Yea, but...playing as an imperial you don't have to worry about getting a motif book. You can just style it by default...I think. Right?
I've always found myself playing as an imperial as like my second character, because it's such an easy choice. It's just your default human with not much interesting going on
Imperial is the race to go for as your crafter.
Whilst the Imperial upgrade allows all your characters, regardless of race, to convert their gear to the Imperial style, this conversion binds the gear to your character, meaning you cannot trade/sell it.
Imperial characters don't have this problem, as they can outright craft in the Imperial style without needing conversion.
The benefit here is that the Imperial motif is perhaps the most valuable motif in the game. It's extremely rare. And it costs thirty quid from the Crown Store... And that purchase can only be used by one character.
Fact is the Imperial Motif
will cost you something, be it time, gold or real cash. And if you get lucky and find the style in loot, it makes more sense to sell, unless you seek to become a true master crafter. But as all races have the same crafting potential, Imperial is the best race for your master crafter, as they dodge a massive cost by naturally knowing one of the rarest styles. The nine other racial styles are common. You're talking 1K gold, tops, for the full collection, at least that was how much it was on Xbox.