Book Review: Make Money With Puppets

Every forum post that was ever asked by a new puppeteer about making money in the craft is often told in reply: you can’t. Puppet makers regularly report that they do not cover their costs, are reliant on other forms of income (many are in web design actually), and implement several puppetry-related money makers in order to earn anything from their work. So it’s refreshing to see that actually, these comments are not entirely correct. Paul Louis, of Youtube/Ehow/etc. puppet-building fame, has just released an ebook on making money with puppets. Not only is it something that every puppeteer would want to read, but it’s also from someone everyone would want to hear from given his success in the business.

Make Money With Puppets covers a range of areas, from selling puppets online, to establishing yourself as a performer for parties; from creating videos for money and teaching puppetry, to setting up a business model.

It should be noted that this review is quite long (and in fact, cut down from an even longer draft), because there are a number of points that require proper explanation. I’ve summarised the good and the bad, then explained them fully further below that. I’ve added some minor footnotes for things that are less ‘review’ and more ‘personal annoyances’.

I will briefly discuss style: this ebook, though clearly laid out and easy to read, is not at all styled. Do not expect fancy chapter headings, photos or diagrams, clearly marked hyperlinks on references, or even page numbers in the table of contents. The content could do with a spruce and a proofreader (Louis’ website link at the end of the book was typed incorrectly for example)¹. This is a minor quibble, but worth stating since the book is pay-per-download.

As for the content itself…

The good: Everything is clear and easy to follow, with a sort of step-by-step list of actions for each chapter. If I were a beginning puppeteer, I could probably sit down and follow all the steps and have an up-and-running business in a few weeks. Additionally, all the way through the book, Louis is personable and friendly. His tone is self-deprecating and the book is littered with short anecdotes. This makes the reader feel at ease, and is encouraged not to be afraid of the daunting task of business by Louis’ open tone. It is an enjoyable quick read.

Louis additionally presents us with a list of videos – his of course! – that show you how to make puppets and how to perform with them. As he is a muppet-type puppet maker, the videos are limited to those sorts of builds. He does also provide some links to wholesale companies as well, which might be useful to those who love puppets but don’t have the skills to build them themselves. Louis does provide extremely useful tips on marketing your puppet shows, and seems to have a very well-tuned ‘ear’ for what shows will sell to young audiences. The suggestions on how to become a professional performer are worthwhile, and perhaps if I were a performer I would have more to say on the subject. However, knowing how the actor’s audition works, the demo reel instructions seem to my untrained eye to be very useful.

The bad: A lot of information needs expanding on. This would be a great introduction, but really there is so much more to be said or expanded on that I see this book as a ’starter’; it would be far better redrafted and the chapters carved into more in-depth, yet separate, books. (Discussed more in detail below) Additionally, this is clearly a book for the American puppeteer specifically interested in muppet-type puppets. This may disappoint any international puppeteers, as Louis does not clearly state this in his book; nor his promotional material. A lot of the info can indeed apply to the non-USA person, but only in dealing with aspects of online sales. His chapter on incorporating as a business is particularly inaccurate for anyone not in the USA, since laws and business models change depending on where you reside. (A small caveat in this regard would solve the issue and forestall disappointment from non-US puppeteers. UPDATE: Since posting this review, Louis has updated the ebook to clear this issue up.)

More detailed critique

As I mentioned above, Louis’ book could do with an expansion pack. He glosses over grant applications, something I know many people struggle with and would appreciate a detailed explanation of how to write a successful one. Considering it can make or break a project in any country and for any group, this is a real loss to the value of the book. In the chapter on making money from performances, it would be advisable to discuss safety issues, copyrights, budgets (profit-share models inclusive), choosing a venue, or public liability insurance; all things any responsible business person will have to look into. There are a number of other expansions I could recommend, but these cover the biggest and most important ones. Except for…

Can you make money with puppets? Paul Louis thinks so! Image by Looking Glass

By far my biggest criticisms are with the sections about selling on the net. Having done a bit myself, and lots of research for web companies I’ve worked for, I can spot some big flaws in Louis’ book. He does himself a disservice by not providing caveats when discussing using sites like eBay and Paypal. Anyone who’s done a few minutes of research will realise that there’s a lot of problems using these sites. Not including info about security risks, online banking, customer fraud, taking good photos or good videos, and so on, makes the book seem lightweight. (How to price your puppet is an oft-asked question on Puppets and Stuff) This point is especially important as later on Louis makes the suggestion of using China-based factories and drop shippers to deal with larger quantities of puppet building. The latter is notorious for being full of scam companies, whilst I can only guess at the problems inherent in dealing with overseas factories. The anecdote Louis provides makes it clear that it didn’t work for him, so why include it in a book on making money from puppetry?

As Louis predominantly sells on eBay - and very successfully I might add - he does not discuss in detail other options of selling on the internet, another area which could be expanded upon. One could say that a writer should stick to what he knows, selling on eBay: in this case, it is relevant, since Louis does actually briefly mention alternatives. There are many other ways to be successful as a seller on the net, and I would actually recommend anyone interested to read this article before committing to Louis’ advice; and working out what will work best for you. (As an example, I’ve developed a good basis of publicity for selling on my own site; if I were to sell on eBay, it would dilute my marketing away from my site, and so Louis’ advice won’t work for me in increasing sales) On the other hand, Louis does include extremely useful and correct information about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), which can be implemented on eBay in particular and other sites in general. Additionally, Louis’ suggestions are tried and true, so I guess it means less risk for the reader and over time they can explore the alternatives if they wish.

He also does not cover the most obvious, and easily lucrative idea of selling patterns and the very new ability of hosting complete puppetry courses online, with the use of forums, downloadable media, video chat and the like.

One might think I’m overly critical of this ebook - the criticisms may overshadow the good things, but by and large only because they require detailed explanation - however I think it’s more of a compliment that it needs expansion and drafting. What is there is relevant and concise; what is left out could increase the reader’s wish to learn more. Artists know full well that you should leave your audience wanting more, and in this case, Make Money With Puppets could easily develop into a brand-name book series welcome by puppeteers the world over as a valuable resource.

Overall, Make Money With Puppets is well-written, concise and would be of great benefit to Americans wishing to develop a puppetry business. Would I buy it for myself or if I were residing in any country other than the US? Maybe. Would I buy it if I were a newbie muppet-type puppeteer in America? Most resoundingly yes, with the addition of my own research to complement the text. This would be an invaluable guide to starting out as an American professional muppeteer.

You can purchase the ebook here: Make Money With Puppets.

¹Footnotes have been removed as of 26 Sept 2011, because they really had nothing to do with the review at all.