Comments on: Pondering online publishing, take one

By: Dougal Bichan

Dougal Bichan — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 20:35:41 +0000

You are correct. KnitNet has paid its designers for their patterns right from the beginning. We do have arrangements with some designers to publish patterns in exchange for exposure, for links, for kits in the store or other comensation other than money. We do not expect talented and professional designers to gave their patterns away for nothing. We also spend a lot of time and money making sure that the patterns we publish are professionally edited so that the instructions are accurate. In six years, we have had about six errors. Compare that to any print magazine. We are happy to look at patterns by professional patterns, so please submit them.

By: j.

j. — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 16:51:32 +0000

(in case anyone’s wondering, I responded privately to Stephanie)

By: Stephanie Earp

Stephanie Earp — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 20:27:07 +0000

I’m responsible for the submission request that launched this tirade and I wish I’d found the post earlier so I could have replied. For the most part I agree with everything you said Jenna, and with the comments – professionals should be compensated for their work. But isn’t there some in-between room for ambitious amateurs? I think it’s interesting that poetry was mentioned as a comparison. Maybe I’m not appalled by my own actions because I’ve published poetry in journals many times, sometimes for $30 but usually for 2 copies of the book. And that’s okay with me. Actually it’s totally thrilling. I value the work I put into them and I also value the work of the volunteer and student ed. boards that put the journals together. It’s really in that spirit that I started my own thing. For the joy of putting together a nice-looking page, posting some designs and – if there was interest – other people’s as well.
I understand a lot of you of have been at this knitting thing for decades and there’s nothing new under the sun, but I’m new to it and I’m excited about it and wanted to claim a corner of the web for myself. And no, I can’t afford to pay people for their work. Really I can’t. The ads on small site don’t cover anywhere near the costs of running it. So people who want to be paid will send their work elsewhere. I guess what I’m saying is, what I’m starting isn’t a business. It’s a hobby. If it ever blossoms into a business, I will pay any contributors the going rate.

By: M-H

M-H — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 21:09:02 +0000

I was recently approached by someone at Muench Yarns to contribute unpaid articles to their website. Apparently they ‘loved my blog’, and thought that I would be glad to contribute to their advertising effort to increase my readership. I so don’t think so! I had quite a long correspondence with this gentleman, who eventually offered me a laughable amount of money for my contributions. Dunno what they weere reading on my blog, which is rather opinionated!

By: Robyn

Robyn — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 19:13:25 +0000

In my market, editors start at around $35 per hour and can be expected to edit 4-6 pages an hour. I don’t know how that relates to knitting, though.

By: mk

mk — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 08:50:08 +0000

A little off-topic – I’ve been trying to find out if there’s a standard rate for tech editors. I’m working with a new designer who is also trying to get her foot in the door doing tech editing, and while she gladly did the first pattern for experience alone, I’d like to pay her in cash but have no idea what the right amount would be, and my attempts to find out have not yielded much. The best suggestion I’ve gotten so far is to calculate her share as 20% of what I think fair compensation for my work on the pattern would be, but that’s subjective and won’t help much if/when she works for other people. Since she’s planning to do more work like this, I’d like her to know what is reasonable and what is being fleeced. Right now she’s so thrilled by the idea of getting any work at all that reason isn’t quite in it.

My experience in selling patterns to publications has been that I can expect anything from a free copy of the publication to $100, and that the big magazines go into the four figures, variance based on complexity of pattern and who the designer is. I’m now planning to offer some patterns for sale via my weblog in an attempt to balance things out – getting published in other people’s projects has given me a bit of street cred and experience, but has not come anywhere near fair compensation for my time and skill in cash. Whether selling my patterns directly will do so remains to be seen.

By: Ann

Ann — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 23:04:14 +0000

How very timelt! Today (11/9) a post appeared on the knitlist looking for designs for a “new book.” I replied and asked “how much?”

You can guess the answer I got. AND they need sketches etc. by 11/17! They might provide yarn AND a copy of the book.

Woo hoo!

By: JoVE

JoVE — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 19:25:12 +0000

ABSOLUTELY! and the only reason they can keep doing it is because some people don’t value their own work enough to think they deserve the money. I hope lots of (even new) designers see your post and seriously consider taking a pass.

By: kbsalazar

kbsalazar — Sat, 05 Nov 2005 21:14:44 +0000

Jenna, thanks for putting it into words. At this point there’s no reason for me to give away patterns via the websites of others. I can go broke giving things away perfectly well on my own venues. AND I’m in full control of any associated deadlines (or lack thereof).

But I’m not building a portfolio. I don’t care. It’s not like anyone will ever want to pay a living wage for freelance knitting design.

And I’m not driving people to my sites via links. While this is a slightly more compelling argument, I’m not a eyeball whore. I’m not earning money with my websites, and maximizing traffic levels aren’t a prime concern.

So. I’ll continue to design for pay and for free, but limit my free stuff to my own lines of distribution. Unless someone can come up with a better argument.

By: gwen

gwen — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 23:26:02 +0000

Now with poetry, the chances are you’ll be “paid” in copies of the literary journal you’re published in, unless it’s one of the big ones (I think!), whose names escape me now. A long established practice. (read this comment knowing it’s been a really long time since I’ve had anything to do with poetry!)