is good. Perhaps a full table of contents? Or possibly it's the the projects (while they look great) might not be enough of a pull for others?
Hope you get it worked out! :)
It's not the book. For me, it's just not a craft project/style I'm interested in right now — that's all.
Is there some sort of weird bias against e-publishing that I'm not aware of? I consider it publishing — paper or not.
This is also great feedback. Thanks, Liz! So tell me, what kinds of crafts WOULD you all like to see in ebook form?
Hey Diane! As you know, I'm a long time blogger/internet craft junkie, and since the beginning that journey, I have saved a *LOT* of craft projects from the interwebs on my hard drive, PDFs of knitting patterns, embroidery patterns, print-outs, etc. My hard drive is literally bursting with crafty goodness. Too much, in fact. Sometimes, I have to delete things just so that I can download my e-mail, I'm talk chock full here!
So as far as purchasing PDFs and e-books, it's not my favorite mode of making a purchase. Because I literally have no room for it. I'm one of the old fashioned types in that I would rather have a hard copy. It seems that every one else in the world is trying to get rid of clutter in their apartments, and I'm constantly trying to de-clutter my computer, HA!
I know there are many pros for web-only publishing, but could you offer the old fashioned option as well? Maybe up the price for a hard-copy? Just a thought. Hell, I would even buy a print-out.
This is also great input, Sarah – thanks. I've been looking into print possibilities. As of now, the investment (for me or for the buyer) is a little too big, but I'll keep trying.
The print-out idea has some possibilities… let me bake on that one. :-)
Hi Diane!
With the economy and most craft sites being 'quiet' due to kids home for summer vacation, you may have a harder time selling the book. January is hard too, but like you said these things are out of your control.
As far as your page goes, the PP button is really far down there. I'd make it bigger, more custom and up next to the book. You can get custom buttons from places like iStock. I use them a lot for graphics for Sewing Mamas.
When self publishing, I believe you can still be listed on Amazon using the ISBN code. If you don't have one you can buy one for under 100. That might attract more people. They have something called BookSurge, or you can google for instructions.
Where are you advertising? Do you have updates in your Twitter feed? I'm sort of new to Twitter and just starting to figure it all out. I love following people on it and can get quite lost LOL
The cover is really pretty, I might add a model or hands actually weaving. Those Japanese craft books are REALLY addicting mostly because they are so pretty. I'd be happy to help you out but I'm not sure my camera is good enough. I think you can send your crafts to some people on etsy and they will do a photo shoot for you. I know some people did that on eBay a few years ago anyway.
Where are you advertising? I'd love it if you recorded a 30 second 'spot' I could use for my podcast and I'm sure other crafty podcasters would do the same. Are you included in the Sampler? I'm thinking of doing one similar with my Sewing Mamas site because I know lots of businesses get attention that way.
Hmmm. Can you write articles for on places like Knitty, Mothering, Interweave, House Beautiful, Martha Stewart etc? You seem to be dialed into the magazine industry and I see a lot of crafters like Kathy Murillo and Heather Ross and publishing there.
Do you have a PR person helping you? Sometimes with a smaller firm you can get a one time meeting where they can give you pointers and ideas. My husband works for a multinational PR company (and should be more helpful but he doesn't 'know' the craft world and hasn't had time to help me.) I can put you in touch with him, in so far as getting listed on the AP newswire, Lexus Nexus and writing a good Press Release. He worked in the news industry for almost 20 years and still dabbles in TV and radio. He has a lot of great ideas for 'spreading the word'. I'll pick his brain and email you if he has anything earth shattering.
You've helped me so much and given me so many great crafty ideas I'd love to be able to help you out!
Meg
Hi Diane!
I found your book tempting – it looks great, it’s a great idea, it’s a very reasonable price and I’m a fan of yours personally and professionally, those are all good reasons to get it. In the end I didn’t buy mostly because crafting isn’t my priority right now – as you know I’ve been dedicated to cartooning lately! My room full of craft supplies is waiting quietly for my interest to swing back, which it will, one day.
Yet – I thought about it; what would have pushed me over the edge to make the purchase? I could be tempted to buy a book if it seemed like it would solve problems for me. I’m feeling very practical these days – I’ve never used placemats, don’t need more jewelry or wallhangings. I think I would only have wanted to make a craft book purchase right now if it specifically gave me an easy, cheap way to generate a functional object that I need, or else perfect gift for a male relative (they’re so hard to find gifts for). I like the wallhanging technique for using scraps with very pretty results, but don’t want a wallhanging. I like the look of the heart embellishments, but don’t have anything I specifically want to embellish right now. The burlap bag is lovely and useful, but that’s the one that uses materials I’d have to go out and buy, and the dye would have required a little more commitment to the project. So, basically: not much would have gotten me to buy a craft book right now, but it would have taken obvious practical/functional applications to my life with little or no financial output or shopping.
I feel compelled to follow that by saying, if it were this time last year, when I was right in the thick of a sewing obsession and my family members mostly still had money coming in, I’d have bought this book immediately.
Thanks Diane! I hope this has been helpful.
Kalina
I was reading through the comments for my own future ebook plans, and a great point was brought up that I hadn’t really thought about before… “I like to buy things that I could preview first” -cmto3
I almost NEVER buy a print book without first flipping through it in a bookstore. Of course, you can’t let people “flip through” an ebook without give it out for free. I wonder if it would help to have many/most/all of the pages shown, but super small, so you can’t read the text, to kind of give the illusion of flipping through it… Or, have all the pages as small, unreadable thumbnails, but some of them (with minimal info and more pictures, maybe) are clickable to see them larger? Haven’t given the idea much thought, but it might be worth some brainstorming…
Hi Diane-I think your book looks beautiful. I have to say that I’m with geekxnerd on this one–I *love* real books, and would probably be more willing to buy it if it was an actual paper book.
I’m with you in finding the self-publishing thing a hard leap to make over digital because of the initial investment, and I’ve been investigating various print-on-demand options because I think they are a more environmentally sustainable option too (less shipping around, storing, creating books that may not be sold), but right now, I haven’t found one where the printing costs seem low enough to me…
OK, I just bought the book because all of the talk of it has piqued my curiousity… I wanted to add, however, that one of the other reasons I love paper books is because you can share them. You can *leagally* lend them to a friend, etc. and I think that most likely increases book sales, whereas with digital books most sharing is violating copyright, which I don’t want to do.
First off, I’m so happy to see another crafty Anitra in the comments. :) Second, I wonder if timing has something to do with the slow sales. Not the timing of the economy, but the seasonal timing. Right now, and since about mid/early June, I’ve focused on planning cold-weather clothes to make for fall. Other people might be in a similar frame of mind, especially those who have kids and are caught up in back-to-school madness. At first glance your e-book seems to have mostly smaller, accessory-type projects, which I think would be great for Xmas gift-giving. Unfortunately that’s not really on my crafting radar just yet. Maybe a small “re-launch” in September/October with more of a holiday slant will help sales pick up?
Meg, you rock! Thank you for all this great input. Excellent food for thought
Agreed, Amy – I hope POD will continue to find ways to bring costs down. I think the weaving book would price out in the neighborhood of $40.00 retail via POD. Too much even for lovers of print books!
That's a very smart idea, Anitra – thanks!
I feel like this might be the only blog in the world with TWO Anitras commenting on the same post on the same day!
You know I love you and your site. I haven’t bought it because I’m not into weaving right now. But the fact that one of my fav. crafty bloggers wrote a book on it, interests me, and I may buy it someday. :)
You know what topic I think you’d be awesome at? A book about mixing and matching techniques and things made in new ways with old techniques. Your post recently about embroidering those jewelry bits that look like mini shower heads is an example. You regularly post ideas or combos of ideas that I’ve never seen anywhere else. And that’s saying a lot with all the sites and free tuts out there.
I’m a big fan – I hope this helps!
One other thing – when I was thinking about self-publishing a print book a few months ago, I did some research and shopping around. If you had about 1000 made at one time (or maybe even 500), it might only be a few dollars each, even for your size book in full color. A huge one-time investment, yes, but you could sell them for an affordable price, and sell them wholesale to places like Powell's and local craft stores, etc. Possibly something worth considering?
Wanted to try and help you out with your questions as I have asked things in the past and really appreciated helpful responses. I want to start by saying I have not purchased your ebook because like some of the other crafters it is not something I am particularly interested in (weaving) and I don’t need a new craft to start.
With that said I looked over your site and my overall impression is that it doesn’t really “excite” me. And by that I mean it doesn’t seem flashy enough if that makes sense. I think your cover design and pictures (on the cover) seem to need something (there is a lot of white space). The projects come off as a little old fashioned for my taste. One thing that I think would help me envision these as something I would want to make is if I could see the finished projects more in action. As is I can’t really see them in my actual life or space. I think for people that can’t see the possibilities of a technique the project needs to be something they want and would pay money for as is. For example I think the bracelet should be on a model in a natural setting…the pillow should be on a comfy couch.
I hope I have been helpful! It’s hard for me to be honest as I would never want to hurt anyone’s hard work.
Oh and I know you said to someone else what type of craft would they like as an ebook and I will chime in and say I would like a purse/bag ebook or anything with plushies/soft toys. :)
Well, I bought the book and love it, so I'm not really qualified to answer the question. I, of course, am going to anyway. I think everyone has made some excellent points here, but I agree with Anitra about the cover. Your photography is really great in the book and the cover doesn't do justice to what's inside. It's partly a scale issue, partly a balance issue, and partly a color issue for me. I'd be happy to whip up some comps for you that you could either use or throw away. Chat me up on the email. As an owner of the book, I also wanted to say, that as far as content goes, it's awesome. You write great instructions and everything I've tried from the book has been really fun.
This has been super helpful, Kalina! Exactly the kind of input I'm looking for. I greatly appreciate your honesty.
That sounds about like what my research turned up, too. Unfortunately, that kind of investment is currently out of the question, plus I have some concerns from an environmental standpoint about printing a huge number of copies without guaranteed sales, as plainsight mentioned earlier.
Thank you very much for your honesty here, bebebabies. It's very helpful to me. I think you're right about the cover – definitely needs a redesign. And I can see where some readers would prefer to see the projects in situ. That one's a little more challenging, but not impossible at all.
Maybe it's the copy you're using? I don't feel compelled to buy, as if I absolutely must have the book.
To remedy this, I recommend you check out the latest (2009) edition of Web Copy That Sells. I'm reading it right now and it's fascinating.
Best of luck!
Thanks for your input. If you have any specific feedback on where the copy didn't grab you, that would be most helpful.
wow, you have got loads of food for thought. A few people mentioned that you can't look inside an ebook before buying it, and honestly if you (a trusted source) hadn't been the publisher of his one, I might not have it either, because I have bought quite a few pdf tutorials elsewhere lately that just weren't up to snuff IMO, a total waste of money. BUT- you did make a project available for free, and I was wondering if you might need to make more of a big deal of the fact that it *is* a sample chapter from the ebook? Because the book layout is great.
Also, did you realise that there are several weaving related groups on Ravelry now and their targeted banner ads (which reach potentially >400,000 users) are insanely inexpensive. Casey and Jess really look after their indie business supporters. I will be buying one for my Etsy stuff as soon as I can figure out a way to make it fibre related (one of the only rules). When I say affordable, I mean AFFORDABLE by the way- not comparable to an ad in a print pub with a circulation of 500,000!!
Also, there's Weavolution but I have no idea what their ad structure looks like. Oh, and Weavecast (Syne Mitchell). I know you probably know all that by the way.
hugs
You're right, Hope – I don't think I've drawn the connection clearly enough there. Great recommendations for ads – thanks!
I agree about the book cover. All the photos are very linear (and small!) and they're arranged in lines. I think that from a design standpoint, you want something more dynamic, something that catches the eye and makes it move around, so that the cover makes more of an impression. You want to make a splash. The current cover is more of a “tweed jacket”. Safe, low key, but not memorable. Can you get a graphic designer to have a look at it?
I'm not a designer, but personally I would go for warmer colours, more reds rather than blues and greens. I would prefer a central photo rather than a lot of small ones (or with the small ones as inserts) with the main photo carried to the edges of the cover. I would position the main weaving photo on a funky angle, so that there's more movement. Up/down/left/right feels static. Maybe highlight some outrageously expensive, drop-dead fabric!
Great thing about ebooks is that you can change a cover easily. It would be unthinkable in the traditional printed edition.
I think offering a print copy is a good idea. Not everyone has access to a good printer or can be bothered to print things out. (I have a 'graveyard' of abandoned PDFs on my PC that I've downloaded with good intentions.) A simple comb or spiral binding from a print shop would be sufficient.
Another suggestion is that you offer something like Amazon's “Look Inside” feature. Viewing a table of contents and index (in addition to an excerpt, which you seem to have covered in your free project) is very useful and that's often a deciding factor for me.
Good luck! I loved your podcast on print and electronic publishing. I worked on many books over the years, but they were academic tomes, so I didn't have to worry about photos.
Hi, Diane. First congrats on the book!! It's a great concept. As far as obstacles to buying are concerned, I'd agree with previous commenters about the book cover and copy pictures. If I compare the book cover pictures with the sidebar button for the book, the button is more dynamic: diagonal lines, shadowing, contrast, etc.
So the button might be a good book cover?
Sending good wishes for your book,
Manuela
They say a picture is worth a thousand words… I was thinking on my way to work about what I wrote earlier about a catchy photo for the cover, if you decide to change it. Here's a close-up I took of a Weavette square (off-loom, so I think it qualifies):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spindexr/3861570560/
A catchy cover photo (or graphics) is probably the first thing to hold people's attention. If you can work a gorgeous model or striking scenery, all the better. I think studies have shown that people are naturally drawn to faces. Weaving is cool but it looks a bit industrial to non-weavers.
A second thought I had was that your book could use a showstopper project. Have you read any of Sally Melville's books for beginners (The Knit Stitch, the Purl Stitch)? She has had a long relationship with the Xenakises and Dot Ratigan, so her insights into the publishing and editorial decisions of her books are meant to describe one big happy family (not the usual relationship between publisher and author). She mentions that her book had to have a showstopper project, so she knitted a short version of her Einstein coat in a chenille yarn that would bankrupt most of us. (BTW, you'll note that the covers of her books usually feature a gorgeous model wearing her knitting.) A showstopper project on your cover would catch people's attention.
Another thought was the economy. Yes, we know it's bad and times are tough. You could point out the economic benefits of off-loom weaving. I don't know your weaving background. I've done both loom and off-loom weaving, althouigh I'm far from an expert, and one of the reasons I like off-loom weaving is because it's much more economical (in terms of yarn wastage) than traditional loom weaving. A little goes a long way, so you can use a little expensive yarn (or handmade paper, for a paper project) for a lot of impact. For those of us who are curtailing our craft spending, off-loom weaving is a great way to use up one's stash odds and ends, the single balls and remnants sitting in our closets.
One of the reasons I chose this photo in the link above is because it shows how off-loom weaving can use specialty yarns that are too delicate for loom weaving. The multicoloured mohair/ribbon yarn runs in both directions, as warp and weft. this yarn would need extremely careful handling on a loom as warp.
I would try to include more “gifty” items, in proportion to clothing embellishments or jewelry, because gifts are an area where people try to cut their spending. Hope this helps!
Avital
I saw the comment about self publishing and having to purchase tons of books up front. I’ve used createspace.com to self publish. You can sell directly through create space or through amazon.com instead of having to buy copies up front to sell yourself. You can of course buy copies to sell directly if you want but there’s no minimum so you can buy just a few if you want. They’re easy to use and the quality of the book is excellent.
Hi –
I’ve been enjoying your blog for a while, first time commenting….
I can’t help with the business/advertising side, but I can speak from a possible-customer point.
1. agree – move the button up. I looked at what filled my screen when the page loaded. There have been times when a sale has been lost because I had to work to find the “buy” button.
2. for me, it’s a matter of style. The projects you have in the book just aren’t “me”. Perhaps if you had a gallery showing what’s possible with the techniques in the book ?? For example the woven hearts – what would geometric shapes on a different fabric look like??? What might the bracelet look like done as a necklace all in reds, etc. Some people *might* look at the projects shown and think “ok but not me”, however if different options were shown, might think “oooh – gotta make that!” Not everyone has the ability to take a technique and say “what if I do …….. instead”.
All great stuff, Avital – thank you!
Even more great insights! Many thanks, Avital – and I will definitely check out Sally Melville's work.
Thanks for your perspective on CreateSpace, Sue. I like them, too. My only issue there is that my weaving book would cost about $9.00 a copy to print (with all the full-color photos on each page). So I'd have to raise the price significantly in order to make any profit at all.
Would any of you pay, say $15-$20 for a 60-page print book? That seems like a bad value offer to me. Part of the reason I like digital publishing is that I can include tons of photos and lots of instructional detail – things that get expensive for print publishers.
Good point, Gail – thank you very much for sharing it!
Hi Diane, :-)
As I was reading through the comments, there are many great ideas that came out that I agree as well with.
It certainly needs a better book cover. It's too linear and it misses some color and typography work. If you haven't contacted Mr. Dudecraft, yet ;-), just drop me a line if you need help in this department. The pictures are great and your books deserves amazing covers!
To be able to flip through the book would be very interesting. Is there a plugin that could do something like this?
And I also agree about marketing it better. Lately, you've marketed Kanzashi a lot more than this ebook, so of course we kind of “forgot” about the ebook. Maybe you could offer it for free to some well-known bloggers in the Weaving community so they would talk about it? Buy some adds on well-known weaving blogs and/or websites? Is there some Weaving-Forums that would allow you do a free publicity post for your book?
That's it for now. Hope it helped! :-)
You're right, Fanie – I'm still smacking myself upside the head for releasing the weaving book so close to the Kanzashi Blitz. Ah well… Live and Learn. :-)
Many thanks for your kind offer – I may take you up on this soon!
well I think you have to consider the value of having a hard copy book that you can flip through vs an pdf file. You can't really compare pricing of a pdf file book to an actual print book because they're two completely different things. In most cases I found that when I was publishing my online magazine which averaged about 75 pages an issue delivered in pdf format most of the subscribers ended up printing a copy of it anyway. Then complained about the cost of print cartridges.
I also think that an actual book has a bit more of a professional edge to it. $15 for a full color 60 page book is not unreasonable and I think if you take a look at a lot of the craft books out there, especially the ones put out by C&T that pricing is right in line with or under what they price their books at. Making $6 per book is a way better profit margin than you'd get if you actually went through a publisher and and the end of the day it's better to sell 25 books and make $6 a book than to sell 10 pdf books and make $10 a book. Also consider the additional marketability of being able to send your book to people to review and the benefit of having someone buy your book, bring it to a guild meeting and show it to others who may end up wanting to buy a copy.
Just my way of looking at things of course :)
Sue B
http://www.suebleiweiss.com
http://www.twocreativestudios.com
________________________________
Absolutely, these are all great points, Sue – and I haven't ruled out print at all! There are so many factors to consider, and I'm sure the right solution will arrive. Thanks again for your input!
I'm not really into weaving at the moment, so I'll keep my comment focused on your site design. One thing I noticed right off the bat was your banner design at the top of the page. It just doesn't seem as cool and fun as most of the crafts you feature in your entries. I'd suggest updating that and giving it a less Mondrian look. Also, while the buttons in the photo are pretty, on first glance they give the page an old-fashioned, grandma-ish look.
Good luck in your endeavors, and I hope you sell some books! ;-)
I haven't had the time to read all the comments but here's what I think after what I've read: I actually like the cover of the book. It features a variety of weaves and doesn't muddy up the subject. It has a clear layout and graphic appeal. And weaving is generally linear, so the cover should reflect that.
Have you done any research on how crafty eBooks are selling? I think in general, crafters love images. It would seem to me that an eBook about crafts would be harder to sell by its very nature. Someone who wants a novel or a history book which is text almost exclusively would be more likely to accept or try an eBook than someone whose focus is looking at imagery and getting visual examples of projects. I think many people are hesitant to work with something they know they will have to print in color if they want to refer to it on a repetitive or long-term basis. I have no problem with printing out the projects I am working on, but some people might feel overwhelmed at the idea of having to print out the whole book so they can leaf through it and organize their preferred project. To me, this is the biggest drawback of a crafty eBook publishing venture. I don't think it's about the look or content of your book. Did your book about blogging sell better? Maybe this is why.
I do agree that it would be helpful to have several pages to look at before buying it. I knew it was going to be great, but someone who doesn't have experience with your tutorials may not be willing to take 'a chance' on a book they can't get a greater overview of.
We're in a time of growing pains. More and more, people are going to reach out to the crafty eBook and find a way to make it work for them. It's economical, it's independent, and it's flexible. I can print out just what I want to use and carry those pages wherever I go to craft!
I totally agree about the flexibility of ebooks, Chris. In some ways, I think they're more “use based” than print books, which sit on our shelves and are pretty, but we may never do more than flip through. With an ebook, I think the whole point is printing the sections you want and getting down to it.
And where images are concerned, you can actually put way, way more images in an ebook than you often can in a print book. Photos are expensive to shoot and print. In digital format, they're nearly free.
I think releasing ebooks is an interesting but difficult endeavor with lots of things for and against. One of my web design teachers once said internet users are like over caffeinated weasels you have about 5 seconds to catch their interest before they move on and the key is to any web success is figuring out how to make them stay and look. You really have to do something unexpected or unique to keep their attention. It’s also the reason you're getting a lot of lookie lous. Looking is free buying isn't so you shouldn't get too down on yourself on the amount of views vs. buyers. I'd look more at your overall sales and ask yourself if it is proportional to the amount of effort you’re putting in a monthly basis.
I'll echo a couple of other comments about marketing as well. I know the ebook came up on my radar a few times on other blogs but I had forgotten about it until now. I think if you want the book to be successful you need to cast marketing net to get some interest going. Personally I think your photos and the free sample is enough but if you could get the ebook on the Kindle you'd probably get a wider audience. Especially since there really aren't a lot of craft books available for the Kindle.
Before I go I'll throw out one more idea that would have caught me first page viewing. Have you ever thought of hand crafting your ebook kind of like a zine? You would have put in project photos and text digitally to retain the quality of the important stuff but it scan in the overall layout. It would increase your file size tremendously but I think it would be worth it to add that touch of craft to the overall feel.
Thanks for all these great insights, Olivia. I have been giving some
thought to the zine form as a means of print publishing without too
much investment. And I completely agree about the web being Short
Attention Span Theater! :-)