The Writer's Handbook by Sylvia K. Burack

Author:Sylvia K. Burack
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Writing, Literature, Nonfiction, Fiction
Publisher: T
Published: 2010-11-08T23:00:00+00:00

57

THE BUSINESS OF GRAFT WRITING

By Kathleen Peelen Krebs

IN THE PAST THREE DECADES, THE HANDCRAFT MOVEMENT HAS spawned an interest in and appreciation of fine crafts for the consumer, and big business for the artist. The proliferation of art and craft fairs in almost every town, city, state, and province across the United States and Canada is a testament to the ever-growing demand for original, handmade merchandise. The publishing world is racing to keep pace with this market, and a wide variety of books, magazines, and periodicals carry articles pertaining to craft.

As a fiber artist and basket maker for over ten years, I have contributed numerous "how-to" articles on various aspects of my craft: from locating, gathering, and preparing natural materials, to step-by-step instructions in basketry techniques, such as coiling, twining, and weaving. And selling my art through museum stores, art galleries, and fine craft fairs has inspired me to write articles on the business of craft.

Based on my experience as an artist and writer, I offer the following seven steps for entering the craft writing market:

1) Write what you know.

If you have ever turned a bowl, knit a sweater, crafted a candle, woven a basket, built a birdhouse, or braided a rug, you may have the how-to basics of writing about your craft. The market for craft how-to's is broad. A multitude of specialized craft publications offer techniques on quilting, knitting, woodworking and carving, embroidery, metal-smithing, ceramics, and weaving. A number of general craft magazines feature instructions on how to make anything from stained-glass lampshades to mosaic flowerpots. Home and garden magazines offer well-written articles on subjects ranging from herbal wreaths from your backyard, to building your own bent-willow garden furniture.

1 have written instructions for making hats from lily leaves and mats from scented herbs. My article on drying pine needles to coil a natural green basket was featured as a cover story for a national craft magazine, and brought me $300.

2) Tap the children's market.

Do you remember those beanbag squares, potato prints, and paper-bag masks you made in second grade? Most children's magazines have a "crafts corner" and welcome new ideas (or variations upon old ones). This is an easy way for even crafting amateurs to enter the craft writing market. If you have ever helped a child make a tissue-paper kite, a newspaper mâché animal, an egg-carton caterpillar, or a felt finger puppet, you can write an article with an original twist on your project. An article I wrote on Southwest-style, woven newspaper baskets earned me $250 from a national family craft magazine.

3) Record your research.

You have spent hours in art museums admiring antique Chinese porcelain or seventeenth-century Japanese kimonos. You seek out contemporary expressions in wood in countless art galleries. Many fine art and craft publications accept well-researched articles on a particular area of interest. Fiherarts Magazine published an article on the sari collection of one of the last Ottoman princesses, as well as a feature on collecting early "aloha shirts" from Hawaii. For an article on

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