Call for Submissions: Library Knits Book

As mentioned in previous posts, I’m working on a book and am now officially opening it to submissions!

The Book: Tentatively titled Stitching in the Stacks, this will be the first knitting book to pay homage to librarians and their craft. From buttoned-up blazers and tweed skirts to things a saucy librarian might wear underneath, this collection of hand knitting patterns will include pretty and practical clothing and accessories for men and women, tributes to fictional and historical librarians, home-and-office objects—even a Children’s Department for future librarians.

The designs will be predominately knitwear but I am open to some crochet patterns as well.

Download the storyboard and proposed chapter contents here.

Submission Requirements: Please send the following in one PDF labeled with your name and the type of design (e.g., “JSmith_shawl.pdf”).

• Sketch
• Photo of good-sized swatch
• Description (including how/why your
  design will work with the theme of
  this book)
• Proposed yarn and ideas for acceptable substitutes
• Sizes
• Schematics (unless it’s something really simple in which case
  measurements will suffice)
• And above all, contact information!

Send to: Please send PDF files to me at sarah[at]ropeknits[dot]com.

Support: I will arrange yarn support (unless you’d prefer to do it yourself). Samples will be returned to designers within a year of publication.

Compensation (a bit complicated; please bear with me): Designers will be paid out of royalties from the book and from the sales of their individual patterns. There will be no advances or flat fees. Patterns will be assigned between 1 and 4 book royalty shares based on size/complexity (i.e., a complicated sweater in multiple sizes will earn more than a simple scarf).

Individual patterns will be released on a rolling basis after the publication of the book as part of an on-going publicity effort. Designers will earn 50% of net royalties from the sale of each of his/her pattern(s).

I will send you payment and a statement every two months after book publication. You will also have the option of participating in an affiliate program, whereby you’ll get a percentage of any book you sell through your website.

Cooperative Press will hold the rights to your pattern(s) for a period of one year after publication. After that one year, you have the option of withdrawing from the program in which case you no longer receive royalties of any kind but you will have the rights back to your pattern and can do whatever you like with it (you may remain in the affiliate program even if you withdraw). You also have the option of remaining in the program for as long as the book is in print and continuing to receive royalties. You may withdraw at any time.

Cooperative Press will handle the final technical editing, schematics, charts and photography.

The book will be available Spring 2012.