Tip #1 would be – Do not insult an editor if you intend to submit a design.
Okay, it seems self evident, one would think. However, I had an amazingly vitriolic email from a woman writing about the 2006 calendar – and then she ends by saying she wants to submit to the 2007 calendar. WHA??
I told her I had enough designs (not really, but who needs to deal with that kind of anger?) and she wrote back
Too bad I won’t be on board, as many will not know through this calendar my designing capabilities. I guess if you would have used more of the patterns submitted verses your own, you would have room for more submissions. I am real [sic] disappointed in this publication. It was not biased was it?
Apparently she was upset because yarn substitions were made in the calendar. It was – in most cases – necessary due to yarn availability, or to replace a discontinued color from a different yarn line. You can imagine what a headache this was to keep up with – especially with sketchy yarn info on some patterns – so in some cases I chose to go with a yarn I knew to be more widely available across the country. Also, for the record, I had been asked to take over the project from the previous editor in late November. That left me a big NINE weeks to compile the whole thing, so – yes – I did use a lot of my own designs. I had to – there just wasn’t time to get as many submissions as I would have liked. NOT a problem this year!
Oh, well… What are folks thinking? After a week away – and some REALLY lovely classes – it’s rough to come home to such an angry email. But on the positive side, I have been receiving so many submissions that my head is spinning, which is tremendous – keep them coming! But if you yell at me I probably won’t use your design – just a heads up. I’m funny that way.
8 Hours in South Orange
After teaching in Connecticut, Northhampton, MA and Boston I’m back home for a few hours until I leave tomorrow for LA. I will be staying with – ta da – Laurie, and I’ve heard that there are some wild things doing chez Aunt Purl. If I were a little less exhausted I’d be WAAAAY excited (as it is, I’m waaay excited) and I fully intend to sleep on the plane. Woo. hoo. wo.