C&T Publishing, a premier publisher of quilting and craft books, has reduced the number of books they’re publishing in a year and is shuttering their digital pattern marketplace, PatternSpot.com.
“We’re seeing a contraction in soft crafts books by many publishers,” says C&T’s publisher Amy Marson. Earlier this year C&T did what she calls a “corporate reset” examining every aspect of the business as a way to set strategic priorities. One change that resulted from this process was to pare down their warehouses from three to one and to consolidate sales and distribution within single company, National Book Network. “They able to call on accounts we couldn’t reach previously,” Marson explains.
Another change was to reduce the total number of book titles C&T publishes in a year by 20% bringing it down from 50 books to 40. About five percent of those titles are published under the kid-friendly imprint Fun Stitch Studio with the rest divided between C&T and the more modern Stash imprint. In order to do this the company cancelled several books that were already under contract. “We had to draw a line in the sand to say from this day forward we’re only doing 40 books,” Marson explains. “If there were any doubts about a title we had to cut it. It was incredibly hard.” She estimates that about five books under contract were cancelled.
C&T is a mid-sized family-owned publishing company founded in a 1983 by Carolie and Tom Hensley, owners of The Cotton Patch, an independent quilt shop in Lafayette, CA.The Hensley’s sons, Todd and Tony Hensley, purchased the company from their parents in 1990.
This week during the company’s annual strategic planning meeting Marson presented a state of the industry report which included a competitive analysis of publishers in the field who had scaled back or stepped out since 2014, the year the company first began to notice a decline in sales. “We discovered there’s room for growth in certain areas,” she says, pointing to YouTube in particular.
The company has also decided to shutter PatternSpot, their digital pattern marketplace launched four years ago. The site, which allowed designers to upload their own patterns and sell them to C&T’s audience, was built on the Ruby on Rails framework and the web development company that built it is no longer willing to maintain it. “It was a white label site and we thought they were in it for the long haul, but they’re not. They’re changing direction,” Marson explains. At the end of December when the contract is up rather than hire another Ruby developer C&T has decided to close the site entirely. “We talked to a few people to see if we could find a buyer, but had no luck,” Marson says.
Although it would seem that digital distribution would be a natural new focus for a print publishing house, C&T has decided to focus their resources elsewhere. Excitement for PatternSpot started out strong at launch, but had waned over the years with several employees who were dedicated to the site moving on to positions outside the company. “It requires resources within the organization. It was a really good idea and I wish we’d had the internet savvy resources to put into it to make it as good as it could have been, says Marson.
C&T has reduced the size of their workforce somewhat. “We did some rightsizing,” Marson explains. When some employees retired or moved on they chose not to fill those positions. Still, Marson says she has made several new hires since August.
Going forward Marson says that C&T simply has to be more selective about the authors they sign. A winning author must have a robust profile meaning either they’re traveling nationally to teach, have a large following on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, or a large email list, and have a willingness to collaborate as a marketing partner. “We need people who are educators, people who are enthused about what they do and want to share that with others. We need people with lots of ideas.” Still, writing a craft book can be a financial sacrifice for designers and today’s authors are facing shrinking and often non-existent advances making it harder to justify. “The days when an author would get a $7K or $8K advance for a quilting book are gone. Permanently,” she says. C&T generally doesn’t offer advances.
Good information to know. Thank you for sharing.
Very good article. Not good news. Thank you.
So sad to hear this. I love their how-to books and there aren’t many other publishers who produce similar books. So depressing.
While it is kinda depressing that the book market overall is stressed (I love books!), I think it’s smart for publishing houses to take a step back at a moment like this and reduce things that are unnecessary or aren’t working in order to focus on things that are. That way the books that they do choose to publish will be the ones most likely to succeed and that means the publisher gets to survive.
It is sad that books do not have the appeal that they once had. I love technology and all of the ways we have to learn via the internet. However, I believe we need to teach our youth about the value of books. I was born in 1950 and feel fortunate to have been able to access all types of media.
An overall problem that I see with the book market is overall poor marketing of products. They sell hard products and rely on the internet to market them. There are many of us who still appreciate advertisements in sewing and crafting magazines. There is too much reliance on consumers accessing their websites to see their products. They miss a total segment of potential purchasers when they rely on customers “surfing” their websites regularly.
Sad news, indeed.
Again, I’m not sure it’s sad news. C&T is very much alive and well publishing books as well as a pretty hefty assortment of products for quilters. I think a sadder situation would be for a company to not examine what’s working and what’s not working and just keep doing what they’ve always done. Here’s an example of a publishing house that’s thinking carefully about how to go forward in a market that’s in upheaval and I think that’s a good thing.
I agree. It is vital to know who you are and what is working to stay strong and continue to offer great products. C&T offers great, quality products and will continue to do so with proactive strategies. The market is constantly shifting. We have found self publishing on the rise the last 5 years, but it remains vitally important to have a strong brand, quality content and unique, friendly to create projects in order to succeed. It also takes multi-channel marketing including web, print, classes, personal appearances, alignment with distributors and a solid following to successfully sell your product.
What is sad is that the shallow knowledge of the self promoter will be the winner, while the trained more knowledgeable person will be squeezed out. It’s already been happening. Just because someone has a large social media following doesn’t mean they know what they are talking about or have the best skills – or indeed know how to pass them on. Lots of misinformation and muddled befuddlement is already in the crafting world and it has started to creep into printed material. Genuine knowledge and skill used to count, now it’s not what you know but who you know or a more forward personality.
Not so long ago, one didn’t have a clue who authors were but you bought their product because publishers could be trusted to find relevant experts who had proper training, expertise and experience. The number of craft books should be trimmed as too many are the same. Many on-liners who get published just put their own slight spin on what has already been over done by others and seen over and over on pinterest. Also many are just style over substance, something which is an all too frequent occurrence. I had already noticed a drop in new books after what seemed to me to be a bit of an ill thought frenzy over the last few years or so.
Jane, read my comments below. You made your point more eloquently than I did. I was hopping mad when I read this, so my entry below isn’t as clear. I don’t usually read this blog but it popped up in my emails. I noticed something about C&T Publishing and so I read on. I have published 2 books for C&T, with a third one on its way.
I realize that it’s like plate tectonics. You can’t argue it. It’s a fact. I understand that print media is being purchased less. But, I can’t help but voice my opinion here. Many people have huge followings on blogs. I have seen these people put out astronomically bad instructions. It is clear that they haven’t had proper teaching themselves.
I also get upset when they allow many of these bloggers in to market. They don’t have a brick and mortar shop or even an online shop. So the blogger takes no financial risk. They go to market, take photos of the current trends and copy them off on their own blog site. While this is not illegal, it’s just not right. But, there’s a lot of that going on.
I have even seen people with blogs get into disagreements that are distasteful because they are angry with one another over stealing their art or intellectual property. Hello? If you throw something up on the internet don’t expect it not to be stolen. Before I turn my ideas over to the publisher, they are not published online. I do have some control–it’s hard not to have the instant applause of an Instagram audience, but I want to make certain that the directions are clear and correct, and technique is accurate.
It’s useless to argue this point as it is the future. The internet is the wild west. It’s kind of like getting news stories from any site on the internet vs. the NY Times or the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post. Like I said in my comment, I love my C&T Publishing family, and I will always go to bat for them. They continue to provide the most high quality materials. Their staff is to be commended on this.
Sad because C&T is the leader in their field….being one of their authors has a cachet that isn’t matched elsewhere. Here’s hoping they will continue because we need them.
I don’t actually think it’s sad. I think it’s important for businesses to regroup and not just keep doing the same things when the markets are shifting. A company that is able to take a hard look at the numbers and figure out a way forward that makes sense financially is a smart company.
Thank you for the article! I am happy about it because they are not “shuttering “ the company! That’s what I thought when I glanced at the title! I read a ton on my kindle cuz I like to lie in bed and read and for some weird reason my husband can’t sleep with a 100 watt bulb in his face! LOL! Imagine that! It’s also hard to lay on your side with a hardback or even soft cover. Although I really prefer paper books I rarely buy them with one exception, and that’s quilting or craft related books. I love my little library of resources and inspiration! Glad to hear we will get 40 books at least! 🙂
Publishing houses have to refocus and resize their lists at regular intervals, otherwise, they would never survive. This time C+T is streamlining in order to continue the business with the quality and innovation we love them for. No doubt we’ll be back here in the future to discuss exciting new developments in their output and business model. I’ve always been a bit of a fangirl of Publisher Amy Marson, and am looking forward to seeing what she and the company do next!
I completely understand their decision. These days there isn’t much money in publishing a book and with self publishing on the rise, C&T needs to study each proposal carefully. The book market is changing. I would like C&T to find a way to survive and thrive and if that means publishing less books, so be it.
I think this is a good move. I’d rather see smaller amounts of books coming out each year and increased quality and marketing in the titles that are released.
What is meant by shuttering their digital market place?
It means closing down PatternSpot which was a marketplace for patterns similar to what Craftsy offered. Designers could upload their patterns and customers could search through and purchase them. The designer would get a cut of the sale as would C&T.
Better to scale down than to keep one’s eyes shut and let a business go down altogether. Unpleasant, but it’s obviously reality and one of the signs of the (ever) changing market. A very informative post, thanks Abby!
Great article, Abby! It’s so good to have a finger on the pulse of our industry.
So to be a traditional print published craft author, one would need to be a multi-media creator with a massive following to guarantee a healthy return on their investment. I get it – it’s their financial risk if books don’t sell well.
However, if we creators are generating more profit from our own e-books, what is the benefit of signing over our intellectual property for a fraction of the proceeds?
It will be interesting to see how C&T and other publishers plan to make this transition to become more integrated with media such as YouTube. I laughed when I read the part about how authors must “have a willingness to collaborate as a marketing partner”. I interpreted that to say authors “must be willing to work as sales people for free”.
You raise an interesting point. What is the value in writing a book for a business person who has already got a large audience to sell to on their own? It takes six months to a year to write a craft book and during that time it’s really challenging to continue to keep your business thriving, although you’ll certainly need it when the time comes to sell the book. All the sewing is secret and it’s so much work. I still think a book is a great calling card and can open lots of doors, but I fear that it’s only feasible for makers who have other income coming in (from a spouse, for example).
thank-you for sharing this information. it is good to know what is happening behind the scene. maybe the 40 books will be really great. Happy Creating.
I agree with Abby. I applaud them for being strategic!
So much is changing. Including the availability of Free patterns thru fabric manufacturers, bloggers and more. Also, the self publishing movement (books and patterns) has had some impact, at least in the modern quilt world.
Their move to focusing on authors with a strong presence is similar to trends in the fiction and nonfiction world. It’s much harder now for new voices in any field.
As both a C&T author and a former Strategic Planning executive, I think this is a positive step on their part. Refining your business to match current needs is never a bad thing if done thoughtfully and proactively.
I do think it is a good move for them. However, I can’t help feeling a bit heartbroken for those authors that already had contracts and then they were cancelled. I would have liked to see the company honor their commitment in some way and then move to the new strategy.
It’s vital for authors to negotiate a fair cancellation clause in the contract that spells out what will happen if the publisher cancels the book. This is an important reason why authors should get an advance. Typically advances are doled out in three installments: upon signing, turning in the manuscript, and when the book goes to press. If the book is cancelled at least you get the first installment.
A good business decision. They can focus on quality more. I think every company needs to make hard decisions to keep up with changes in technology. Looking forward to see the choices they will make.
Thank you for keeping us up to date on the industry.
That’s what we constantly strive to do! Thank you for reading.
Okay it is sad for those of us who dreamed of having a book someday but are not huge names! I do feel bad for those authors whose book contracts got cancelled. Abby is right through business wise it makes sense to scale back and focus on your priorities. I do still buy soft cover craft books (I have a huge library of C&T and Stash books) and I enjoy books by lessen known authors/teachers.
When I spoke to Amy she did say that every now and then somebody comes along who has an incredibly powerful idea and not a big name and they may still go forward with that book. I think it’s rarer now in general in publishing, but I don’t think it’s impossible.
Thanks for sharing this. No company is immune from the trend it seems. Consumers are less and less willing to pay for their information given that so much is available for free. Given shrinking receipts it’s not feasible to imagine that publishers can spend more money on advertising. I worry that publishing as an industry will soon become obsolete like so many, such as typesetting, as self publishers see no need for that stage of the process of reaching an audience.
I agree with Jane. I am a C&T author. When you write a book you have to be extremely knowledgeable in the subject matter. And Abby I am a registered nurse and shop owner so I am not just being supported by my husband. I take issue with bloggers that have a huge following and are not all that knowledgeable in the subject matter. For example when you write a book you are scrupulously monitored by the editors. You really take a huge risk and your work must be accurate! Many times I have done patterns by bloggers and it’s clear that they never had proper instructions. You take little risk whereas someone that goes through the extreme trouble and risk is producing a superior product. I love my C&T family and they really know what they’re doing. So I don’t think this is good news. Just more of the way things are going with people trying to take shortcuts.
This article brings so many emotions to the surface for me. The world is changing in every way and as Gary Vaynerchuck suggests – we all have to use the changes to our advantage. It is currently the wild west of small business because of the internet. I hope you all have a prosperous 2018 and thank you Abby for such great insights!