Submitting designs to Leisure Arts

I've recently gotten more involved in choosing the designs that we decide to publish. This is good. And bad. Good because I like to see submissions as they come in. Bad because I feel like I ought to have better answers for some of the questions that I hear when I'm cruising the aisles of the latest tradeshow.  If you've ever thought about attaining fame and fortune as a craft/quilt/sewing/cross stitch/paint/embroidery designer, you might wonder how to get started.

If you're interested in working with Leisure Arts, you can go here to find our Submission Guidelines, but I'm going to give you two very important answers to questions I've heard repeatedly in my short time of talking to new, potential designers. Luckily, the designers I've been working with for years and years and years already know the ropes. They can tell me more about submitting to Leisure Arts than I know!

Here are the questions:
1. How can I submit to Leisure Arts?
I always read this question as the physical, nuts-and-bolts how. Either
Email to submissions@leisurearts.com. Simple.
or
Mail the old-fashioned way to Design Submissions, Leisure Arts, 5701 Ranch Dr., Little Rock, AR 72223.

Either way, you need to give us some idea of who you are, what your fabulous idea is, and why it would be great for us (so you need to know what kind of books we're putting out now...check the website, sign up for the newsletter, etc). Photos of completed projects are a very good idea, drawings are the next choice. Charts in cross stitch will work. Whatever you send to us needs to illustrate your idea well. We're visual types around here. We like pictures. Oh, and creative license is OK. We get a variety of different kinds (folders, letterhead, bound books, discs, notebook paper, letters in calligraphy, class notes, formal outlines, stacks of photos, previously printed pattern packs) of concept submissions around here, but professionalism is always important so keep that in mind. This is your introduction so it needs to say important things about you. No pressure, though. We're creative people too and we're looking for ideas.

2. What are you looking for?
This is a question that I get from old timers and newbies alike. It's a good question, but it makes me shrug. Sometimes we have a "something" that we're looking for, but we are always, always, always looking for new ideas and fresh projects from designers. Or tried-and-true sellers. Or techniques that we can teach today and tomorrow. Or...it's a good question, but there's no easy answer. If you have an idea, give it a try. We're nice people. OK, the people that I work with are nice people.  And I am too most of the time. Just don't stop me in an airport.