FREE TECHNICAL EDITING!

It's not what you think.  😇

Magazines are a great way to receive guaranteed payment for a pattern design (unless it "suddenly" goes out of business, but that's another story), and they usually even provide the technical editing for free.  Who wouldn't pass that up? especially a new designer that worries she (he) won't be able to attract enough attention to a paid pattern.  I think it's a good deal.

But...

Before any patten is sent to the editor, the designer still needs to make sure it's ready for publication (meaning: carefully read through it).  Sure, she (he) wrote the thing and knows what it says, so why waste should they waste their time reading it through when it's going to be edited for free? Free!  The editor will put it  into the correct style, find all the mistakes, put in the punctuation, and whatever else an editor does.  Hey, the designer is busy making the sample, weaving in all those ends and then has to send it all in on time, AND write up the pattern.

First of all, it's hard to find all the mistakes when there are 150 of them (including style).  Some magazines send the patterns right back to the designers to fix style issues, but it's been my experience that if they didn't take the time to look through the style guide (or a magazine issue) in the first place, they won't after having it sent back to them, and then it just wastes a week of time, which creates a tighter deadline and less time to find the remaining 140 errors.

If I have questions for a designer, I've (almost) always received pretty quick replies that are very helpful either right away or after a bit of back and forth.  But, again, this takes time which leaves less time to work on the other designs for the magazine or this design in particular.  If it happened to be the last of the lot, the deadline could be tomorrow to get it back to the layout crew.  There is a bit of wiggle room in this process, but geez, I really really hate missing a deadline even if it's squishy.

So, yay for free editing (technical and otherwise), but please, before sending in your pattern for publication, check that all the parts are there (did you write up the edging? do you have the legs written out for the amigurumi pattern? did you note where the color changes are to be made? did you check the style guide?).  This will ensure that you will have a pattern that's easy to edit, which means that any remaining harder-to-find mistakes are much simpler to find.

And, congratulations at having your design selected, it will be pretty cool if it ends up on the cover!

CHAIN-LINK, CGOA CONFERENCE 2017, ITASCA (Chicago), Il

CROCHET DREAMS!

I was able to attend the CGOA conference this year and I had a really great time.  I hadn't planned on attending, so the hotel and some of the classes/events I would have otherwise attended were sold out. I was able to get a roommate since people were posting on Ravelry looking for roomies.  But I was not able to get into any event (Excellence in Crochet, Banquet) or class (Susan Lowman's Repairing Crochet, although that's not the official title) that I was hoping to.

The classes I did take, though, were definitely worth my time in one way or another, and as usual, the teachers were top notch.

If you have a chance to attend a Pajama Party with Marly Bird, do it!!  It may be late, you may not be very social, or you might just not want to wear pajamas out in public, but do it anyway, it was a lot of fun.  Thanks to Red Heart for sponsoring it and handing out yarn like cups of water, and of course, Marly for being the fun ringleader!

It was fun meeting up again with people I've only met at these conferences, it was fun meeting up with people that I interact with primarily online, and it was fun meeting all sorts of new people who all had crochet in common so that everybody had something to talk about which led to many interesting conversations.  I was able to connect in person with a designer friend, who drove about 2 hours each way to have lunch with me and another local-to-the-conference-site friend.  

Next year it is in Portland, so I am pretty certain that I'll sign up early and not miss out on quickly-selling events/classes (although, geez, if the banquet sells out every year, you'd think they'd make sure there is a large enough banquet hall?).

TECHNICAL EDITING ADVENTURES

Overheard at the conference: "That magazine tech editor just ruined my pattern!"

Well, that sure would be disappointing.  I do technical editing for a magazine and I hate to hear comments like this.  I heard it a few times, but stated a bit differently each time.  During Professional Development Day a newer designer asked the speaker if it would be a good idea to add a note if she does something a bit unusual (as to why it was done that way).  The speaker replied, "If you wish." But I think, "YES! let me know."  I did speak to her later, so she knows my opinion.  I've had unusual things come my way and have always asked, but it's possible that a designer didn't get her point across at all and it just looked like a big easy-to-spot error, in which case I wouldn't contact her.  If there was a note, then I would know for sure.

I am tasked with editing all sorts of patterns that range from nearly perfect (there's always something!), to me wondering if these are the notes or the pattern they'd like to have published.  I really do love my job, but sometimes, geez, I wonder what people are thinking.  A wonderful piece of advice I heard on submitting to a magazine is to pick up an issue and see how it's been done. I'm all for not reinventing the wheel.  Is it too difficult to get through the style guide? Well, you should try, but at least look at the patterns in the magazine and try your best to make your pattern look very much like those already published.

A lot of my job consists of either switching the "dc 2" to "2 dc" (because that's what it says in the style guide!) or just deleting things, a big one is parentheses around the st counts, or periods after the st counts (both things are in the style guide, no parentheses of any kind and no period).  This takes time to do and may take away from the attention your pattern might need in the technical department.  So, please, put your pattern in the style of the magazine.  

If you can't put it in the magazine's style for whatever reason, hire a personal tech editor to do it for you.  Make it clear to her/him why you are hiring them (it needs to follow This Magazine's style guide).  I do it for a couple of clients, and yes, that means that some of the fee you're receiving will have to be used on your personal editor, but it also means that your pattern will be in the best shape it can be and the magazine editor will not be worn out by all the tiny mistakes and possibly miss something larger, or just see so many errors that they decide that your carefully-worded instruction on something new or innovative is just another error.  The magazine I work for had a piece come in that had all sorts of errors in the crochet work (not the written pattern, but the actual crocheting), plus the finishing was sloppy.  It's entirely possible that a contractor did the work, but I noticed these problems and cautioned the editor on putting a particular part of the piece in a photograph.  He'd already noticed the sloppy finishing and I suspect that she will no longer have her patterns accepted at the magazine.  I can see the same thing happening with overly-sloppy submissions.  

I once had to mention to the editor that a pattern was really tough to deal with.  There was all sorts of missing information: "You made that st, now go ahead and do it for the rest of the row!" (but the sts in between those sts you just learned to make, you can figure out that they need to be there, and go ahead and figure out how many of those other sts to place along the row for yourself, too, you're probably a fantastic crocheter!); sts were ignored in the st count (no reason to ignore them, they were used in the following rows, not that that's a good reason to ignore them, but...); oh, and of course, the only part of the pattern that followed the style guide was the fastening off instructions, which were actually changed early on, but the style guide was never updated, so it's just a quick delete if somebody actually follows the exact wording.  So, even the one thing she got right was incorrect.  

What do I do if I encounter odd things?  I send an e-mail to the designer asking for her help. 

Sometimes they don't get back to me.  

What? 

Yes, let that sink in: sometimes they don't get back to me.

I guess it's possible that my e-mail went to their spam folder for some reason (although, that's their e-mail for their business, so you think they'd have that worked out), or they're on vacation and aren't checking (although, they just submitted their design, with their name on it and it includes their e-mail address which implies it might get used, right?), or they just don't feel like responding to the non-editor (since that's probably the person they've been communicating with).  I usually do CC the editor, so the designer can reply directly to her if desired, but that's only happened once.

If they don't ever get back to me (or the editor), then I must make a best guess based on my crochet experience.  I always hope I'm correct and I'd never just leave an error so something has to be done.  I always wonder if they happened to look through their pattern after publication and complain that their pattern was ruined.  

Doris Chan noted that editors resisted her use of the FSC. Since becoming a tech editor, I wonder what I would have done.  I really think I would not have changed it to "Chain 185, Row 1: 184 sc" because, wow, the FSC is great and who wouldn't want to use it when the designer thinks it's appropriate?!  Had I never encountered that st before, I would think I would have asked for clarification, but I also would have discussed it with the magazine editor because I wouldn't want the staff to be blindsided by a bunch of inquiries after the issue comes out, and ultimately, it's up to the editor to publish innovative techniques (or not).

So this all comes back to communication.  Yes, put a note for the tech editor to contact you if necessary, or just a note as to why you used a chain 2 for the beginning of a sc row instead of a chain 1 (something I've never seen before, so I would definitely chalk it up to a typo).

I like to think I'm pretty flexible and if you have a legitimate reason for something unusual, then it should be in the pattern.  The reason why should probably be published, too, as a note or a tip accompanying the pattern.

I don't know what happens after the pattern leaves me, I don't have a desk in the magazine's offices, and every so often I notice that a pattern has been edited down for space considerations.  Sometimes I offer an alternative that will save space because I love to follow patterns, too, and like the designer and the magazine's staff and buyers, I want them to be correct.  Every so often I just make purely space-saving edits if it doesn't take anything away from the pattern and it keeps or makes it easy/easier to follow, too.

As I've been working these almost-2 weeks since coming home from the conference, I've been thinking a lot about tech editors ruining patterns.  I think that tech editors that are purely or mostly crocheters and really love crochet would want innovation to occur.  I think that most of the designers try their best to have an easy-to-follow pattern and at least glance at the style guide when submitting to a publication.  So, I've decided I'll blame tech editors with limited crochet skills who have mostly worked on knitting patterns and think that crochet patterns are pretty much the same thing. 😉

Stitch Diagrams

I guess a nice second post would be to write about stitch diagrams.

I use Inkscape for my drawings.  I've tried other software, but Inkscape just seems to be the best fit for me.  It was a pretty steep learning curve and boy was I excited when I found a tutorial on radial clones!  But now that I've gotten the hang of most of the features (I still learn new things from time to time), it's pretty straightforward to create a nice drawing.  Sometimes those radial clones go a bit wonky after saving the file, but I work around that bug by opening a new document and that straightens things out, then I just overwrite the file (save with the same name) and all is fine.

There are a number of ways to create shapes/stitches around a curve in Inkscape and most tutorials like the "stamp" method.  I didn't prefer this method because it is done by eyeing the placement of each st around the circle.  This might be fine for one or maybe two rounds, but little differences tend to cause problems as more rounds are added. Radial clones allow for an exact placement around a circle (exactly spaced).  The issue I haven't yet found a solution for is placing the center of rotation exactly for each round, I still need to eye it by placing the center on a little circle that is kept at the center of the drawing (never rotating, never moved).  I enlarge the drawing so that the tiny circle is very big and then it is easier to place the center of rotation just where I want it. 

This is an example of a doodle I made today.  Normally each round would be a different color (usually blue alternating with black), but since it was just a doodle, I chose to not do that.  I also didn't add the turning chains or a sl st to join.  We can pretend each row is a different color and a standing st is used to begin the round and an invisible join (duplicate st) is used to close it so that it doesn't need those things.

Begin with a magic ring.

Round 1:  [Dc, ch 1] 10 times into magic ring.

Round 2:  [2 sc in ch-1 sp, ch 1] 10 times.

Round 3:  [(dc in BLO of next sc) twice, ch 2] 10 times.

Pretty simple, maybe a little flower petal or the beginning of a dishcloth, or..?

This is the procedure I followed

Round 1: I started with my center dot and a circle to have the dc go around (the center dot is in the exact center of the circle, I deleted these 2 things when the drawing was complete).  I randomly chose 10 sts.  I set up the radial clones to be placed every 36˚ (360 ÷ 10) and moved the rotation center of the dc being cloned to be even with the central dot, then clicked "create" and my dc appeared in a lovely perfect circle, with each st evenly spaced.  Then I set up the ch st in the same way, making sure it was evenly spaced between two dc before cloning (I grouped and then rotated the dc sts). 

Round 2:  I wanted to place both sc at the same time, so I set up one sc to clone itself only once (giving me 2 sc, choose "2 clones" from the tiled clones box) and 10˚ apart, which was a trial and error thing.  Once I had them spaced in the ch-sp nicely, I grouped the 2 sc, set the center of rotation, changed my radial clones back to 36˚ and 10 clones and clicked "create".  Then I set up the ch st in the same way as I did for the previous round.

Round 3:  I wondered if it would be just as simple to have the dc done separately over the sc.  But first I decided that the dc should be in the BLO (because I had the st but haven't used it much).  I placed the BLO symbol over the first sc and used the same settings as when I was creating the second sc (to be grouped with the first sc and then those two were copied around).  It turns out my BLO symbol was a bit too wide, so I shrank it a bit (by eyeing it with my mouse, not scaling it down via transformation).  That worked nicely, so I duplicated it (radially, 10˚ one clone), and grouped those two symbols and cloned it around (10 times).  I centered the dc over one st, set the center of rotation and duplicated it 10 times, then I did the same thing for a second dc and called it a day.

Notes on the procedure

Each time I placed a new st to be cloned around the drawing, I rotated the drawing to get the new st positioned properly, sometimes by 5˚ and sometimes by 0.5˚; this was always done by eyeballing it since I didn't want to risk messing up the st placement with the automatic alignment. (LOL, I said I didn't like eyeballing earlier, but sometimes it just works out better for a particular application.)

Also, I always delete the original st (which is directly on top of the first clone) because it tends to be annoying and it also creates a darker st since there are two sts directly on top of each other.  It would be good to keep the original st (and delete the clone underneath) if you wanted all the other sts to be a clone to the first.  This would allow you to move or color only the original and all the clones would behave the same way.  This usually causes problems for me, so I get rid of it.

I draw each st myself based on the "standard" sts used in most U.S. books and magazines as well as Japanese patterns.  I just drew that "magic ring" symbol today and am very happy with it.  I don't draw new sts for each drawing, I have a little collection that I add to as I need something new, and some of the sts (the dc for example) have evolved into a nicer shape.  I always start with that collection when I open Inkscape and copy the few sts I need to a new file and go from there.

PRICING

So, what do I charge for stitch diagrams?

That depends on the diagram.  Flat drawings are easier than curved and circular drawings, so they cost a bit less.  

Each diagram begins with $5 (or $10 if I wasn't the technical editor).

Each unique row is $4 ($5 for curved drawings).

Each copied row is $1 ($2 for curved drawings).

The drawing on this page would be $20.

3 unique curved rows: 3 X $5 = $15

The beginning $5: 1 X $5 = $5

$15 + $5 = $20.
Unless I wasn't the editor, then it would be $25.

I draw primarily for patterns that I have edited.  Feel free to ask me, though, if you only want drawings, since I like drawing st diagrams and if I have the time, I'm happy to do it.

If I don't edit the pattern, the beginning/set-up fee is $10 instead of $5.  If a drawing is super super simple (no corners, no curves, although complete circles, as the doodle above, may fit into this super super simple category) and had no technical errors, I'd be open to charging the $5 set up without an edit. 

CONUNDRUM

One of the reasons that I prefer to do drawings primarily for my technical-editing clients is that I find errors/typos as I read the pattern.  So, since a drawing-only client isn't paying me to edit, what's my responsibility to that client?  I would definitely mention that there is a problem with certain rows if the pattern would be undoable for somebody that needs help to work a pattern (errors may cause beginning crocheters to give up). Plus I'd need to know how to proceed since if it can't be crocheted as written, it probably can't be drawn.  Typos (Roow 2: cH 3,...) aren't a death knell for a pattern (but they do look less professional) so, if they aren't pervasive, I'd probably not mention them beyond letting them know they need to go in and reread the pattern for typos and give an example or two.  Also, I'm less likely to see typos when working on the drawing, since I'm concentrating on the sts, not the words.


Make sense?

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any great Inkscape tips, or if you want to solve a problem drawing your own crochet stitch diagrams (YouTube has some great videos, oftentimes the Illustrator videos are helpful, too).

Another good way to get in touch with me is through Ravelry, my username is Amerz.

WHY HIRE A TECHNICAL EDITOR FOR YOUR CROCHET PATTERN?

Well, there may be any of a number of reasons.

1. You're new to pattern writing and aren't sure where to start.
2. You're an experienced pattern writer and know that a second set of eyes is invaluable.
3. You've had your patterns tested, but customers are still not giving glowing reviews to your pattern writing, or are finding errors.
4. There's always something else that needs correcting.
5. You want to bounce ideas off of somebody that understands crochet completely.

I can help you with all of these reasons, and probably others that you haven't even thought of.

Well, probably the first thing you're thinking is: "How much is this going to cost me?"

I charge $30/hour and normally use PayPal to invoice.  If you have another favorite way to pay, then let me know.

The next thing you're probably wondering is: "How long will it take?"

• That's tricky.  A pattern with a lot of errors will take a lot longer than one that's mostly error free.  A pattern with multiple sizes will take longer than a simple scarf.  
• Mostly between 1.5 and 3.5 hours.

"That sounds fine, so, what do you do with my pattern that takes all that time?"

Many things!

• First I read through looking for actual pattern errors.

1. Does the gauge match the finished size? (Gauge always matters! yes, even for that scarf.)
2. If told to work into the next 3 sc, are those 3 sc there to work into?
3. If told to make 5 rpts of a st pattern, is there enough room for all 5 rpts?
4. Is it symmetrical (or not, if it's not a symmetrical pattern)?
5. Is it sc and not dc?
6. Is all the math correct?
7. Is that the actual name for the yarn? is it really that color number? is it available in the color you listed?
8. and on and on, so many potential technical errors.

• I make sure all the abbreviations used are in the list and all those in the list are used.
• Are all the periods there? how about the commas? spaces, are there one or two? are all your hyphens the same size? are all the hyphens there (worsted-weight yarn vs yarn that is worsted weight)
• After I've read it through the first time, I read it again checking for all the little things that might have slipped through with the first reading since the main focus of the first read is the correctness of the instructions rather than grammarish things.  (OK, grammarish isn't a word, but it looks good here.)
• Which leads me to: It's your pattern. I'm not the crochet police. Do you really want US instead of U.S.?  OK.  You really hate tr for treble crochet and want to use trc instead.  OK.  Do you want 10cm or 10 cm?  

1. I'll point things out to you that fit my preference, but some things are best left to you, the designer.
2. Do you have a style guide?  Then I'll check it and follow it so you won't have to have me ask you about your well-thought-out choices.
3. Do you have stitch diagrams?  I'll compare them to the written instructions to make sure they "say" the same thing.

"Hey, wait a minute! didn't you just say you weren't the crochet police, shouldn't you be checking to see if I follow the crochet standards?"

• Yes, I'm not the crochet police, I'm a technical editor.  I'm here to make sure your pattern is as professional as possible.  I want you to publish a pattern that is free from errors, consistent throughout, and easy to follow.  If you have a style that is not standard, but is still easy to follow, then I'm happy to support your style.  

"OK, so why do you think you should be my technical editor?"

• Well, because I love crochet and I want your patterns to be lovely.
• As an avid crocheter I have a passion for error-free patterns.
• My current clients are very happy with my work, so I would expect you to be, too.
• I am fully proficient in regular crochet, Tunisian crochet, hairpin lace, and double-ended hook crochet (maybe this is a subset of Tunisian).
• I am very comfortable with amigurumi, but have edited only a handful or so of these patterns and have crocheted about the same amount. 
• If something is vexing me in your pattern, I'll stop the clock and make a little swatch.

"I'd really like to include stitch diagrams, can you do those, too?"

• Yes, I can.  They cost extra, based on the number of rows and type of drawing (curved rows cost a bit more than "flat" rows, but circles with a simple rpt are as easy as "flat" rows).  They take me longer than they cost, so they are mostly a service to designers who hire me for technical editing.
• I use Inkscape and draw all my own sts.

"Well, do you have anything else that will convince me to try you out?"

• Yes!  I give a 20% discount to new clients on their first pattern.  
• Also, if you refer a new client to me and they use my technical-editing services, you will receive 20% off your next pattern (the designer you referred will still have 20% off their first pattern).

"Well, I'm in the UK and we use different st names, so can you do that?"

• Yes!  I am very comfortable with UK st/technique terms.

"Great!  How do I contact you?"

• You can send an e-mail to me by clicking this link.
• If you prefer, you can leave a comment below with your Ravelry name, or contact me on Ravelry directly,  I'm Amerz.

Notice that I work only with crochet patterns. (I did do a knitting pattern once for a long-time client, she was happy with my work and the pattern is very popular, so... maybe if you become a long-time client and really want me to look at your pattern, I'll do it, but otherwise it's best if I stick with crochet for now. 😉)