This article with advice on how to
get a crochet pattern published was in the December 1997
issue of the Chain Link newsletter.
This article with advice on how to
get a crochet pattern published was in the December 1997
issue of the Chain Link newsletter.
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While attending Chain Link '97 in Schaumburg, IL, I was asked by another class member if, as a former technical writer and teacher of technical writing, I had any tips on writing pattern instructions. A few weeks later at another conference, I spoke with two editors from a publishing house. One was the editor of a crochet magazine. This is the advice I received from her.
If you have a crochet pattern that you would like to sell to a magazine, first write a letter to the specific magazine and editor. You will find this information at the beginning of the magazine. In your letter, ask for instructions for publishing a pattern with that specific magazine.
Be sure to include a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) if you want an answer. In turn, you will receive a packet of information that will explain how to write your instructions and what else to send.
Observe two rules. First, Never send a pattern to more than one magazine at a time. Wait to hear from the first one before you send the pattern to another one. Should your pattern be rejected and you wish to send it to another publication, send for another packet. Even if the second publication has the same publisher, it does not have the same editor and you may have different standards to follow. Second, to save you and your editor time and money, study the magazine to make sure that it publishes patterns like the one you want to submit.
I hope this information will help many of you to get your projects published.
Maybe in a year or two the Chain Link conference will have a display of
items designed by CGOA members that have been published in crochet magazines.