In late September I relaunched my Topsy Turvy Doll pattern. I made a new sample and posted new pictures of this doll which has been one of my bestsellers from the beginning.
I read every comment on my blog posts and reply to many of them, either here on the blog or via email. On that particular post I got the following comment:
Hi Abby-
I am a book editor and I am interested in your designing some soft sculpture designs for us. Can you contact me at the above e-mail address?
Thanks, Trice Boerens
The first thing I did was Google Trice Boerens. Was she really an editor? If so, what were her books like?
It turns out Trice has written a whole collection of books and is now working as an editor at Annie’s. So I wrote to her to find out what she had in mind and to find out more about Annie’s, a publisher I hadn’t had any contact with in the past.
Trice told me that Annie’s is a publisher with tremendous mass-market reach through their catalog and through Wal-Mart. They do pattern books that appeal to moms and grandmothers who want to make projects for their families.
Annie’s had recently published a crochet book called Amamami Puzzle Balls that had been very successful. The book is by Dedri Uys and consists of patterns for six puzzle ball animals that you can take apart and put back together. Take a look at this video to see how they work:
Annie’s was looking for a designer to create a sewing version of this book and Trice asked if I would like this assignment.
The first thing I did was get in touch with Dedri to be absolutely sure that this plan was okay with her. These animal balls were her original idea and although I would be making a different set of animals and doing them in fabric instead of yarn, I wanted to be positive this was something she was completely on board with. And she was.
The book is small – just six patterns – and the toys are clever and would be fun to work on. I love plush that flips around and turns inside out and the puzzle balls were really clever and interactive.
After a series of phone calls about the right materials to use and the size of the toys and the production schedule I decided to go for it. My book will have six patterns, just like Dedri’s, but they will be for a bee, a bunny, a giraffe, an elephant, a lion, and a lamb. All of toys will be made from fleece. I’m also taking all of the step-by-step photos.
I began working on the samples just before Christmas. Figuring out how to make three-dimensional faces on a segment of a puzzle ball was a neat challenge. The whole book is due two weeks from today. It’s scheduled to be released in July.
Quick, mass market, and a totally different process from my other books. I’m excited about it.
Annie’s is a HUGE deal, congrats! 😀
Thank you so much. I’m excited to be working with them.
Congratulations on breaking into the mass market 🙂 This is the kind of toy that my dad (a math teacher) would love!
These things are seriously cool toys. They are kinda challenging to put together, like some of those wooden puzzle toys, but once you get them assembled they are so nifty. I’m enjoying making them.
I’ve never heard of Annie’s, but I’m excited about this book idea. I’ve made a puzzle ball before and I love the idea of puzzle ball animals! Can’t wait till the book comes out!
Wow, that is fantastic news! Wishing you some courage to finish this job! I can imagine it takes a whole other mindset to work for a mass market fast publisher.
Congratulations!
Well, it’s sort of like working for a client, at least for this job. They gave me an assignment and some basic guidelines and a deadline and I go and do the work. I’m interested to see what the book’s distribution looks like once it’s released. I love new experiences!
this is wonderful news. looking forward to the finished book/ patterns.
all the best
k
This is very exciting! Congratulations!
That sounds like a terrific project! I love working on assignments that are very specific like this. It’s nice to know ahead that you’ll get paid and you don’t need to go through the work of a full book proposal.
Creativity within limits. It can be a good thing.
Congratulations, that’s so cool. Let’s hope it leads to more!
sounds amazing Abby, well done and good luck to you X
Very cool. Who knows, since it’s a mass-market big box retailer then you’ll get a broader audience. Perhaps they’ll google you r name and come here to buy more patterns once they get hooked on sewing fleece softies. Good luck!
How fun! Congratulations, and good for you! I love that you share how you googled to make sure the person contacting you really is an editor for a publishing company that really does exist. It would be horrible for someone to be scammed out of their ideas and hard work, but I can see how it could happen. The online quilting community is so generous and trusting. Looking forward to seeing your puzzle animals when you’re able to share them!
Mazel Tov! Can’t wait to see it!
That’s wonderful Abby! Congratulations! Can’t wait to see it!