The other day I read a story which further convinced me that if you have a craft book in you then going the traditional publishing route can be fraught with difficulty and disappointment.

This is someone who is quite well known online and an experienced crafts person. To be honest I’m a little surprised they hadn’t gone the self-publishing route in the first place. However, our friend had been approached by a large publishing house and asked if they would be interested in writing a craft book on a particular subject which they are known to be expert at.

Not surprisingly, she agreed, and set about putting together an expansive proposal with plenty of detail about content, examples of pictures, etc. Probably took her quite some time. Still, it’s what you need to do if you choose to go that route. The package was duly sent off and then there’s the wait to see if all of this was acceptable to the publisher (who, let’s not forget, has asked this crafter in the first place).

I would be asking myself if that time could not have been better spent on creating and publishing her own book.

Anyway, the book was accepted, months were spent actually working on it. It was submitted, edited, resubmitted and finally accepted and ready to publish. Months of effort would be rewarded with a published craft book on general sale in bookstores all over the country.

Except that unfortunately during the process the publisher was sold to another company. Work on all craft book publishing was halted. Our friend has no book in print and, depending on the wording of the contract, may not even have the rights to take that book elsewhere.

Which is is the problem when you hand control to someone else. It’s a sad story but a true one, and not the first time I’ve heard something similar.

Now you can argue that craft publishing through a major company gets you a better chance of having your book in the nation’s bookstores – and you would be right. But how are you going to guarantee that your book will actually be published? You can’t.

So what if you publish yourself? Well you can distribute a digital version online that can be sold all over the world, 24/7. Then for “real” books you can work with a print-on-demand company who will print as few as one if that’s all you need. You don’t pay any money for that up front either! Then on day if a big publishing house comes along and wants to sell your craft book you are in a position of strength. You already have income that they need to better. Now that’s a happy story!

More info about craft publishing? Have a look here.

A pc and a free program like OpenOffice and you’re pretty much done! The problem people then have is getting that book into print. How do you get yourself a craft book publisher?

Historically that’s been one huge challenge, and something that has been as much decided by the perceived profitability of a book as the actual content or quality. Sadly craft book publishing, like any other book production, has long been controlled by the bean counters we all know and love!

Now we’re in a whole new craft book world, one where self-publishing is a practical reality. One where sales and distribution can be handled by you almost as easily as you handle email. One where you can take that book you’ve put your heart and soul into and actually publish it yourself…

… and of course you get to keep the lion’s share of the money!

Publish your craft book digitally, which is becoming more and more popular, and you can be looking at up to 90% of the cover price going in your own pocket. Compare that with the ten percent you might get via traditional publishing and you’ll see why doing it yourself is the choice more and more crafts people are taking.

I know what you’re going to ask next, what about a “real” book? A lot of people will buy the craft ebook you create but what about those who prefer something you can actually get hold of?

No problem at all. Companies like Lulu.com will take the digital file you’ve already created and print you as many hard cover versions as you like. What’s more, you don’t have to commit to huge and expensive print runs, you can order as few as just one! Besides a few technical things you need to do to make your cover artwork suit their specifications your craft ebook and its “real” version are the same thing.

The money you make from hard copies is obviously less – you do have to pay for that printed version – but it’s you who decides the price and the margins are still greater than via a traditional craft book publisher.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? There must be a catch?

Well nobody can tell if your craft book will actually appeal to a wide audience, and you’ll want to do some additional work to promote it, but all of this can be done by you, from home. What’s more you can also benefit from the residual income that being a craft book publisher generates. You do the work now but the book goes on selling (and putting money in your bank) for years.

Sound interesting? The best place to get all the information you need is Complete Craft Book Publishing. Well worth a look.

Now there’s nothing to stop you doing it yourself. Write your craft book, publish it online. Deliver it digitally to anywhere in the world, any time of the day or night.

Wake up in the morning and find someone has stuffed money in your bank account while you slept!

Flippant? Far from it. It happens to me and other people I know of all the time and it’s perfectly practical for you to do the same. OK, it might not make you a millionaire overnight but it can provide a nice chunk of extra income – a full-time living for some.

I know some craftspeople have that old barrier about computers and the internet but lets face it, you know enough to read this article so you’ve pretty much got all the basic skills already!

Seriously. You can read, so it follows you can write. You’re not looking for Shakespeare or Dickens here just good legible explanations – like talking to a friend and showing them what you do.

You don’t need a degree in computer science either. Use a blog like this or set up a small site using one of the many site-building tools around. Once it’s written you can be selling your craft book online in a few days at most.

As for taking the money, Paypal (make sure you get a Premier or Business account) or Clickbank can help you there. Simple, efficient and mostly hands-off so you can largely set it and forget it.

There’s probably some stuff you don’t know yet, but none of it is difficult to learn. Once you didn’t know the craft you practice, now you have valuable information in your head and people are willing to pay for it.

The only thing now stopping you from writing and publishing your craft book is you.

Related: Craft Book Publishing Course