We've come a long way, baby!

This poor blog has been terribly neglected, but I hope to start posting again. Since I started this ring, I've been published in lots of different places including Knitter's, Creative Knitting, Cast-On, and www.interweaveknits.com. I'll have designs in several books coming out in the next year and I've designed for Blue Moon Fiber Arts and Classic Elite yarn companies. I've come a long way in just over a year, and if I can do it, so can you!

Some suggestions I have for those of you who are trying to get published for the first time:

* Join the Association of Knitwear Designers (formerly PKDG) as an aspiring associate, and request a mentor. You will have someone in the industry to help you along and answer all of your millions of questions. My mentor was the venerable Diane Zangl and she provided so much valuable advice. I wouldn't be where I am right now without her advice.

* Start with some of the on-line magazines that don't pay as much but have more of a capacity to handle aspiring designers. My first pattern was published in Mag Knits and it was a wonderful experience. This is a great way to start filling out your resume.

* Don't get discouraged! Rejection is the name of the game when you're submitting to editors, and you will be rejected - repeatedly! You just need to realize that it's not necessarily a reflection on your designs - putting together a publication is a complex puzzle that involves much, much more than the editor simply picking out designs that she likes.

* Consider alternative means of publishing. There are so many different ways you can publish besides in a book or magazine. There are many, many yarn companies who are always looking for new designs as well as pattern companies such as Vermont Fiber Arts and Y2Knit who publish individual pattern leaflets. Some of these publishers will offer royalties, so if your pattern does really well, you'll share in the rewards.

I recently received an e-mail from Black Purl Magazine, a new on-line publication that focuses on ethnic stitch patterns and stories. They are actively soliciting submissions from new designers, so go to their submission guidelines page to find out more.

Happy designing, beginning designers!