Selling tutorials is a gift to other people who work in clay. No artist is obliged to give away their techniques for free. It is their profession and how they make their living. No one else is expected to work for free and I believe that we should appreciate and support our fellow artists. Publishing books is a very expensive venture. In terms of Tina’s tutorials they are chock full of well done photos that show every step and very good instructions. Her techniques take a long time to create and even longer to document in tutorials. Books do not usually have the luxury of the sort of detail work you will get in one of her tutorials. They are well worth the money. Great work Tina and thanks for sharing your discoveries with us.

I do not know tina’s ebooks but i am sure they are well writtened.
As a tutorials “maker” myself i can tell you that a single subject can take up to months of trials and many days of writting, editing and finishing. For me, as a non english speaker it taken even longer then others. In addition, some people, geographically challenged, do not want to pay expensive shipping costs and therefore ebook is the perfect solution for them. Although i love books, of all kinds, i know for sure that the artist himself gets only a small portion of the fee payed for a book, this way we indeed support other artists by paying their fee in full.
Thank you for bringing this up.

Iris

I have never found a polymer clay book for $12….. they are always in the mid to high $20 range. They also have stuff that I am not interested in ever trying. I would rather spend good money buying from an artist I know puts heart and soul into a tutorial and welcomes emails asking for help on the tut. Good luck calling or emailing one of the artists in a book and ask for help… a few may but not many.

We live in an age where our ideas can be sold, shared or sponsored in many ways. I was a volunteer “expert” for About.com for several years. I wrote detailed answers to art questions and some can still be found online. I submitted work and was published by several magazines. I used these samples and a customized project to write for Sculpey.com, leading to a long sponsorship. I used these experiences to include in my book proposal. As I said earlier, my first book is out of print. However, I realized I had sold my foreign rights and now sections are pieced and sold separately in Spain. Thank goodness, (unlike Amazon), they spell my name correctly.
No, authors do not get a large royalty, considering the cover price. But, my publisher invests in promoting my book, creating it, projecting sales, placement, accounting, etc. We provide very detailed photos. Believe me – there is no skimping. I could never cover this kind of ground myself. F & W have been around for a very long time, so there is a respect that comes with being one of their authors.
If an artist chooses to write and sell tutorials, for whatever price, they will only sell if they are good. People will pay for what they want. Some artists get famous and can charge more. Some are well known and still give things away.
I applaud anyone who is writing about making things. If you are creating your own niche, great! As you can see, there are many roads that meet and wander. You don’t have to choose just one. One road may look better, but they are all work. All I have accomplished has been by casting my own net. Make it however you can.

Nanetta- Your book was the 1st I ever purchased when I wanted to get started in polymer clay. Believe it or not, I was flipping through it again just last night looking for inspiration. So, thank you!!!

I’ve bought plenty of clay books (and tutorials) and can’t imagine how much work goes into each. I’m grateful that artists take the time to teach us the techniques they could easily keep to themselves.

One of the things that is so attractive about this medium is the generosity of the people. I respect artists who are true to their art form and I can tell you with certainty that Tina Holden is one of those. Polymer clay is her livlihood but it is also her passion and has been for years. Tina – you and your fellow artists absolutely deserve to be compensated for your ingenuity, inventiveness and clever minds. You are always coming up with new techniques and are willing to share them with your polymer community. I love what you do and respect your generous spirit. Keep ’em coming!

As I live in an isolated area I rely on tutorials such as Tina’s for tips and ideas as I’m a newbie to the wonderful world of polymer clay.
I bought her tutorial and found it very clear and informative with several variations on the theme.
If I wanted to spend hours trawling the internet I could probably find some of the info instead of paying for tutorials but I’d rather be in the studio practicing and honing my new craft.
As a professional painter, used to getting reasonable money for many hours spent in my studio, I was shocked at how little most of the finished works in polymer clay sell for, knowing the time and skills required. The only way that the most talented pc artists can earn a bit more is to make and sell tutorials, give lectures and publish books.
It’s about time that folks stop valuing creative arts as if they were buying soap powder in the supermarket!

I get asked quite a bit… yes, I still offer this for sale,but this particular link to the item on Etsy won’t work (as this one sold) but there are other copies of it on my Etsy.