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Overheard a client call their own book 'just a stack of paper' at a craft fair.
I was setting up my table at the local library fair last month, and the person next to me was selling their self-published poetry. A customer picked it up, and the poet said, 'Oh, it's nothing special, just a stack of paper I glued together.' It honestly made me a bit mad. We spend hours picking grain direction, sewing signatures, and making sure the boards are square, and that's how they talk about it? It's not just paper, it's a physical object we built to hold their words. That comment stuck with me all day. It made me realize I need to explain the work better to people who commission books from me, so they see the value. How do you guys talk about the craft to friends or clients who don't get it?
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anthony_campbell881mo ago
Used to think that stuff didn't matter much... but seeing someone call their own work just paper really hit me. @harpery47 is right, it's like they're putting the work down before it's even seen. Makes you want to point out all the small choices that go into it.
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That would drive me nuts too. It's like they're putting down all the careful work before anyone even sees it. How do you even start to explain the value without sounding like you're giving a lecture?
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the_faith1mo ago
Wait, they don't even wait to see the finished thing? That's the part that gets me. You spend all that time getting everything just right, and they call it pointless before it's even done. How do you not take that personally? I'd want to just show them the before and after, side by side, and let the work speak for itself. But you're right, then it feels like you're teaching a class they never signed up for.
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