I’m currently working with a large publishing house to create a felt kit. The kit will be in stores next fall. A few months ago I wrote about how I decided to take this project on and now that I’m nearing the halfway point I thought I’d give you an update.
The first deadline was an outline for the booklet manuscript and a list of the projects I was proposing to create. I’m working with a book packager for this kit so I send everything to them, and then they send it to the client who provides feedback.
I don’t like to wait until to the last-minute to do anything (when you have three kids inevitably someone gets sick or keeps you up all night) so before hearing back I jumped in and began designing my favorite project on the list.
This turned out to be a good thing. Two of the projects will be kitted which means the supplies will be included in the box. Instructions and templates for the other eight will be included, but they won’t have supplies. So the two kitted projects are really crucial. The publisher came back and wanted to swap one out and it was my favorite one! I took a picture of what I’d been working on. We sent it to them and they loved it so not only did I get to keep it in, it will be one of the two kitted projects.
The second deadline was to create the patterns, instructions, and samples for the first three projects. With one under my belt I was feeling good. The second one wasn’t too hard and the publisher accepted it as is. The third one, though, has been causing me a lot of strife. It’s the other kitted design and I’ve made four prototypes so far, each of them rejected by the publisher for various reasons.
I had a hard afternoon on Friday and may have written a line in an email about fearing that I’m simply not a good enough designer to pull this off. Not my finest moment. Sometimes design by committee can make you feel very down.
I reworked the design again on Saturday night and we have a conference call about it on Monday afternoon. I know I’ll get it accomplished. It’s a good stretch for me to have my work critiqued this way, even if it hurts sometimes. The fourth and fifth designs are nearly done and the sixth is in prototype stage.
Right now I’m sending small samples of the supplies and exact measurements so that they can be sourced overseas. That process is fascinating in itself. I’m also excited to see the packaging.
I continue to have a lot of enthusiasm about the project and I’m glad I took it on. My original deadline of December 20 has been extended into early January which is a relief, although I do plan to finish everything early just in case.
Ugh, I remember that feeling – I had a similar experience when I designed a papercraft kit years ago. The colour scheme of one of my projects was changed by the client after I’d already cut out about 100 paper circles using my choice of paper colours, and all I could do was nurse my poor sore fingers and start re-cutting them in the new colours…
Still, the project all worked out well in the end, and I’m sure your kit will too! It was magical seeing the finished kit packaged up with all the materials matched so closely to the sample paper pieces I sent – a fascinating process.
I’m glad to hear that you made it through a similar tough spot and were happy with the results in the end, June! That’s comforting 🙂
I can only imagine what it takes to do a project like this. It’s fascinating for me to see these glimpses from behind the scenes. As a consumer of the crafting world, it’s all too easy to assume all the stuff on the shelves of the store just appear there and forget what goes into creating the kits and designs. Good luck. I’m sure you’ll get it right!
I truly never realized all that goes into product development before developing my own products and now developing a product for someone else. There’s so much involved!
Abby, I feel for you! I am writing a book at the moment too, and 7 out of the 10 projects I sent in need adjusting or replacing entirely because of styling concerns, and that all came about 2 weeks prior to my package date, I thought I was done but now it’s going to take three months longer! But you’ve got your chin up, keep going, we can do this, and focus on the positives- like having done all of the writing…!
Oh that does make me feel less alone. We’ve totally got this. I’m excited to see yours when it’s done!!
Oh no what a nightmare Kerry. I’m sure it’ll be worth it in the end though when you see the final book and some for you too Abby with the final kits. It think it’s always hard when you work for yourself and are used to doing what you want to suddenly have someone dictating how things must be done and saying certain things are not good enough or right.
Thank you so much for this update and a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes work that goes in to something like this. I know it’s going to be great, because YOU are designing it (even if it is “critiqued by committee” – ugh, not a fun way to design, I imagine).
And also thank you for being so honest about your fears – sometimes it’s so easy to think that successful artists are just churning out fabulous items easily and without any doubts. Hearing your honest confession reminds me that everyone doubts themselves at different times in the process. But you just have to keep plugging away at it.
That’s so true, Anne. And I love your work!
Abby, you have two really difficult parts to your book project—design decisions not determined by you and an incredibly tight time line. Knowing in advance that you will be successful, I look forward to seeing the final outcome and also learning how the designs that did not get accepted are incorporated into your future work. P.
Thanks, Patricia!
Thanks for sharing your doubts, Abby. I’m working on a quilt for a magazine publication right now and last night while quilting I was totally doubting my quilting skills. Why do we do that to ourselves? I have every confidence that you’ll get it figured out and that you’ll grow as a business person and designer from the experience. I can’t wait to see the finished product.
Thanks for sharing more details about the process! It’s so interesting to see behind the scenes. I’m curious about your time commitment so far, and whether it’s matching your expectations – and whether you negotiated a flat fee beforehand, or compensation that would cover any added time you have to invest in the project. Do you just have to anticipate that you might have to e.g. make more prototypes than you’d expected, and factor that into your rates beforehand?
Hi Caroline, I think I knew how long it would take me to accomplish what was needed for this kit. I tend to be able to estimate fairly well when it comes to time management. Unfortunately I can’t say anything specifically about the contract except to say that I did a bunch of research and negotiated before signing and I’m happy with it.
Hi! You might already know about this, but in case you haven’t, someone on Instructables has taken your (not free) puzzle ball lion pattern and is sharing it for free without giving you ay credit. I would comment on the post but I don’t have an account. I don’t know who to paste a link here, so just go on Intructables and search “puzzle pet,” and you’ll probably find it.
Yes, I have alerted the publisher. Thank you.
Oh, I’m glad you did. They probably didn’t realize what they were doing.