CENSORED

As you all know (hopefully, anyway!) I've been working on a book of knitting patterns for the past year. I got a contract, and have been working on patterns and samples.

Until Monday night. Monday night, I was hoping to get shipping info for my yarn support (yarn provided by the publisher and a willing company to make samples, which are then used to promote both the book and the manufacturer). Instead, with no reason and no warning, I was informed that CENSORED has been cut.

That's right. The book has been dropped.

I don't think I have to tell you what a blow this is to me. I'm completely devastated. That's not just a credit I have to remove from my resume, that's the entire budget for yarn, photography, tech editing, and printing up in smoke.

I've put the last year of my life into this. I don't want it to die, but I can't do it on my own. I'm barely paying the bills from week to week; paying for everything else just isn't possible.

I've come up with a list of options here (Ravelry link). Take a look if you are so inclined, and weigh in with your opinion.

Random Three

I keep missing my blogging deadlines.

Nothing wrong, this time around. I'm just behind on almost everything (still. Always).

Mostly, I'm just glad that last week is over. I'm just trying to make up for all of the stuff I missed because of all of the crap that was happening.

so in the mean time, you get a list of three random things, since that is all I can manage right now.

1. I've been using the Sterling to draft an outline for....version eight? of I novel I'm working on. So far it's up to eight pages and is looking more and more like a novel in and of itself.

2. Tomorrow I'm planning on finally sitting down with my steampunk typewriter. It arrived just before the convention back in April (as in, the night before we left), but with everything that's been going on I completely forgot about it until in the madness of cleaning I found it in the living room. How pathetic that I can't even remember the make and model at this point? Anyway, tomorrow it goes in for surgery and hopefully I'll be able to repair the damage to the carriage that it endured during shipping.

3. Sketches, swatches, and yarn lists are in to my editor, so the real work on the book should begin shortly. Just waiting to hear her thoughts on what I sent her.

be back on Wednesday. Let me know if you find my brain laying around between now and then....

Don't Mind the Ice

Ignore that frost over there in the corner. It's just hell freezing over. Do you know why?

I've got a finished object.

With pictures.

How often does that happen?

I started this super-basic shrug about 2-3 weeks ago at the Ravelry/Pride meetup, and finished it up this afternoon. It was such a lovely, sunny day that I took my mannequin outside for the photoshoot.

The yarn I used is a mystery yarn that I picked up in Italy a few years ago. The ball band is long gone, but I remember that it was 100% linen. To date, this is still the only linen yarn I've ever worked with, but I love it. I bought two or three balls of it (I think it was something like 2-3 euro each; a steal) and used the first one to make a Turkish rib scarf for my mom while I was away. Somehow, it never got entered into Ravelry. :/ I feel like this is a gaping hole, somehow.

At any rate, I do know that it was purchased here, and if I remember correctly, it was the house brand. If you happen to be in Firenze, though, don't go expecting to find this exact yarn--it was on clearance and I grabbed the last two balls, so it's probably discontinued. Do check out some of their other yarns, though. This one was great to work with and I swear each ball has about a billion yards in it. The scarf I made for my mom was rather massive, and a single ball made this shrug--with some leftover.

Oh, did I mention? That yarn shop will also let you buy bulk yarns by weight. I did not take advantage of that when I was there (that would be a dangerous rabbit hole for me) but if I ever go back to Florence, I will.

The shrug itself is extremely easy: yok2tog all the way around the first round, then knit the second round. Repeat those two rows for about an inch, then split and work flat (substituting a purl row for the knit round) and work for 18". Rejoin in the round, and continue for another inch before binding off. For a finishing touch, I picked up stitches to add the ribbing. If I'd had a little more yarn left over, I would have added ribbing around the shoulder/neck/hem area, but I was about two rounds short of what I needed. Missed it by that much.

The conclusion of this project means that I'll be buckling down in earnest to make samples for the book soon--as soon as I nail down the final yarns and relay them to my publisher. At the moment I'm using some of my samples to swatch a couple of patterns that may or may not make their way into CENSORED. Right now the big challenge is that all of my yarn support yarns are much thinner than all of the yarns I worked with originally--by about half, if not more. Writing the patterns with the yarn held double would, I think, make most projects prohibitively expensive for the average knitter (at $32 a pop, who wants to buy eight skeins for a scarf? I feel bad enough asking for four...). At minimum, this means going back and reworking all of my charts and the thus-far-completed patterns...for a third time.

But, considering that last night the cat and I were fighting over who got to use the sample skeins as a teddy bear...I don't mind too much. Hey, when it's THAT soft, who can complain?

Typecast #10

Have I really only done ten of these? It's been way too long!

Click to make them bigger.

And as an added bonus, a photo of Hermes and his "guilty" face for unplugging my monitor.

You can see he feels about as much guilt as any cat ever does. Which is to say, none.

Last but not least, the winners of the Birthday Contest! Random.org drew numbers 20 and 4, which means that AuroraSelene will be getting the yarn and pattern, and Asteride will be getting the pattern! (you should be getting a Ravelry PM from me within the next day or so to get your details and to get the code for the download).Congratulations!

SHHH!!!

*stage whisper*

Okay, so you know that book I've been working on?

It's been accepted.

No details yet. I will share them as soon as I get them. But people! I'm publishing a book!!

A Proposal and a Rejection

(No, not that kind of proposal. Sorry, Mom.)

Well, it finally happened. I sent it out.

Over the weekend, I bit the bullet and sent the book proposal for CENSORED to two different publishers. In about 24 hours, I had a response from the larger of the two. It was a very polite and encouraging “no.” Still, I am grateful for the suggestions that the editor made, and I’m not at all surprised at the response. A book with that much profanity in it is hard to market to a general audience, and while I would rather work with a traditional publisher to produce a print book that can reach a wider audience, I know that my concept will not appeal to everyone and that they have to consider all of their clients and readers, and their future relationship with them.

I’m still waiting to hear back from the second publisher. I’m a little more hopeful about that one, since it’s a small press, but I also strongly suspect that they will have a similar response.  If I’m right, then it’s not the end of the world. I’ll simply begin the process of self-publishing the patterns, and eventually combining them  into an e-book. It will take longer, but it will give me more control and I’ll be able to work at my own pace—if I feel like taking a break in the middle and working on a pair of socks, or designing something that doesn’t include illusion, then I’ll have the luxury to do so.

But of course, that is all contingent on publisher #2 and how they feel about the book.

----

Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts about my uncle. I was able to talk to him on the phone the other day, and he seems to be doing okay. Not taking care of himself, but he's recovering and as much as I would like to I can't beat him over the head until he stops smoking or changes his diet or just rests long enough to have time to heal. Still, I appreciate the well wishes and I know that he does to. Thanks.

Chocolate, Writing, and a Cat.

I'm starting to think that the hardest part of writing a book is writing the proposal. Getting the manuscript out in such a way isn't so much of a challenge as convincing other people that they should care about it. My natural shyness doesn't help--I was raised to be humble, play off my accomplishments. "So I wrote this book, maybe you'll read it, if you want?...Why? Oh, well, no reason..."

This is the first time I've ever written a book proposal (I'm only just starting to get the hang of the query letter and the cover letter is still a mysterious beast for me), so I constantly feel like I'm doing it wrong. Is there enough information? Too much? Is it the right information? Is my wording professional enough? If I make it more formal, will it still convey the feel of the book accurately? How many images should I include? What size should they be? Do I sound arrogant when listing my meager credentials? Or just stupid?

I do have a book on the subject--which was, in fact, written by the owner of one of the publishers I'll be sending it to--and that is helpful, but not as helpful as I would like. But then, I'm cautious by nature and seldom like to move forward unless I have a green light glaring down at me.
 
As a form of procrastination, I've resorted to organizing my desk (don't all writers do that?). I did have a legitimate reason. I had to make room for the necessities, which are pictured at the center of the drawer there. 

Yes. Chocolate is ESSENTIAL to my creative process.

Besides, where else would I keep my stash so that the cat doesn't get into it?


You can see how intent he is. He's lately renewed his obsession with whatever I am drinking (usually water, thankfully) and has been knocking over my glasses again. I've taken to keeping bottled water by the bed and using a juice glass the rest of the time because it's low enough that I can stick it in my desk drawer when I'm working. The last time he dumped my drink, it was all over my desk. Thankfully, my laptop was on the pull out tray at the time and was spared, but it came dangerously close to an important notebook and a new book. I don't think he'd eat the chocolate, but I can see him using the Cadbury eggs as a toy because of the way they spin.

Don't let the cuteness fool you. He's trouble, nothing but.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go cuddle my fuzzy little demon.

Shuffling

It occurred to me this week that it was a bit insane for me to finish three large knitting projects, write a knitting book, and write two novels and at least three short stories in the next twelve months while holding down a full time job. And also blogging and you know, having a life. It sounds dumb, but it really did take me taht long to realize that the reason nothing was getting done was because I was trying to Do All The Things...and doing them at the same time!

So, I've reshuffled a little bit. Since I have outlines for the novels, but am currently a bit bored with them (these being versions 2.0 and....6.0? respectively), I've decided to set them aside. The post club stories are complete, but will probably be revised at some point. I would like to do some more short stories this year, but they will likely not be for publication, rather for character development purposes on the novels. I guess they're more writing exercises than anything else.

I've jotted down notes and the beginnings of two or three potential novels since the beginning of the year, but I'm not sure they will go anywhere. For the moment, my creative writing is either parked or idling, inching forward when I need a break from knitting.

I'm focusing all of my efforts into "Censored." About 50% of the patterns are written at this point, and most of them have been test knit. I'm working on putting together a submission packet as we speak, and will probably send it out in June, goddess willing. There is a possibility that I'll have to hire someone to do some sample knitting, or perhaps find someone willing to loan me one of their test knits. I'm keeping Kickstarter in the back of my mind for this reason.

In the coming weeks you'll probably see a lot more knitting on this blog than previously--not just what I'm working on, but also inspiration shots. I'm open to answering questions or posting tutorials, as well, so if there's something you'd like to see, drop me a line. I've also got some book reviews lined up, as well as some posts related to textile history and conservation.

The writing and typewriters aren't going to go away, they're just going to be set aside, for a little while. They'll still pop up from time to time, but if I'm going to get anything done this year, I need to narrow my focus a bit before I go completely mental. Considering I'm already halfway there, I don't need any encouragement.

P.S. Speaking of test knits, there is currently one running on Ravelry for "Charlotte." If you're not on Rav and would still like to take part, please email me. 

It was knitting week, with a side of TV.

It has been a long day. An incredibly long day, filled with crazy, angry people, including one guy who thought it was totally cool to use my workspace in an associates only section of the store as a changing table for his 2.5 year old.

Yeah, it was that kind of crazy.

On the bright side, though, my tax return finally came through this week, so while I've done a bit of knitting, most of my attention has been on this:

With the decal Missouri got my for Christmas. It's not my
laptop unless it has stickers on it!

 I finally have my own laptop again, which is wonderful. I miss my Mac, but I'm adjusting since my check from Uncle Sam wasn't quite enough to cover the repairs the Macbook Pro needed, and get caught up from the mess that was January. I'm starting to make peace with the fact that it's a lost cause at this point, so next week I'll probably take a box full of tech in to be recycled.

Now that the computer issue has been sorted out, it makes it a lot easier for me to work on Censored. My first test knitter got back with me in January about the next pattern, so I'm working on revising the pattern and finishing my sample. I've got a whole lot of TV lined up for while i"m working: Marple, Teen Wolf, and Supernatural, plus I am woefully behind on New Girl and The Big Bang Theory, and then there's the Never Ending Neflix Queue. I know a lot of people (knitters in particular) have been watching Downton Abey lately. I watched the first 3 or 4 episodes and I must say that aside formt he cast, i really don't see the appeal. But that does remind me that I'm at least a seaon behind on both Dr. Who and Torchwood.

We won't talk about the travisty that became Torchwood. And I haven't enjoyed Dr. Who since David Tennant left. I'm trying to get back into it, but I really just don't like Matt Smith or the Ponds. I know I'll probably get flamed for saying that, but it's true. I used to marathon Dr. Who and now I have trouble sitting through a single episode.

But! I did get caught up on Castle, Once Upon a Time, The Murdoch Mysteries, Glee, Lost Girl, and Criminal Minds last week, and was surprisingly productive while doing so, even if it doesn't show. The afghan I've been working on  is so large that unless I actually measure it, 6 or 8 or even 12 rows aren't all that noticeable:

 I've also put in a few rows on the London Calling Cabled Cardigan, about one pattern repeat or so? Something like that:

There's actually more of it now, but that's the most recent photo. I know it's an older picture because my cable needle is in it, and this week I learned how to cable without one! It's very exciting. I'd been wanting to learn but just never looked up the instructions. Then someone posted a link to a video on Twitter, and about thirty seconds into it I figured it out and felt really dumb for not figuring it out sooner. If you're intimidated by the technique, you should try it out. It's super easy, and it's great because I'm always losing my cable needles. I actually have avoided doing cables in the past because I like my knitting to be self-contained. The less extra "stuff" I need to carry with me the better, and now that I can do this you'll probably see more cable patterns around here. (Who's up for a Fuck You fisherman's gansey?)

My last knitterly enterprise for the week was that I ventured out and actually socialized--I tried out a new knitting/craft group in the Short North called "Hey, Ho, Let's Sew." Any group that names themselves after  Ramones song is definitely one I want to be a part of. The people were nice, the conversation was fun, and there were some great projects getting made by people of all skill levels and interests. Knitting, crochet, sewing, embroidery, and cross stitch were all represented.

We're thinking about starting our own craft meetup here, but we need to get the basement sorted first. We have a great work space, but no tables or chairs to put in it. It's a problem. Maybe the next time someone decides to hand me a grand I'll be able to buy a table!

Censored

I've been plugging away at the book. Initially I had wanted to have all of the patterns done before Christmas, but I realize that was somewhat overambitious. My new goal is for the end of April. So far all of the scarf patterns are done--a narrower version of the infamous "Fuck You" scarf, as well as one that reads "Adult Content", "Crime Scene Do Not Cross," and the title project, "Censored." Earlier this week I sent a shawl pattern off to a test knitter (if you are interested in taking part in the test knit please drop me a line.

I'm not quite ready to start sharing pictures. Maybe next month. I have, however, begun looking at publishers and am putting together a book proposal.

I know that this book will be hard to publish. For starters, most publishers don't like printing vulgar projects. Second, while I have a few publishing credits under my belt and the original scarf kind of went viral on Ravelry, I'm hardly the Yarn Harlot or Meg Swanson. I don't really have a following of any kind, and I haven't taught or made a real name for myself. In fact, as far as I can tell, my one and only print publishing credit thus far was canned and never even made it into the stores. It was supposed to go out in October, then got pushed back to December, and I haven't seen it at all or even received my author copy yet.

But that's a story for another day.

As I was saying, this book will likely be hard to publish. If that is the case, I might resort to Kickstarter. I'm just uncertain of how precisely to sell the books if I do, since I can hardly go door to door with them. Perhaps publishing through Amazon is a better route? I would prefer to have hard copies, but that might have to wait.

I talked a little about this dilemma last fall. Now that I'm getting a bit closer to completion, I'm looking at it in more detail. What kind of incentives could I offer for different levels of support? Is it even worth doing Kickstarter if I end up only being able to release a PDF version? How would that affect my end sale price? Would it? I might be able to use the money to hire a graphic designer, and a photographer,  both of which would be a vast improvement to me doing the work on my own. I would also probably be able to pay a tech editor and some sample knitters to speed up production. I don't know if I could do that going the traditional route, or if the publisher would pay for it.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm still on the fence about a lot of things, but that Kickstarter is beginning to look like (maybe) a viable option. I still would like to try the traditional route first, but at least this way I've got choices.