Can you really live out of this or do any of you have other sources of income?

How do you get clients for this? I can understand if you have been in business you probably are kind of known by now but how did you manage to get the first clients?

How do you advertise your business? (Other than doing this AMA)

Edit: Ah oops edited some of links I had clicked on to check and no longer valid.

Hi u/misatillo,

Wish I could've answered you sooner, didn't imagine so many questions.

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Can you really live out of this or do any of you have other sources of income?

If my husband and I stick to a very tight budget, yes, we manage to pay our mortgage and utilities, buy groceries and cat food. We don't have kids, so the extra time and money from no kids is a help. We do about 1/3 of our business in November alone, so sometimes in the summer, my husband will take a temp job to supplement our income. We have two sites where we sell, so it helps to have both Etsy and our own site: secretsafebooks.com and secretsafebooks.etsy.com

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How do you get clients for this? I can understand if you have been in business you probably are kind of known by now but how did you manage to get the first clients? How do you advertise your business? (Other than doing this AMA)

I have more time than money to spend on advertising, so I really hustle with social media/contact bloggers/do user-generated content sites like Bored Panda and yes, this AMA! A quick rundown on some past promos that are still floating around on the web:

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BUZZFEED

"14 Surprising Gifts For Complete And Total Liars"

"20 Perfect Etsy Gifts For Book Lovers In Your Life"

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GO FUG YOURSELF

The 2016 GFY Gift Guide

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URBAN DADDY

"The Godfather Has a Secret"

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CORE77

"Kara Witham's SecretSafeBooks"

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THE AWESOMER

"Awesome Stuff"

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JEZEBEL

"Holiday Gifts for Ryan Gosling, Idris Elba, and Other Guys You Love"

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MASHABLE

"The Book Safe Every Bibliophile Should Own"

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THRILLIST

"Keep Your Flask Hidden Inside Legendary Books About Boozing"

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SNIPPET AND INK

"Secret Garden Wedding"

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BORED PANDA

7 Years Ago I Walked Off My Day Job As A Museum Guard To Make Hollow Books For A Living

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Let me know if you have any other questions!

Really cool! Thank you for your answers and I wish you the best with this.

This AMA is part of her hustle!

Hi u/Ella_Minnow_Pea_13 indeed! Reddit is amazing.

Thank you, I'm so pleased to answer your questions, Merry Christmas or whatever you celebrate!

Merry Christmas to you too ^{^} I wish you also good sales. I admire the people who have the guts of stepping out and do their own thing.

Thanks again! Yes, we all need to support entrepreneurs!

You seem to have a little extroversion in your web engagement! Was that something you had to work for or has it come naturally?

Hi u/TooBadSoSadSally,

You seem to have a little extroversion in your web engagement! Was that something you had to work for or has it come naturally?

I guess I never thought of my web engagement as extroverted, interesting! I love connecting through email, online forums, and snail mail. I get to go into my shell whenever I like and take minutes to hours or even days to figure out how to say something.

So to answer your question, I think it came fairly naturally because I've always liked reading and writing.

Let me know if you have any other questions, thank you!

Really amazing, thanks for the answers here.

Absolutely, let me know if you have any questions.

Hi there! First of all, I checked your website and your works are awesome! Now, here's my question: how many hours a day do you spend working on your books? One of your comments mentions that you make up to 30 books every week. Also how many days a week do you work?

Hey there, u/Dr_Psycho_ (Great username!)

Thank you, wish I could've answered sooner, didn't expect this many questions.

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How many hours a day do you spend working on your books?

Typically about 6 1/2 hours per day actually cutting and gluing and finishing the books. I also do all the photographing for our websites plus promoting; my husband does some of the prep work for making the books as well as the financial and website maintenance.

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How many days a week do you work?

The actual making of the books, I work typically Mon - Fri, 10 - 5:30. In the early morning, I answer emails, do social media; on weekends, I like to take product photos and IG photos. Overall it's probably more than 40 hours a week, but I really enjoy 99% of it. (Only thing I don't enjoy too much is tidying up the workshop in our converted garage; I'm afraid it looks pretty messy right now!)

Let me know if you have any follow-ups or other questions.

Do you make the hollow part different shapes to accommodate a particular item? Also what is your favourite thing to draw?

Good morning, u/SpelingMatters (English major, you?)

Do you make the hollow part different shapes to accommodate a particular item?

Yes, upon request. Because I can make only about 25 - 30 books per week:

• I make the most popular titles with the most popular type cutouts that are all ready-to-ship
• I take a limited amount of custom orders
• Here is a pic of a Crime and Punishment book I made for a customer to fit her Sig P238 with extra magazine cutout

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Also what is your favourite thing to draw?

Ah, favourite with a "u", not in the USA probably, eh? Not that there's anything wrong with that. My favorite thing to draw would be a self-portrait.

Let me know if you have any follow-ups or other questions.

The hidden gun books with extra magnets are pretty nifty. I can definitely see these becoming increasingly popular!

Hi u/ShooterPatbob, (username checks out!)

Yes, the gun books were my husband's idea and they are getting more popular. One thing that makes them so is that people often buy them as gifts and don't know exactly what model/size handgun that person has. So the full size cutout lets them switch out various guns. But I've also done custom orders for specific guns where people send a tracing of their particular one.

Thanks for commenting!

Do you adhere the pages together, or leave them loose?

Hi u/Yoinkelise,

Do you adhere the pages together, or leave them loose?

The pages are adhered to form a solid frame or sides of the book box. The inside edges that form the interior walls of the cutout are coated lightly in archival bookbinding adhesive. There's an internal support system which I can't give away the secret of. The pages, dust-jacket if included, and interior endpapers are all original and the outside page edges are uncoated and natural so that it appears as a genuine book from the outside.

Then there's a hidden embedded magnetic closure so that your treasures inside won't tumble out even if the book is upright.

Thanks for asking! Let me know if you have any follow up questions or others; I don't want to give away all my crafting secrets, but I'll do my best to answer.

Do you glue each page together? Or soak the pages in some kind of adhesive? I inherited a hollow copy of arabesque when my grandfather passed away, and in elementary school I used it to smuggle Pokemon cards. Good memories!

Good afternoon u/meatybacon (just had some pizza, would've been good with a bit of bacon!)

What a lovely inheritance and nice memory to your grandfather. Do you still have the cards in the book?

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Do you glue each page together? Or soak the pages in some kind of adhesive?

Let's see, I'll try to answer without giving away too many secrets to competitors. I know from looking at a competitor's blog that they do soak their pages in adhesive before they do their cutting process, but my process is different. (I don't soak the pages in adhesive).

I can tell you the inside page edges that form the inner "walls" of the book box I coat in a thin layer of archival bookbinding glue. There are unseen inner supports to the walls and a hidden magnetic closure. The outside edges of the book look completely natural like a real book.

Be sure to let me know if you have any other questions, I would have answered sooner but didn't expect so many people to ask questions.

Isn't this something that a competitor could easily reverse engineer?

Hi u/FIREnBrimstoner,

I would imagine that might be possible. I've learned from other hollow bookmakers who post some of their process online. Some techniques I've tried, others I've avoided, others I've modified. I expect other makers could reverse engineer it; I just try not to go through all the little steps in a detailed tutorial.

Several years ago, I answered a question about the embedded magnets that a customer asked, which was how do I put the magnets in the book and in what part of the book. I was guessing she wanted to know in order to avoid putting something near the magnets that might get erased. But then later I saw a post in a competitor's IG and remembered her unusual name and she was commenting. (Turned out she was my competitor's girlfriend!)

What tools do you use to craft the cavity so cleanly?

Good afternoon, u/-Milquetoast- (a strong, non milquetoast question!), and good afternoon, u/AngryHumanoid +1,

What tools do you use to craft the cavity so cleanly?

I use a Craftsman 16" variable speed standing scroll saw (with a few mods for bookmaking). For a time, I used a DeWalt scroll saw which is a larger, much more expensive machine. (Craftsman being only around 100 USD and DeWalt like 5x that amount.) Now Craftsman is discontinued but I've bought up a bunch of them for the future.

The DeWalt is probably a great tool for lots of projects, but it kept crapping out for what I was doing with cutting through book pages. I spent hundreds getting it fixed. The Craftsman appears amateurish in looks and even dumpy with the funny mods I've done, but it works really well.

I can't give away too many specifics as there are competitors out there, but it's a process I've developed through trial and error. There's a power sander involved I can say.

Beauty thing about Craftsman was always how repairable they are. Likely you'll be able to find replacement parts well into the future. If you blow out the motor with compressed air regularly it will last longer.

Hi u/torknorggren,

Ooh I hadn't heard about blowing out the motor with compressed air, I'll keep that in mind, thank you! Yes, I hope there will be replacement parts available. I found that the DeWalt seemed overengineered and the relative simplicity of moving parts in the Craftsman made it more reliable and easier to fix, (at least for my purposes).

Thanks for taking the time to comment!

What do you cut more of: gun or dildo holes?

What’s your favorite rap song?

Hi u/thri11co11ector (have you done anything thri11ing lately?)

Wanted to reply to this earlier because it made me giggle, but I'm replying in order of earliest to latest best I can, taking longer than I expected.

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What do you cut more of: gun or dildo holes?

I hear from gun owners and from people who give gun books as gifts. I've never heard from any customer saying they wanted or had bought a book for the purpose of hiding a dildo. I have a competitor who makes books with dildos included. Seems gross to me, but who am I to judge?

So to answer your question:

• We have a dedicated section for gun safes here and here but we're almost sold out for this weekend. I need to make more due to this AMA
• The gun safes we make for ready-to-ship have very strong magnets which are designed to be able to contain when held upsidedown a fully loaded Glock19 plus full magazine
• The ready-to-ship gun safes are full size cutouts where the idea is that one can switch out a variety of gun sizes and/or keep other items as well; but I do also take custom requests for cutouts to fit the exact outline of a gun and have done them in the past, such as this one.
• We don't have a dedicated section for dildo safes
• The amount of book safes we've sold that were then used to contain dildos could range into the thousands, since there are thousands of customers who never told me what they were going to put inside their book safe

But I do offer custom orders upon request. (Probably not during the Holiday Season, but anyone who wants a book with a dildo-shaped cutout or gun-shaped cutout can request it for a price quote/turnaround time). [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

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What’s your favorite rap song?

This! It's got such a great riff that's an earworm like In Da Club but the puns are even more hilarious. Sorry to real rap fans, I wouldn't know the difference between rap and hip hop or what constitutes what or diddly do. But I heard that song somewhere and I think it's rap? The kind of music I like is classic rock, some pop, some punk, a little bit of alternative rock, a tiny bit of grunge and a teeny tiny bit of metal.

One of my favorite albums of all time is this.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3iK4JU5Q3M

Let me know if you have any other questions, loved those two haha!

How much money do you bring in from something like this?

Hullo u/looktothetrees, (the trees outside my window are covered in a lovely layer of snow!)

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How much money do you bring in from something like this?

I hope a roundabout answer will be OK, I want to plead the 5th on annual income specifics.

• My husband and I faithfully pay our mortgage in Stillwater, MN North Hill area
• We may or may not qualify for state-assisted healthcare
• Black Friday truly brings us back into the black

​

Let me know if you have any follow-ups or other questions.

I hope today and this AMA brings you a lil more into the black!

Hi u/The_Karma_Killer (I just upvoted you for one more karma point, don't kill me!)

Thank you kindly, this AMA has generated quite a few sales, yes!

I mean I'm sure that was the point of the AMA/ad, which is good, so congrats! Looked myself and most of the good stuff is already sold out.

Thank you, yes you're right. (Oh and I'll be adding many more books and restocking in time for Christmas delivery).

Thanks again!

Thanks for the answer! As a fellow artisan I'm not terribly surprised. I see you have a lot of reviews on Etsy, which I always translate to a lot of sales, so I am a bit disappointed that even a wonderful crafter like yourself is struggling, with what seems like a decent sales history. I hope this AMA continues generating sales for you!

Hi u/looktothetrees,

Glad to meet a fellow artisan! What do you create?

Ironically,--

When our income is higher and we don't qualify for state-assisted healthcare, we're left with less money as then we have to pay for expensive all-inclusive healthcare as an independent business and me being someone who needs much more than basic healthcare.

Does it bother you to hurt the books? I wouldn’t have issues with old law books or similar, but I winced when I saw the Jefferson biography and a Terry Pratchett.

Good morning from MN, u/lbroadfield

Sorry I didn't reply earlier, I never expected so many questions and I want to reply in order and give a thoughtful reply to everybody who is so kind to take the time to post a question.

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Does it bother you to hurt the books?

It does bother me if for example I accidentally drop a book and crunch a corner or spill coffee on a book. And it would pain me if this happened to one of my completed Secret Safe Books that I'd taken care and attention to handcraft it for a customer.

Terry Pratchett dice tray books are very popular with DnD players and Pratchett fans, but I 100% understand how the cutting out the contents of a book would make a booklover's heart ache, especially if the author and/or subject is beloved by you. Books are not only hunks of paper and board, but deeply meaningful symbols which evoke strong emotions and memories.

Things to consider:

• Pratchett as well as Jefferson's bio (and pretty much all of the books I craft) are available in unlimited quantities and for as long as the web and digital exist.
• In addition to being available in digital, most of the books in my shops are beloved titles by many people and therefore continue to be printed by publishing houses
• I wouldn't craft an irreplaceable out-of-print book, limited edition, for example I'd never cut into my personal collection of early 1900s Poe pocket editions (frankly it would just be too expensive for me and for most customers) See my Poe beauties in the lower right corner of this product photo.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or comments at all.

Edit: Just noticed several comments responding to u/lbroadfield on this topic, just want to add their usernames before I take the time to answer their questions individually later today ~ u/TheHoodedNan u/shiyal u/Stormkith u/Chained_Wanderlust u/GothWitchOfBrooklyn

What was the begging stages of started your business like? Did you have trouble finding new customers on Etsy? What tips for growing on Etsy do you have?

Hi u/Sedowicz,

What was the begging stages of started your business like?

I'm going to assume you mean to say beginning stages? I started with an x-acto knife in 2009 and had a very rudimentary shop on Etsy. In 2010, this feature on Etsy's homepage boosted sales and got things really rolling.

• For the first couple years, I was doing a lot of one-off titles and buying books in person
• I worked out of a small 2nd bedroom in our Chicago apartment, I couldn't work very late because the landlord would call and tell me to stop
• A DeWalt scroll saw I thought would be an upgrade to a Craftsman kept crapping out and we wasted a lot of time and money getting it fixed
• I was kind of stealing brown paper bags from the grocery store to wrap up books
• I used bricks I found under our apartment building to weight down books that were drying
• I worked 7 days a week because I loved it so much (now I have to take breaks on weekends, but still love it)

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Did you have trouble finding new customers on Etsy?

We get lots of repeat customers because we offer incentives to returning people. And the books are popular as gifts and for weddings. Etsy's search favors us because we've been around longer than other hollow-bookmakers and we offer free shipping which also boosts Secret Safe Books in the search algorithm. So, not too much trouble. I'm trying to turn more customers to our standalone shop; because Etsy is such a popular hub, it's easy to get people there.

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What tips for growing on Etsy do you have?

1. Every week, be sure to check the Forums for Admin Announcements of new policies; the new CEO is always doing new tests and improvements, so it's important to keep up with it to be relevant in Search
2. Keep tabs on your competition; see what is working and not working for them. Read their reviews occasionally, to get ideas for what to avoid and what to employ.
3. Cross-promote via Instagram with other Etsy sellers who are related to your product.

​

I could go on...let me know if you have follow-ups or other questions.

You should post your website in your original post (unless that's against rules,) rather than just your Etsy.

Hi u/PsychicPissJug, (would love the story behind that name!)

That's great advice, thank you, I just put it in the first proof in the original post. (and two sales happened!) I'm going to add the links since there seems to be interest.

Thanks again and have a great weekend. Let me know if you have any questions at all.

Yay for sales without middlemen! Have a good weekend :)

haha yes, thank you again!

So are you going to Bora Bora next year like you had hoped?

Hey u/GreatBallsOfFIRE, (intense username!)

Whoa, I'm impressed you read that! The short answer is...perhaps. I'll do a fun long answer in hopes the stars will align in my favor.

• I have a passport which I have used in many hollow book photo shoots such as this gif I made for u/organizationporn
• But embarrassingly my passport is expired
• Yet proudly, it has stamps from Sri Lanka and Thailand and Mexico x3, and a previous passport with stamps from South Korea (my birthplace), Myanmar, Thailand x2, India, France, Italy
• Happily my husband and I moved from high taxes and frequent neighborhood violence in Chicago (but I miss lots of other parts of it) to more peaceful MN near family
• Bought a charming 100+ year old house in cute neighborhood
• 100+ year old water pipe under driveway burst! Still paying segments of that off baked into future taxes
• 2 ER runs before got good health insurance
• Not sure how old shoddy wiring in converted garage hollow-book-making workshop nearly burned down the house (Got lucky because I actually woke up early and went to the workshop and smelled what firefighters later told me was burning metal wiring)
• Car crapped out.
• Next car partially crapped out. (How I long for the days when I could hop on the el in Chicago and we had no car).

So, perhaps, hahaha. But this AMA is rounding out a nice Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/possibly Cyber Monday sale weekend for us, I'll come back Dec. 2020 to report with this title: I'm a hollow-book-maker who was prompted by Great Balls of Fire to get my rear in gear for Bora Bora, AMA.

What has been the most unusual/weird thing that a customer has asked you to make a hollow book for...?

Hi u/Deb_Eternity,

​

What has been the most unusual/weird thing that a customer has asked you to make a hollow book for...?

ha, great question, well, one (wo)man's weird is another wo(man)'s normal, so here are a handful that stand out in my mind, all in my judgement-free zone!

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• Motorcyle keys which the wife was presenting to her husband for his birthday (I'm assuming there was a new motorcyle then waiting for him somwhere?)
• Handguns (Sig Sauer handgun stands out in my mind because she wanted a specific cutout for it in Crime and Punishment)
• Engagement rings (one stands out as especially cute; he bought his girlfriend's favorite book and then went to a bookstore ahead of time to plant it on the shelves. Then he did something to get her to pick it out and then the surprise proposal!
• Tampons (she frequently had guests and very little storage space except on top of her toilet)
• Jewelry (one stands out that it was a gift for her mom who had just been burglarized and had some precious jewelry stolen)
• Jesus toast photo (I was asked to make a cutout in The Holy Bible as a frame for a polaroid of a slice of toast that had Jesus' image on it) See here.

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Feel free to ask any follow-ups or other questions, thank you!

Tampon book is a GREAT idea!

Hi u/MsERMie,

Yes, it was the customer's idea and she was satisfied with the result. I wish I could remember the title she picked out.

Do you have a business license? If so, what were the deciding factors that led you to which type? Great job working through trauma/bipolar and doing what makes you happy! It’s a tough journey.

Hi u/removedforcontent, (do many of your posts get removed for content?)

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Do you have a business license?

We're a registered LLC with the state of MN, yes. My husband first filed us as an LLC in 2014, the details are public here.

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If so, what were the deciding factors that led you to which type?

My husband chose (he has a business degree; I'm what you call a "free spirit"),--an LLC he tells me because if we were to say, get a business loan and couldn't pay it back or someone sued us, the most we would lose are our business assets, which would be only our scroll saw, books, etc. We wouldn't lose our house for example.

Thank you, I've found good community with r/bipolar and should post there more! Let me know if you have any follow-up questions or new questions.

What gave you this idea? Were you worried about financials in the beginning?

Hi u/hotel-california- (Inspired by the Eagles? I love Don Felder's riff)

Sorry didn't reply till 4 hours after your question, never expected this many redditors to look at my post.

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What gave you this idea?

It's a long story, but long story short, I was working a day job as a museum gallery attendant. In between standing around saying "Please do not touch the art" I was thinking to myself that I'd like to actually get my own hands on a project. I went home and decided to make a hollow book after having thought about Anne Frank randomly that day. So I got an x-acto blade I had and a Nancy Drew book and made my first hollow book.

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Were you worried about financials in the beginning?

In the very beginning of quitting my day job to make hollow books, I wasn't worried; this was because my husband was still working at his own day job which paid quite well and gave us killer health insurance. Later on when he got laid off and decided to throw his own energy and time into the hollow book business, I definitely paid more attention to the financial aspect. But at the same time, I didn't have to worry about it per se, because my husband has a business degree (I have an art degree), so he has always been more equipped to worry about finances. I mainly only think about the making side of the business.

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Let me know if you have any follow-ups or other questions. Thank you!

Can we see pictures please? What are your favorite binding methods? Or a they all basically boxes? I want pictures!

Lots of pics at her proof/Etsy shop

Oh hey thanks u/WildRoses26 for saying. Also want to mention I also have our standalone shop, SecretSafeBooks.com Thanks again!

She has her Etsy page linked, you can see all the stuff she makes there

Hi u/B_Addie, thanks for the mention! And forgot to mention I also have our standalone shop, SecretSafeBooks.com Thanks again!

Hello u/Smingowashisnameo (wow, would love to know the story behind your username!)

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Can we see pictures please?

Thanks for asking,--a good place to check out some pics is my IG: @secretsafebooks

And props to u/WildRoses26 and u/B_Addie for mentioning my online shops, SecretSafeBooks.Etsy.com and SecretSafeBooks.com

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What are your favorite binding methods? Or a they all basically boxes?

Well, for the hollow books, they're books that are already published and bound; then I craft the cutout inside them. I did take a book arts class in art school where I learned to do a Japanese stab binding, roundback hardcover, and others. My favorite book to make was an accordion book, which I still make some minis, you can see some in A few of my mini books you can see in r/bookbinding in this post here.

​

Please let me know if you have any follow-ups or other questions.

Oohhh I love them! They’re so tidy... I make very rustic art that can be on the sloppy side compared to this lol. Yours are absolutely works of art. So precise. I can’t stand the thought of measuring and making things perfect like that. Like doing math homework as a pastime. Also I just made an accordion book! So much fun.

Thank you! Oh and aren't accordion books fun?? Have you posted pics of your accordion book on reddit or elsewhere?

Well I’m fancifuldevices on Instagram if you wanna peek. I did a flip through. I only just started making books, I’m a jewelry artist usually but got burnt out after 12 years lol. But my aesthetic is very rustic and grungy, so be warned.

Hi u/Smiongowashisnameo,

Excellent, I just followed you and took a quick peek. Your work is amazing, the rich layering of your painting and drawing and collage remind me of the powerful works by Leon Golub and Willem de Kooning.

Looking forward to checking out your page more, thanks for sharing!

Omg what an honor to even read this sentence! I don’t know where you get it but I’ll take it! Also I had to google golub. Wow. So powerful. I guess I use art more as escapism from the kind of heartbreaking injustice he illustrates. Anyway, I love book art because you can be free knowing it’s just another page. It doesn’t need to be worthy of a wall and if you fuck up you can just tear it out or glue something over it. This attitude can free you to make some wall-worthy pieces.

I feel the same way about book art. It feels good to be able to close the book if you want to. If you see Golub's work up close (like with your nose 2 inches away from one of his figures) I think you might see why he came to mind when I saw your book.

What inspired you to go into just specifically this?

Do you think about doing other things in conjunction with this, perhaps with the aim of creating a web-based business?

Are you looking at this morphing into other things as time goes on?

Do you earn enough to make an actual living doing this?

Hello u/winterofdiscontent_, (ha, great username!)

I hope you don't mind my doing one-sentence answers and then I can come back; I didn't expect to get so many questions from so many redditors this fast.

What inspired you to go into just specifically this?

I had a long string of odd jobs outside the home; I love working from home and this was a way to do it, I love making things that are useful yet somewhat artful.

​

Do you think about doing other things in conjunction with this, perhaps with the aim of creating a web-based business?

I'm open to possibilities; I'd like to make some passive income along with making books, but right now hollow book-making and promotion takes all my time and energy.

​

Are you looking at this morphing into other things as time goes on?

It's quite possible; this started as a hobby which morphed into a living, so I wouldn't be surprised if it morphs into something else.

​

Do you earn enough to make an actual living doing this?

Yes, my husband and I make a modest living with our hollow book business:

• On Etsy here: https://www.secretsafebooks.com/
• On our standalone site here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SecretSafeBooks

We pay our mortgage and bills but the budget is very tight. We do probably 1/3 of our annual business in November alone. During the summer, my husband sometimes takes a temp job to supplement income.

Thanks for taking the time to ask the questions, let me know if you have any follow-ups or other ones.

Just FYI looks like you’ve got the links swapped

Ah, good eye! Just fixed, many thanks!

Where do you get most of your books - are they new or used? Also-love your work shown on your Etsy shop! I hope you have great success!

Hi u/HercDriver01,

Thank you for your well-wishes!

​

Where do you get most of your books?

I get most of them with my Amazon Prime account, for a few reasons:

1. Amazon 99% of the time has the best price for new and used books
2. They have super easy returns in case the book arrives damaged
3. I can get some books delivered same day, this is fabulous if we get a rush order or start selling out of a book we don't have in reserve. (We simply don't have the budget to keep a lot of uncrafted stock on hand).

When I started out on my own, I was going in person to 2nd hand bookshops, which was very enjoyable but not terribly efficient. So when business started picking up, I used online ordering to:

1. Spend more time making books (since I can only make a small amount each day)
2. Get multiples in a consistent quality/wear/price

​

Are they new or used?

Most of the books are new. The Barnes & Noble leatherbound and other line they do of classics with dust-jackets are new. Most of the books that are for ring bearers are new, but some brides want a vintage look, so we do those as requests. Many of the flask books and the gun books are made from used books, because I've found that a lot of these customers want a book that blends in more like a real book that has been read and handled so it doesn't stick out as the one weird shiny book on the shelf.

Please let me know if you have any other questions! Sorry I didn't get to your question till now, I didn't expect so many responses to this post.

Is this sorta work sustainable for the long haul?

Hi u/Rambos_Beard,

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Is this sorta work sustainable for the long haul?

It's tough to look into a crystal ball to see for sure, but if I do an educated guess, I would say it is sustainable. The reason I think that is because my husband and I have been able to make a modest living at it for nine years. A lot of the books we sell are for wedding gifts, and people are always getting married. It's not super easy for someone to get into the hollow bookmaking business in a consistent and full time capacity, so we don't have a ton of competition. If a hollow book company opened up and had tons of resources to take over the market, we'd probably not be sustainable then.

Let me know if you have any other questions, thanks!

How difficult is it to make a living of of this? How much do you actually work?

Hi u/embodimentoffailure,

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How difficult is it to make a living of of this?

It's not difficult in the sense that I love 99% of everything I do for my business, making the books, photographing them for listings on my websites, doing promotion. (The 1% I don't care for is cleaning up my workshop, I'm lazy when it comes to sweeping, dusting, and organizing). It is difficult in the sense that the income is not a 100% guaranteed thing like a salary, so my husband and I have to be prepared for times of slow sales.

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How much do you actually work?

For awhile, I crafted books 7 days a week because I loved it so much. But then I found it was more productive to focus all the bookmaking work in a traditional work week, Mon - Fri. I now usually answer emails and do online promotion/social media from around 8 a.m. - 9: 45, and then make books until 5:50 p.m. If there are rush orders or I need to catch up on the crafting, I'll start earlier in the workshop. I don't spend any time with a commute since the workshop is our converted garage. I love taking photos for instagram, so I do a lot of product shoots on the weekend.

Let me know if you have any other questions, thank you so much!

Thats awesome! Thanks for answering my question!

Thanks, and you're welcome! Thank you for taking the time to come here and ask me a question. I'm glad to answer any more you might have.

What is the process of crafting these hollow books like? Could you enlighten me as to how you make those?

Hi u/cedreamge,

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What is the process of crafting these hollow books like? Could you enlighten me as to how you make those?

The process is one I've developed through trial and error over the years. I'm reluctant to talk about too many specifics as I do for sure have competitors who I wouldn't want to give tips to. But in a nutshell, I use a scroll saw and power sander to create the secret safe cutout and archival bookbinding glue also in the process plus embedded magnets.