An Author Merch Case Study

Knitting kits inspired by Carmen Amato’s historical fiction series

Covers from Carmen Amato’s Galliano Club series.

Merch.

It’s #7 of 15 types of author income I’ve identified that savvy, business-oriented authors incorporate into their business model if it makes sense.

Author Income Streams, 7 of 15: Merch Sales

Case Study

In this article, I offer a case-study look at one of the most original author merch examples I’ve come across: Knitting kits inspired by Carmen Amato’s historical fiction 1920s-era Galliano Club series.

Amato teamed up with a knitting pattern designer, a fiber arts store owner, and a custom yarn maker to offer the kits, which included (see example):

• A copy of one or two books in the series signed by the author,
• A bookmark with a QR code card for one knit pattern and one crochet pattern,
• Custom-dyed yarn in your choice of color (color names inspired by the book)
• Stitch markers
• Surprise gift from the author