Ok you guys, I’ve had it up to here, and I just can’t take any more. Pardon me while I rant about a few things on my mind.
I work hard, every day (ok, except yesterday because I was really tired) to hone my craft, make it better, make it worthy of putting out into the world to represent who I am and what I do. I also feel like my work represents every artist out there, as an example of what is possible when you apply your talent to something tangible. I am harder and more critical on myself than anyone else, and maybe harder on myself than I should be, but I truly believe that an object should look just as good on the front as it does on the back; just as good on the inside as it does on the outside. I’m always looking for ways to enclose raw edges, make smoother curves, and I’ll even sometimes take the trouble to match patterns if I have enough fabric to do so.
What I am realizing is that a lot of people just don’t seem to give a shit. Yes, I said it. And I’m sorry for the inclusion of this word, but those who know me know how rarely I curse, and I really need you to understand the depth of my feelings on this topic.
I’m not talking about perfection; I’m talking about attention, respect, commitment. Attention to detail, respect for your own work, and a commitment to putting out the best work that your talent & skill allows.
What is killing me these days is this assertion that being a “modern” whatever means that it’s okay for you to sew seams any which way, that if your piece doesn’t lay flat, it’s ok; that if your topstitching looks like a drunken spider stitched it, that’s all ok too. And maybe it is, if you’re just stitching for yourself, or you haven’t developed that skill yet and you’re still learning, or you just wanted the darn thing finished because you’re tired of looking at it and you’ve stopped caring.
But if you’re going to teach? If you’re writing a book? If you’re cranking out patterns to sell? If you’re selling the item itself? That’s where I draw the line. This is what I call the dumbing down of our industry. And it’s not just the makers of crappy work that I’m directing my ire toward; it’s also the consumers who lap up substandard work just because that person is popular, and the editors of books and magazines who don’t call people on their crappy work and make them do it better or not at all.
Someone told Lisa Sipes the other day something to the effect of, “You could sell poop and people would buy it.” Lisa does not sell poop, she has an incredible work ethic and talent, and I totally get what the person is saying. It’s supposed to be meant as a compliment, but I would be horrified to be so popular, to have such celebrity that someone would allow me to sell shit as gold and not call me on it.
I’m not including pictures in this post, because I’m not talking about any specific person; I’m not trying to shame anyone or call them out, but I know you’ve seen this stuff out there. It’s like an epidemic; the close-up shots of tangled starts & ends, because the person couldn’t be bothered to lock their threads or hang onto the tails when they started. The haphazard binding put on any which way that is lumpy in one spot and empty in another. Raw hems on dresses & trims that have masses of threads hanging off of them, because the person can’t or won’t draft their pattern to cut on the bias in order to properly employ a raw edge. We call this stuff cute, we ooooooh and aaaaaah over it, and drool, and drape praises over them like superhero capes, all the while reinforcing the idea that crap is great and great is overrated.
And this isn’t restricted to novices; I’ve seen this stuff in glossy, well-made books. I’ve seen it from very talented designers and makers alike. I’ve even seen it in full page ads taken out by quilting celebrities in magazines.
Here’s how this cycle of ineptitude starts. Some person starts blogging about their sewing projects. They develop a following because they came up with something clever, and even though that clever something isn’t particularly well-made, because it was clever, people pay attention. We don’t know how to separate the clever part from the construction, and so we heap praises on that person, and no one bothers to tell them, hey if you did this a different way, your piece would look better. Or hey, next time you should do X, because X will keep your piece from looking like crap. But no… people will share the clever, not the well-made, and that blogger develops an insane following and someone in the industry takes notice.
The industry person wants a piece of this person’s popularity, because if they can ally themselves to that person, they can reap some of the rewards that popularity brings.
“If I give this person some fabric to work with, their followers will buy my fabric, and I’ll make money. If I give this person a book deal, their followers will buy the book, and I’ll make money. And to hell with whether or not that person has a talent for sewing or quilting. I’m not going to help them by mentoring them or suggesting they actually take a class on sewing and quilting techniques, or how they can improve; they are popular now, and that’s what I want. To hell with them developing their skills. They don’t need to; they are popular without it.”
Because this now-popular person is being courted by the industry, and now has followers, and industry people chasing them, they think to themselves, “Well, this isn’t a big deal after all. I was worried at first about my crooked seams and crappy construction, but no one seems to care, so it must not matter.” They continue putting out crap, the crap is selling, and the attitude is reinforced.
Other folks producing crap feel encouraged by this blogger’s success, and so they start putting out crap. Some of this crap gets through, and another crappy book comes out.
Meanwhile, there’s a sector of folks who have been doing this a while, the folks who have talent, and have honed their skills over time, and who ordinarily do not put out crap. They start noticing this trend of crap flooding the internet, flooding the bookshelves, the popularity of crap, and they think to themselves, “Why the hell am I working so hard?” And they throw some crap at a wall to see if it sticks. “What do you think of my crap?” They ask. And you know what happens? Because that person already has a measure of success that they BUILT ON WELL-MADE THINGS, and are already popular, no one will dare say to them, “Did you just throw some crap at a wall hoping we wouldn’t notice?” NO. Nobody says BOO. They heap praises on that person, call the crap golden, and it reinforces to that person that they can sell shit as gold and no one will object. Now that person can start producing crap on a regular basis.
And I’m not making this stuff up. I watched this very scenario unfold on Facebook last week. It happens every minute on Etsy. I’ve got examples of this very thing on my own bookshelf.
And so the cycle goes; someone makes crap, the crap sells. More people make crap, and that sells. Then someone makes something even crappier, and THAT sells too, and pretty soon the whole industry is putting out substandard work; fabric quality degrades, everything is made of plastic and breaks easily, and we buy the books and patterns and magazines filled with glossy photos of crappy projects. This gives everyone the impression that crap is great, and the standards take a hit. The bar is lowered, and all of a sudden the crap drowns out the well-made so that people don’t even know what well-made is anymore.
Then there are the rest of us, watching in horror as all of this happens. And by “the rest of us”, I mean the people who refuse to put out crap, even if it means doing it over, or who put out crap because they honestly want feedback and to learn and improve but who wouldn’t dream of hoisting it on others as if it were not crap. Those of us who wear out seam rippers by the dozen because it’s worth doing right if it’s worth doing at all. Those of us who will still take the time to do a French seam even though it takes longer and we’re going to miss our deadline. The rest of us who point out the crappy parts in our own work so that you know we’re not perfect. We don’t do this so you will tell us how fabulous we are anyway; we do this because we think you should know what crap looks like so you can make an informed decision if you ever decide to buy or make crap of your own. It’s the rest of us who want to hold the standard high so that even if we miss, it’s still better than the crap that most people will put out there.
Everybody makes crap – it’s how we get better. In all things artistic, you have to make a lot of crap before you ever start to make anything good, and sometimes you have to make crap because only by doing it wrong can you find the way to do it right. I’m not objecting to the idea of making crap, what I’m railing against is the part where crap sells and everybody thinks that’s OK.
It’s like the person who is told all of their lives that they can sing, and then they go audition for American Idol and the judges have to tell them they have no talent. Simon Cowell was my favorite judge. He didn’t mince words; people called him mean, but Simon is someone who refuses to call crap golden. If you can do better, he’ll tell you to go take some lessons and come back next year, but if you have no talent, he will tell you to pursue another career.
I am not suggesting that we all start going around trolling people’s blogs and criticizing their work; but I do think that as consumers, we need to push back on the industry and refuse to buy stuff that we know is crap in the false name of supporting the “artist”. I don’t know what the solution is to get people to stop selling crap, or to stop believing their own BS. As makers, we need to have enough respect for our own work to know that we can do better, and enough care for the folks who come after us to show them what good looks like.
I do not want to set myself up as the Simon Cowell of the quilting industry. I know crap when I see it, and I refuse to lower my own standards in my work. But I can only sweep my own house; it’s not for me to become the sweeper for the whole town. It just really makes me sad to see how the quality of work has degraded so much that people no longer even respect the skills that it takes to do things well. I get frustrated every time I open a book and see a closeup of terrible topstitching, and I get really upset when I see yet another artist I respect throw crap at a wall and get praised for it.
And it’s not sour grapes either, because I’m not sitting here whining about poor me, everyone else is popular and I’m not, or everyone else is getting a book deal or fabric or sponsorships or whatever. I get the book deals, and the fabric, and the industry attention so you know I’m not begrudging what someone else has.
I don’t have a great solution to this pervasive dumbing down, other than to ask my fellow makers to examine your work to see if there is room for improvement & make a commitment to yourself to develop your talent for your own sake; and to ask the consumers to vote with your dollars, to recognize crap when you see it and to hold us to a higher standard. Don’t let someone sell you shit and call it gold and be okay with that.
And if anyone needs a sewing mentor, or a quilting mentor, or wants some constructive criticism on something they are working on, I will raise my hand and offer to be that person for you. I won’t tell you your work is crap, but I’ve been sewing almost as long as I’ve been on this earth, so I have a lot that I can recommend. Maybe I should start posting tips on how to make things less crappy. I’ll do my part, but mostly I think I preach to the choir; the folks making the crap that sells won’t listen because they’re already writing and teaching and selling. But if you think you can do better and don’t know how, let me know and I will try to help you. I’m not a 100% expert on everything, but I know enough that I can share.
What do you think? Do you see what I see? Does any of this bother you too?
Update: If you’ve gotten this far, I hope you’ll also take the opportunity to read the follow up post that I wrote (I don’t apologize, but I do clarify the difference that I see between professional standards and personal ones; why my crap isn’t your crap; and why everybody should keep making crap, but not necessarily sell all the crap they make.)
I. Love. This. You are spot on Ebony! I knew I liked you! Technique is important. Modern or Traditional. Why spend so much on fabric to treat it like crap? My SIL is a new quilter and I always try to help and give advice. Why wouldn’t you be honest? Real friends/teachers help you grow.
It’s true! I’m a novice, and I know I need tons of improvement, but I’ve been really disappointed with some of the “featured” quilts in more than one quilting mag lately. If I can spot the mistakes or lack of attention to detail (or God forbid, a “wavy” not-squared quilt edge), then it shouldn’t be in a magazine.
I think it’s okay to accept that sometimes things aren’t going to be perfect, but I expect better from something that is published. I can look at my mistakes any time; I don’t need to pay $6-14 for a magazine of “expert’s” mistakes.
Thank you for speaking up!
At last someone who will stand up and say”The emperor has got no clothes”loved the comments
Oh yes! Finally someone had the guts to just say what I have been thinking. And I have a personal story… I sewed for one of the new popular online “boutiques” sewing ruffly clothing for little girls. I took the time to perfect using my ruffler foot and to make nice rolled hems on my serger. I cut garments according to patterns and the lengths of pants, etc as listed in measurements on the boutique’s website. I delivered beautiful finished garments that were worth paying $50-$60 for.
The really frustrating thing about this mostly fun job was that there was another sewer who did not cut according to patterns, “did her own thing” and used to work in a factory. Serger tails hanging, did not bother with rolled hems, just serged ruffle hems or dress hems with a 4-thread overlock, ends of seams not matching and just left that way, and even holes where seams were not caught. Things were mis- sized by her and made so quickly that there was no way she was paying any attention at all to details. But oh was she ever FAST..go figure.
I sewed about 1 garment to her 4-6. We got the same pay…and she still sews for this boutique. They got very few complaints. I finally quit because I would not sew things like that and know some little girl’s parents or grandparents paid all that money for shoddy work. Can’t believe that people don’t care about how things are made..just want something unique. But it is so true : (
Thanks for allowing me to add my rant.
I also liken this phenomenon to bloggers writing posts about crap and then getting a hundred comments from brown-nosers stating “oh you are so right!”. heehee! 😉
Hahahahaha! Tahlia! The cult of personality is indeed powerful! 🙂
Who is getting hurt here? Seems to me like nobody.
While I agree that crappy workmanship sucks and I think it’s sad that people are popular from popularity rather than skill, I don’t think that this is “dumbing down” the industry at all. What if someone is popular for their design over their skill? Or popular for popularity’s sake? Why does it bother anyone or even matter?
This post didn’t really bother me until you said it upset you that someone was proud of something that wasn’t something to be proud of. Seems like a very snobby attitude or as you said, sour grapes. I can’t see why else you would be upset about that. People should be proud of their efforts, even if they’re not perfect. Having the time and luxury to make something and then share it with the world shouldn’t be a time for sitting back thinking, well she sucks, she should take a class! I thought this community was more supportive.
Don’t you think that deep down everyone wonders if they’re good enough? Even if they have followers who say that they are? These people get chosen to be popular by other people’s opinions, not their own.
Still, thank you for speaking your mind, there were lots of valid points in there! It is unfair that someone who isn’t as good as another gets all the attention, but they are popular for a reason. This reminds me of Anya winning Project Runway on style and popularity but she couldn’t sew. Does that mean she sucks? That’s just my two cents.
I mean, just so we’re clear, I obviously wasn’t trying to say you personally are jealous of other people. Uh-uh. Your work is amazing and you’re super sweet. I just wanted to say that I see it differently, since you asked for thoughts. I think that there is a general strain of misunderstanding and judgment in this industry and the world. It bothers me to think that people are sitting back horrified by other people’s creative efforts. I do wish their was more quality control when it comes to “I wrote a book” level as opposed to I have a popular blog. Perhaps your title should have been the commercialization of sewing bloggers.
Did I say that I was upset that someone was proud of something that wasn’t something to be proud of? And I’m not asking that in a defensive way, but more in a horrified, uh-oh-that’s-not-what-I-meant-at-all kind of way. I would ask you directly but you didn’t leave an email address. Hopefully you’ve had a chance to read my follow-up post too, because in it I tried to explain that I can be proud of something and love it to death, and tell other people that I love it too, and other people can praise me for it, and that thing can still be something that’s not good enough to ask someone else to pay money for. 🙂
Regarding Anya… she had great vision, a great eye for design, but couldn’t sew. That means that Anya, if she wants to really make it in the fashion industry, needs to recognize that she is not great at execution, and either learn to do it better or hire someone who is. Nobody wants to wear stuff and pay big money for something that looks great but is risking a wardrobe malfunction every time they put it on.
Very well said!
You are so right and I’m just an ordinary quilter…..I quilt for loved ones. I don’t write patterns BUT I take pride in my work and am embarrassed by shoddy workmanship. Thank you for saying what so many of us feel.
Very very well said!
Thank you! Well said. Many go into pattern making, book writing for quick easy money without truly thinking the process through. If you want to sell a pattern or book to me, it better have something different than every other book out there, and it better be well-written, and well-made. A beginner’s work isn’t perfect, but a book or pattern sold to a beginner better be well-made to show what it should look like if properly finished.
Eu adorei o seu artigo, ainda sou iniciante na arte de patch e estou amando este mundo de tecidos. Estou aprendendo, pesquisando em blogs e sites, revistas, etc. Fico muito contente em ver que as artesãs fazem um belo trabalho e tem a sabedoria para distinguir o bom do ruim. Não conhecia seu blog, mas agora vou ser seguidora.
Obrigada
{From Google Translate: I loved your article, I am still beginner in the art of patching and I’m loving this world of fabrics. I am learning, researching on blogs and websites, magazines, etc.. I’m very glad to see that the artisans do a great job and has the wisdom to distinguish the good from the bad. Do not know your blog but now I will be a follower. Thanks!}
I will be happy to link to any tips you post to my blog. Thanks for the well written article!
My feeling is that if a person knows they did a crappy job and still displays their work, that’s on them. There’s too much ugliness in this world for me to say anything bad about the crafters/quilters that you are referring to. My son is deployed for the fourth time, so my personal issues prevent me from thinking of/saying anything about our craft, quilting. I am glad, though, that you got that off your chest. Stay true to yourself.
Well said!
WOW! Just had this same conversation with a quilty friend recently. We saw a facebook post where a “quilter” had posted a block that took all afternoon and she was happy, happy, happy with it. I .took one look at the block and was dumbfounded. The points were all missing and nothing matched up. And it was paper pieced. How could this person be so happy with crap work? Now I know that I am OCD with my quilting at times and when I teach I stress the importance of 1/4 inch seams and to press and not iron. But I cannot putT out something that I am not proud of. And don’t get me started on the quilt shows I’ve attended recently. I actually asked a judge at one show why a certain quilt won a judges choice ribbon. The quilt was so poorly put together and the colors were horrible that I couldn’t figure it out. The judge said it was because he liked “indigo” fabrics. So I took that to mean the quality of the quilt could be crap as long as the fabric was “in”. Thanks for saying what so many of us are talking about. You definitely have started the discussion and now it is up to all of us to raise our standards and stop letting these publishers and quilters profit from subpar work.
Maybe it was their first paper pieced block?
Maybe they were “happy, happy, happy” with it because they’d tried paper piecing before and HATED it and they were so happy that they came back to it again and tried.
Maybe that inspired others too,”hey this person isn’t perfect but they did it maybe I can too”!
Maybe that person is just learning what looks good.
Maybe that person is a beginner-when points matching didn’t matter but just trying something did. (I remember when I was just so happy that I made a quilt and it stayed together-I never ever thought I would unpick because my seams didn’t line up perfectly)
Maybe that person NOW is totally into making points match-they see it as a challenge.
The point is, don’t judge someone that you don’t know.
Yes I agree there is a lot of stuff out there that is as Ebony calls it “Crap”. Yes, a lot of those people have books, patterns and are trying to make a living. You know what, I don’t buy their stuff. The power is in the hands of us the consumer. So just don’t buy it. Move on and buy something you love.
But please, don’t sit back behind your computer and wonder how someone could be so proud of something YOU think is crap. Let them be proud for accomplishing something that took them all damn day.
I think we have to be able to separate judgement of a person from judging the work.
If a quilt does not win a ribbon at a show, it does not mean the person is somehow “less than.” It means that someone else’s work was better.
If someone is just starting, or is proud of something they did (whether they are new or not), I can still tell that person, “Great effort!” and be proud of them too for accomplishing something.
But I should also be able to look at the WORK and tell whether or not it is worth paying money for. I shouldn’t feel obligated to buy the result of that work in the name of supporting the artist, or not “judging” them. I’m not judging them. I’m judging the work. If I’m friends with that person, hopefully I have enough courage to let them know if I see something that, in my opinion, needs some work. If I am considering buying something from that person, I can use my dollar to say yes or no as to whether it is worth my money.
I can call a work product not up-to-par without saying the PERSON is not up-to-par. I think we, as a community of makers, need to be able separate the work from the people who make it, and help each other grow.
Exactly, but what this commenter is saying is that the “professional” shared a paper pieced block (that happened to be her first) that wasn’t perfect but that she was proud of ON FACEBOOK (not in a book or pattern). Cindi has every right to have her opinion and critic. But calling her work crap just isn’t cool.
My whole point and issue with so many mean spirited comments online is that people don’t always THINK before they TYPE simply because they are hiding behind a computer. Would Cindi really walk up to this person FACE TO FACE and say, hey so and so, that block that you worked all day on is crap and none of the points match? No they wouldn’t. They’d find a nicer, kind and better way to say it. Maybe they might even take the opportunity to TEACH.
I just want people to stop and have a little empathy. If it’s in a book, or a pattern, or something that people paid money for-go for it with some tact. But if someone is just trying to show something they worked on for personal satisfaction, then back the heck F off.
Yes, that is not cool, in my opinion. Context is important. You can still be a professional in this industry, and a student at the same time while you’re honing your craft and adding new things to your arsenal. I can call my own stuff crap, and call the weakening of professional standards crap, but if I want to give someone a criticism, I would do it in a way that helps them grow, not breaks them down. We can still criticize, and be kind. I hope that was clear in my follow up post, that I did not advocate we start attacking people or their work, if we don’t know who they are or where they are on their journey. We can fight with our dollars as consumers, and by mentoring and coaching the people who need and want help. Thanks for standing up, Jen.
Social Media has allowed people to sit behind their computers and say things that their Mama would have given them a good spanking!
This seems really snobby to me. Can’t some one be proud of their own work? Or does it have to meet your approval before they can pat themselves on the back? Making a quilt is hard work and even though I’ve been at it for 5 years now I have a really hard time getting my points to show and seams are not matched up all the time. Doesn’t mean I didn’t try my hardest. And it certainly does not mean I’m not proud as I can be when done. I’m trying my best and learning as I go and doing something that is hard but makes me happy. If I came across a coment like this about my work it would completely destroy my sprit. It’s depressing that we feel like we have to judge others so harsh and hold them to our standers. who are we do so?
Hi Clair,
The stuff I’m complaining about has to do with industry professionals putting things out there for sale that isn’t always done with care & attention to detail. I keep seeing terrible samples in books I’ve paid a lot of money for, poorly written patterns, and professional samples that are held up as examples of their best work and clearly are not. It was not at all directed toward people who are in the process of learning how to sew and quilt, but those who ask us for our money and do not present themselves professionally.
I hope you will read my follow up posts where I clarify this in more detail. I used one of my own quilts to illustrate why people learning should always be proud of their work, but also why industries have and need standards.
http://www.lovebugstudios.com/2013/05/22/an-illustrated-guide-to-craptastic-quilting-or-why-the-quilt-police-have-their-place/
http://www.lovebugstudios.com/2013/05/24/crapology-101-the-practice-of-making-crap/
Continue making your quilts, continue being proud of your progress. No one should be looking at your stuff and calling it crap, but if you do decide to enter the industry as a professional, I hope that you will find some quilting mentors and pattern testers who can help you identify issues in your products before you launch them.
Thanks for raising your voice and adding to the discussion!
Hi Ebony, Thanks for your response. My comment was directed to Cindi though. I see what you are saying and agree. I was actually worried you might think I was talking to you. It was Cindi’s comment that I thought was really mean and out of line. I tryed to comment on her comment thinking it would be clear that I was talking to her. But I guess it didn’t work out that way.
Truly, I love you and your work. You are an amazing person.
I think a post should be read completely and even mulled over for a few minutes to really think about what the blogger is saying before you make a comment…
To Clair,
I think you misunderstood what Ebony is saying. She is not judging you, she is NOT saying YOU shouldn’t be proud of your work. She wasn’t talking about YOUR work or the work of all of us out here trying to learn to sew, quilt, etc. She is talking about the Industry of sewing, quilting, etc. She’s talking about, for example, the people that write books about quilting that I spend my money on, and these books turn out to be a joke, showing crappy workmanship, teach nothing and are a waste of my money.
Ebony, you hit the nail on the head! I agree with everything your are saying!
Am so happy that someone is saying it finally – the way it should be said!
Well, now I’m paranoid about my own work of course… but I totally see what you’re saying.
I do think that a really big part of it is that somewhere along the line, our Foremothers stopped teaching us the basic skills- because we went off to work or burn our bras or something. And now we don’t have the basic skills. We also live in a “I want it now” culture, and that does not lend itself well to quality items!
I have been wanting to give sewing lessons, but I am at a loss of where to start because the impression I get is that people want to come away from a class with a finished item. Well if you want to learn the real steps, how it really works well, then you’re not going to have a finished item for a few classes….
The state of clothing in the stores is appalling, and it teaches us that substandard is good.
Thank you for this article. Lets all band together and say we will only make quality items!
I agree with what you are saying about classes. I’ve taught many quilt classes over the years and have had many not gotten enrollments because although the quilts were beautiful they weren’t simple enough or were not made in fabrics currently in the shop ( because people want to copy the sample exactly) or could not be finished in a 3 or 4 hour class ( well, duh!)! It is frustrating to say the least!
And yes, the clothing in most of the stores is appalling! I crave independent boutiques with quality original clothing!
Right on, Ebony! I’m not sure what it takes to be a successful blogger. I do know how to work hard and come up with original stuff, though, and that’s what I’m banking my business on!!
Yes, I see “crap” and I would love for you to post suggestions on how not to produce crap. I don’t do giveaways on my blog. Mostly I do (or want to do) tutorials and I love to see tutorials on others’ blogs as well.
What makes me angry and grit my teeth is when I hear someone say, “It’s only a Charity Quilt, so It doesn’t matter, It will be a practice piece for me.
I couldn’t agree more to all you said so well. I’m beginning to ask, when I actually am with the person with the maker, if they would mind a few tips that would make a nice quilt become very pretty quilt. I’ve yet to have anyone say no. Instead they usually say yes, I can use any tips I can get. I ususally only say about 3 things. I don’t want to overwhelm them, too many tips means they don’t remember or mix them up with another tip.
I also am beginning to do that on web posts, and it too has yet to have a no. There is hope, even if they are taken to be god (lower case on purpose) in the quilting room. Some reply usually in a positive way, and thank me, others don’t reply so I just tell them anyway, It’s sad
that you don’t want to do better, and support your own quilting.
RitaA
I completely agree, and am so glad I’m not the only one! This is a terrific post, and well done for sharing it!
Fantastic article!! The first modern quilt book I bought was by a well known quilter, when it arrived and I poured over its pages I was shocked. Multiple close ups of stitching with tension problems! I was (and am) embarrassed for the author. But I never mentioned it. It feels wrong or rude or unkind to point out imperfections in this online community of quilters and crafters. There are a few artists I admire, a few bloggers that I aspire to, then there are those that I think are just really good at marketing. I love your final paragraph. I have dreams of being successful in this industry and I keep saying to my husband that what I need is a mentor. In many careers people have mentors either paid or unpaid. why is it not the same for us? I would love to have someone to point out what I could have done better. I put hours and hours into my work. I unpick, I am my harshest critic but I am also proud of what I make. I know that it is excellent quality. That’s all I can do, do my best and keep improving my skills in this craft. Thank you for your honesty. I hope this post goes viral. I’ll definitely be sharing it!
Yes Gemma, and maybe writing to the author might not have been taken well. But writing to the publisher or the editor of that book? Absolutely.
That author may have been reinforced into believing their own BS, and if no one ever thought it was important enough to tell the author BEFORE THEY BECAME AN AUTHOR, then it’s much harder to address it later.
It can be absolutely thrilling to have a book proposal accepted, but there are soooooo many opportunities for that work to have been adjusted that the blame does not rest on the author. Books go through so many edits and departments during the process that it’s relatively easy if you catch it early to say, “Nope, you have to redo this.”
But the editors & publishers of that book had an absolute responsibility to make sure that crap did not make it into print. When they fail at their job, then we as consumers have a duty to point it out. We have to tell them, “I paid good money for this book, and I was really disappointed in the quality of the project samples in this book. The poor construction discouraged me from making the projects because if the author had trouble making it, what chance do I have? I’m going to rethink purchasing future titles from you because I don’t think I can count on them to be produced with quality.” We need to give the editors and publishers feedback, and vote with our dollars.