The Manifesto of Independent Writing and Publishing

The man himself. NO! I was
not the reason for the Band-aid.

If you follow me on twitter, you've already determined a few things concerning my relationship with author Bernard Schaffer.

First: You've seen that we're very close friends in spite of the fact that we've never been in the same room together. 

Second: I'm not just his editor; I'm his biggest fan and his second harshest critic. (He's tougher on himself than I could ever be.)

Third: We're a hell of a team. Think, Maddie and David, Laura Holt and Mr. Steele, Beckett and Castle, Turner and Hooch . . . Wait, what?

Fourth, and most important: I read nearly everything he writes whether it requires editing or not.

Welp, today I decided to share with you a blog series Bernard has been working on to help new independent authors avoid some of the mistakes he made when he was first starting out.

If you're thinking of publishing your own work, it's a must-read. Follow this link and you'll see what I mean.

Enjoy!

What I've Learned

I wrote this post way far back when I began this blog and never published it. I came across it a few minutes ago and now I wonder why I never shared it with my readers. These are a few tips I picked up while working my very first amigurumi project, way back when, and yet they're wise words for any beginning crocheter.

So, better late than never, I thought I would share them with you now:

• Read your pattern before you begin stitching -- I will usually skim through a pattern before I even make a trip to buy yarn for it. Some designers give instruction differently than others, so it's important to make sure you understand the project before you begin.
• Count your stitches often -- Few things are more frustrating than getting half way through a project and discovering that your stitch count is off. Although many mistakes can be easily corrected, many others can not.
• Use stitch markers -- I usually use just a piece of scrap yarn to mark stitches. This is most important when working in continuous rounds as you would when making mittens or amigurumi.
• Take a breath -- If I become frustrated or overwhelmed with a project, I'm more likely to finish it if I fold it up and set it aside for an hour, a day, or even a week than if I force myself to continue working through the problem. Many times I return to find that I just misread an instruction or messed up one stitch.
• Know when to walk away -- If you've started a project that turns out to be more than you can handle, allow yourself to let it go. Remember that crocheting should be a stress relief, not a cause for stress. You can always try again when you feel better prepared to handle it.
• Ask for help -- There are so many designers/bloggers out here on the www who are very willing to lend an ear and help teach the next generation of crocheters. Drop an email to someone who can help you solve your dilemma. Mine is BigGirlJewelry (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Happy Crocheting!

My first amigirumi project, the (free) Toad and Toadette patterns by Wolfdreamer, can be found here.