Japanese Craft Books vs. US Craft Books: your thoughts?

I’ve been culling my craft book stash lately, and thinking a lot about Japanese craft books.

I should say right up front: I receive a fair number of review copies from US craft book publishers. So I’ve been in the fortunate position to see a lot of the new titles that have come out in the last few years.

Still, as I weed out my craft book collection, I’m noticing that my little stash of Japanese titles always makes the cut. Every one of them feels as useful and relevant to me as it did the day I bought it, and some of them are years old now.

…But increasingly, I don’t feel the same way about all my US craft books. More of them (and especially, more-recently-published ones) seem to make the Goodwill/Giveaway pile. So I thought I’d look at what makes my Japanese books feel so much more valuable. And I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject, too.

I certainly don’t mean to “bite the hand that feeds me free craft books” here. But I know that many US publishers are struggling right now. I think there’s something to the way Japanese publishers approach craft books, and it isn’t just the aesthetics. I thought maybe we could open a discussion here about what we crafters would like to see in US craft books, and maybe this would be of some use to publishers.

…So, when I look at my Japanese titles, here’s what stands out:

Slim, Well-Curated Volumes

One thing I notice right away is that most Japanese craft books are fairly small books. The project collections are often fewer than the seeming US standard of 20-50. But what’s nice is, those slim books are very rich in content.

There might be only twelve projects in a Japanese book, for example, but they’re all really well-designed things I want to make.

I tend to think that this comes from careful curating of project sets, and maybe from a willingness to appeal to smaller audience segments. In so many Japanese books, the project set seems to be oriented to one skill set, and one design sensibility. Whereas US craft book publishers often seem to take a “something for everyone” approach, hoping to attract larger audiences for their books.

The problem there, of course, is that when I page through many US books, I find myself interested in only some of the projects. Some are too beginner for me, and some aren’t my style. And if I only like half of the projects in a book, then I may not make the decision to buy it.

But of course, I’ll willingly plunk down a much higher price for a Japanese book that’s designed around my tastes.

Project-Based Focus

In US craft books, I often see chapters about the histories of various crafts, or the obligatory “Materials” chapter that describes every last morsel needed for the projects. Don’t get me wrong – I get that these chapters are meant for beginners in a craft. But as someone with more intermediate skills, I often see them as pages I have to pay for, but rarely get much value from.

In Japanese books, they tend to get right to the projects. And I find that I rarely miss those developmental chapters. Wouldn’t it be great if US craft books were more targeted at specific skill levels instead of trying to appeal to everyone at once?

On a related note, Japanese publishers also put out this little format, which is something I’d love to see US publishers emulate. It’s a cross between a zine and a book – a small number of pages, simply staple-bound, with a small project set focused around a nice, tight concept. These little books seem to be budget priced – although, as a US buyer, I gladly pay a premium for them.

If anyone working in publishing reads this post, I’d love to hear from you: how expensive is this form to produce? And readers, would you buy these if US publishers made them?

It rather seems to me that, as budget-conscious as we all are lately, these small-format books could find an audience.

Educational Quality

Here’s where, to my mind, Japanese craft books have it all over their US counterparts. I have yet to pick up a Japanese craft book that doesn’t contain clear and thorough step-by-step visuals for every single project. Sometimes they’re process photos, and more often, diagrams like these.

In US craft books – and especially those published in the last few years – this kind of educational quality is pretty rare. I’ve looked at so many US books where there’s a lavishly-styled photo of the finished product, and the steps to make it are expressed only in text. (Or, in text with a few key diagrams.)

I totally understand that photographs and diagrams are more costly to produce than text. But it seems to me that crafters are a pretty visual audience. And text just doesn’t seem to be much of a visual teacher – especially for crafts like sewing, where placements and measurements are crucial.

Interestingly, despite the fact that I don’t read Japanese, I can generally easily follow the process photos and diagrams in my Japanese books. As a craft book buyer, I would love to see this kind of educational quality in US books. Because frankly, right now I can often get better, more visual learning on the internet, either from free tutorials or in the burgeoning market of self-published ebooks.

I want to support US craft book publishers, but I also need to get good value for my dollar. Beautiful finished-project photos are nice, but the craft books I keep around year after year are the ones with great educational quality.

…But this is all just my opinion. What do you think? What would you like to see more (or less) of in US craft books?