I was emailed this question by another potential designer this morning...

Why have I decided to self-publish?

There are actually several reasons.

First, I have four Tunisian crochet leaflets and waiting for a fifth published with Annie's Attic.  Tunisian crochet patterns are difficult to find.  And, now that I designed the patterns and got the leaflets available, what happens?  After two years, most of them go out of print.  It's just a matter of business.  A publisher can't be expected to retain leaflets to sell indefinitely.  Some patterns will resurface in other publications, but others may not be available again.  So, there are some designs that I really want to be made available to people for as long as I can sell them.

Second, there are some patterns that require more instruction than the publishers are willing to give.  For instance, the Tunisian Cables afghan I just self-published through Lulu.  I wanted to have the regular written instructions and two pages of illustrated photos and instructions on making the cable.  When I sell a pattern to a publisher, I know that they have space constraints that I don't have when self-publishing.

Another instance will be the next leaflet of men's sweaters.  There is one sweater in the leaflet that is very easy, but the stitch repeat is so subtle that it's difficult to find your place, especially with the sleeves, while increasing and color changing at the same time.  When writing the pattern, I will have a graph of the sleeve in all four sizes showing exactly where the stitches go and the color and increases.  It won't be a fancy graph, but it was invaluable to me in stitching the sleeve for the model and will avoid a lot of frustration for the crocheter who purchases it as well.  This is something that could never be published in a traditional fashion because of space constraints.

Third, I want to teach some of the techniques.  Again, the Tunisian Cables afghan.  I would like to be able to teach this technique.  Since I'm self-publishing, I can print out this pattern myself and give it to my students without buying several copies of it because it is my copyright alone.

And, don't get me wrong....I'm still selling my designs to publishers.  In the last two months, I've sold almost a dozen patterns and I've submitted half a dozen more.  So, I'm not using the self-publishing solely.  It is only those patterns that I believe would be more helpful to the crocheter if they are self-published.

There are other reasons as well.  Those are the top three for me.  Those other reasons are things like, well, The Crochet Dude is doing it.  Why can't I?  And, hey, what if I can start my own publishing company and "Kimane" starts to get a name like "Annie"?  I would like to "leave something" to my kids.  And, I just wanted to have a real-life, hold-in-your-hand leaflet that I did all by myself.  When that leaflet comes in the mail to me in a couple of days, I can say "I did this!"  "I did it all by myself."  And, by golly, I'm going to do it again! 

I'm glad you (and others) self publish. Publishers also have to publish what they think will sell...which means they are choosing for me (in a way). When designers self publish, I think that gives consumers more choice, too.

I just bought your afghans leaflet - can't wait to get started. Way to go Kim, I'm proud of you :)You've come a long way since the Jiffy Sweater!

Good Idea :) You really help alot of up and coming designers by posting info in your blog about publishing, I know I appreciate it.