Allison Strine - Starting an Etsy business for dummies

Starting an Etsy Business For Dummies

by Allison Strine and Kate Shoup

Starting an Etsy Business For Dummies

Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Copyright 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2011935395

ISBN 978-0-470-93067-0 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-08902-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-08904-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-08907-1 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Authors

By day, Allison Strine is a happy artist who takes unreasonable joy in her Etsy shop feedback comments. She is also the author of LadyBirdLand! (published by StoryPeople Press), a colorful book that brings her irrepressible creations to vibrant reality. At night, Allison is a not-very-good cook; wife to a right-brained hunk (or is it the left? the one that's all about math and not really about art); and tucker-inner of two perfectly behaved, well-groomed children. Allison writes in the third person and hawks her wares at www.allisonstrine.etsy.com.

During the course of her career, Kate Shoup has authored more than 20 books, including Not Your Mama's Beading, Not Your Mama's Stitching, and Rubbish: Reuse Your Refuse (all published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), and has edited scores more. Kate also co-wrote a feature-length screenplay (and starred in the ensuing film) and worked as the Sports Editor for NUVO Newsweekly. When not writing, Kate, an IndyCar fanatic, loves to ski (she was once nationally ranked), read, craft, and ride her motorcycle. She also plays a mean game of 9-ball. Kate lives in Indianapolis with her lovely boyfriend, her brilliant daughter, and their dog.

Dedication

Allison Strine: This book is for you, Etsy seller. I'm proud of you for being brave enough to put your crafty creations online. Now go out there, make something cool, and sell it on Etsy! I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Kate Shoup: For Heidi, as always.

Authors' Acknowledgments

Allison Strine: Thanks go to Kate Shoup for being such a blast to work with. You made it easy, girl! At John Wiley & Sons, Inc., senior project editor Georgette Beatty was invaluable in keeping the wheels of progress smoothly in motion. Thanks also to executive editor Lindsay Lefevere we couldn't have done it without you!

Thank you, Lloyd, for doing all the math for me; thank you, Olivia, for making your own lunch when I needed to write; and thank you, Ethan, for sharing ideas for the title of this book. I love you all!

Kate Shoup: The publication of any book is an enormous undertaking, and this one was no exception! Thanks go first to my excellent co-author, who figuratively, at least pried more than one razor blade from my fingers. Thanks, too, to Lindsay Lefevere for giving us the opportunity to tackle this exciting project, and to Georgette Beatty for her dedication and patience in guiding this project from start to finish. Thanks to copy editor Krista Hansing, who ensured that all the i 's were dotted and t 's were crossed, and to technical editor Sherry Truitt, who skillfully checked each step and offered valuable input along the way. Thanks to the composition team at John Wiley & Sons, Inc., for their able efforts. Thanks to the Etsy sellers and talented photographers who graciously allowed us to feature their gorgeous photographs. Finally, thanks to Etsy itself for enabling craftspeople the world over to make a living by selling their work online.

On a personal note, many thanks and much love to my beautiful and brilliant daughter, Heidi Welsh; to my incredible parents, Barb and Steve Shoup; to my wonderful sister, Jenny Shoup; to my brother-in-law, Jim Plant; to my nephew, Jake Plant; and to mon ti lapin, Francois Dubois.

Publisher's Acknowledgments

We're proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Vertical Websites

Senior Project Editor: Georgette Beatty

Executive Editor: Lindsay Sandman Lefevere