How do I write a crochet/knit book?

Let me start by saying that when I stayed home with the kids when they were first born, I had grand ideas of writing children's books. They only have 50 words in them, so how hard can it be? Right? Wrong. It, like most things, is difficult, but looks easy when done well.

Every week someone asks me how they too can write a crochet/knit book. I have been working hard in this profession since 2004 and just now getting to that point. I have many, many friends who have been publishing their work in magazines and leaflets for years and do not have a book (and they may not have wanted to do one). On the other hand, a few people appear to burst onto the scene with a book deal never having written or published a pattern ever (but I can't think of any...). But really, a publisher is taking a calculated financial risk and investment when taking on an author and they are looking for someone who demonstrates a track record that may (it's an educated guess they make) may indicate financial success for everyone involved.

Specifically...

Your first steps are to join the Crochet Guild of America, and apply for professional membership and request a mentor. I would assume that someone applying for professional membership has already done some research, written some patterns, had them tested by friends at the minimum and probably even submitted several to publishers. The mentor is a volunteer, who is in essence helping others to compete with them in the same field. (Be nice to your mentor). To write a book, it would be good to get a copy of the Writer's Market guide and learn about how publishing works. You won't know if you can trust a publisher, it's really hard to find people who will share that information but you can see authors you respect and who their books are written with and if they stayed with the same publisher through multiple books. You could consider getting an agent. Other authors have them and love it. I do not have an agent. Is anyone out there a literary agent?

Above is a close up of one of the deer babies, because they were just so cute I couldn't resist.