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On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about craft publishing with my guest, Jennifer Keltner. Jennifer is the publisher and chief visionary officer at Martingale, a leading craft publisher. Many well-known sewing pattern designers have books out with Martingale including Sara Lawson, Pat Sloan, Angela Walters, Christa Watson, Amy Smart, Vanessa Christenson, Amy Barickman, Joanna Figueroa, and more. Martingale also publishes knitting, crochet, and general craft books.

Jennifer oversees the content, direction, sales, and marketing of all Martingale products. I met Jennifer at fall Quilt Market where she was hosting Schoolhouse sessions for the Martingale authors. After watching how dynamic she was I knew I wanted to talk with her further and I’m so pleased she agreed to be on the podcast.

In this conversation, we take a deep dive into craft book publishing. We discuss what makes a craft book excellent and how an aspiring author can know if an idea is book-worthy. Jennifer explains the role she feels that books play in the current craft publishing landscape where so much content is available online for free.

I ask Jennifer to explain exactly what you should do if you have an idea for a book and would like to submit it to Martingale. We discuss some specifics of an author contract including why Martingale does not offer its authors advances on future royalties and why they don’t include a right of first refusal clause. We also talk about best practices in marketing and promoting new craft titles. Toward the end of the show, Jennifer supplies her email address and invites you to get in touch with her about your new book ideas.

And, of course, I ask Jennifer to recommend great stuff she’s loving right now. Jennifer recommends:

  • wool applique
  • living in the Pacific Northwest (where she is a fairly new resident)

Keep up with Martingale on their website and send them a message on Facebook.

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Larissa Davis

Today’s episode is sponsored by Larissa Davis Creative.

Larissa Davis, former art director of Quilting Arts, Stitch, Cloth Paper Scissors, and Modern Patchwork Magazines, loves collaborating with crafters to present their art in unique and thoughtful ways. Whether you need help with a web site, logo, enewsletter, ebook, or photoshoot, Larissa will bring your creative vision to life so you can keep crafting!

Learn more at LarissaDavis.com.

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