Looking to do book illustrations.

[J_Turner]

Hello,

I am looking to do children's book illustrations. I would like to know where to start and make contacts. I anyone has any good suggestions, please let me know. Thank you in advance.

[Asyouwish]

http://www.scbwi.org/

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. I guess it's a good as start as any. Well, besides being able to illustrate.

[J_Turner]

Thank You. I will check it fully when I get home.

[ben c]

as a general suggestion: in addition to sending samples to art directors/departments, send it to editors. editors get far fewer samples (ADs get hundreds a week) and are more likely to look at them. also be sure to always send things to a specific person ("tom watson") and NOT just a title ("the editor").

also, it really helps to take an hour of your time, go to the bookstore, find books that look like what you do/want to do, then find out the publisher, art director, and editor (sometimes ADs and editors are listed on the book's copyright page, otherwise you can google them in 2 seconds). while it's nice to promote as widely as possible, you don't want to waste time sending a pile of violent dragon pics to someone/somewhere that tends to do goofy little ballerina books. and also, if you're calling or e-mailing, you can say "i liked your book blah blah blah" which never hurts.

whenever possible (assuming you live semi-near NYC), you should try to drop off your portfolio, or even have arrange a sit-down meeting. if you drop off a physical portfolio (usually on a particular drop day, call ahead to find when), people will more likely make time to look at it, as opposed to art in an email, or a card.

in addition to being a semi-unsuccessful ch book artist, i used to work at a publisher (one of penguin's many ch book imprints) so i've seen it from the inside. and i can tell you that, as the assistant to the art department (or whatever the title was), i was the absolute lowest person in not only my department, but possibly the entire company. and yet I was the person in charge of reviewing portfolios etc, and then forwarding possibly passable work to the AD, who would peruse it in her rare spare time. oh lord the horror stories i could tell you about bad submissions!

there's lots more, but that's the basics. in theory it's shockingly easy to do the research and get your work seen by the people who need to see it ? especially thanks to the internet!

another resource is http://www.cbcbooks.org/ the children's book council, which is funded by publishers and includes all the basic contact information. but again, one of the best things you can do is take a few extra research minutes to find out specifically who you want to contact.

the portfolio stuff is a separate issue...

hope it helps!
ben c

[RodGuen]

great read, BenC........

i don't think i'll be leaving my dayjob sometime soon.........

Thanx for the really good tips.

r.

[Elliotanimated]

After almost 20 years of trying I have finally managed to get close to having something published in the children's book market.
I'll find out in January.
Children's publishing is a weird, strange complicated place - endlessly more difficult that anyone could imagine.

My experiences over the last few years have left me with the following tips:

If you are new to the market, you will have more success as a writer/illustrator rather than one or the other.

Many illustrators get very excited about writing and illustrating a book and go ahead and spend all day and all night for weeks at a time putting together illustrations.
This is a bad idead.
If you want to dummy up a book, do one or maybe two illustrations but never give them a finished thing.
They don't like it.

A great way to get a book published is to pander to the basest, low level crap and write a cute book about cute animals who love each other.
The pictures must also be very cute.
These books are very popular among publishers as parents love them, because instead of entertaining or inspiring children, it teaches them to worship their parents as Gods.

[ben c]

what elliot said about dummies is VERY IMPORTANT! 1) it is probably easier as a writer/illustrator, (or as a w/i team with someone), because even if someone likes your art submission, they can't do anything until the right story happens to fall in their lap. which might never happen (in my case, i first showed art to people upon graduating school, out of dozens of people who liked my art on its own, only one had a book that fit... and that was almost a year later). 2) DO NOT SUBMIT FINISHED BOOKS! first of all, you might be wasting a lot of time on something that might not see the light of day, save the trouble and show a rough dummy with a few sample finishes. secondly, this is just like submitting a novel, there will probably be edits along the way. thirdly, just like comics, what they REALLY need to see is that you can tell a story through sequential art. so you should put your effort into really solid storytelling, with a sample finish or two. (it is also a lot more fun for an editor to read a story with pictures, than just a typed sheet. and it is also a good way to send art to editors, who will inevitably see your art as they're reading -- even if they pass on the story, they're more likely to remember your art.)

i'll post some other portfolio suggestions later... in fact, i'm revamping my own portfolio, i want to do something than just classic comics, so i've been thinking about al of this a lot lately!

ben c

[Asyouwish]

Great tips guys. I would like to hear some of those horror stories Ben.

[NateOwens]

From what I read here things are apparently different for children's book writers/artists.

As an illustrator with a career stretching past the 40 year mark, I've illustrated a few books, but mostly done editorial stuff for magazines, papers, etc. and greeting cards/gift products. The card and gift market - in the rare instance of getting a royalty situation - have been the most lucrative fields.

During the late 70's I did a good amount of freelance illustration/design work for a hardback/paperback publisher in the west (search my name at Amazon, there are some stragglers floating there still - resales of resellers). Now I can't even get in the door at that or at most any book publisher as none take submissions of any sort unless you have an "agent."

I had assumed this is the case with children's books (unless you are talking about the "vanity" self-publishing rackets). Is this not the case?

I'm looking into doing some work for a dr. who counsels kids and have told him about using "Blurb" - thinking of doing something of my own with them too. They are a pod (print-on-demand) internet operation, which means I don't have to print, buy, and inventory a pile of books or deal with shipping - just my cup of tea. I hear that some people have had success getting into the market through this avenue... having a publication in hand to present to the agent/publishers is a pretty nice "business card."

[Elliotanimated]

... have told him about using "Blurb" - thinking of doing something of my own with them too. They are a pod (print-on-demand) internet operation, which means I don't have to print, buy, and inventory a pile of books or deal with shipping - just my cup of tea. I hear that some people have had success getting into the market through this avenue... having a publication in hand to present to the agent/publishers is a pretty nice "business card."

From my experience this is definitely not a good idea.
POD is regarded very poorly by most of the publishing industry.
And as mentioned earlier, publishers do not want to see a completely finished product.
They want to see something to which they can contribute rather than be stuck with something that appears to be finished.
I think you would find it hard to find someone who had such success in POD that their work was bought up by a publisher.

[NateOwens]

No doubt you are right.

My thinking that as an artist, I present potential clients with a portfolio of work that I have done. No AD or buyer is stupid enough... well there are exceptions... to think that I am trying to sell them what they see in the portfolio - a portfolio is representative of what the artist is capable of. So I would assume, that in addition to their manuscript, the author could send along the pod book as an example.

In working with the book publishers, I did find it true that they like to hire an artist themselves rather than take a "package" deal where the writer sends in a book with illustrations. This is no doubt different with some children's book authors who are also the illustrators, although I suppose they would have to be known successful authors to pull this off.

This method of presenting finished art done for clients in a portfolio format or a brochure has proven successful for me in doing illustrations for quite a while. Few are capable of visualizing finished art just from a rough doodle. Once you have worked with clients and they are familiar with your abilities, then they can see where you are going from a rough drawing.

Most retailers/manufacturers/marketers of any product are great "me-too-ers". If they see proven success, they want to jump on the bandwagon.

Do you have an agent to get you book publishing contracts?

[Elliotanimated]

So I would assume, that in addition to their manuscript, the author could send along the pod book as an example.

Personally, I don't think it would be especially useful to you, especially if you're already showing off a portfolio of what is supposed to be your best work.
I also believe that POD is so poorly regarded that including it may even hurt your chances with a publisher.

In working with the book publishers, I did find it true that they like to hire an artist themselves rather than take a "package" deal where the writer sends in a book with illustrations. This is no doubt different with some children's book authors who are also the illustrators, although I suppose they would have to be known successful authors to pull this off.

This is very true, in most cases the illustrator and the author never even meet (I think publishers prefer this).
However, as I mentioned earlier, many publishers are looking for writer/illustrators.
I do not think that you'd have to be a successful author first, although I'm sure it could help.

Do you have an agent to get you book publishing contracts?

Yes I do, but having an agent is not all it's cracked up to be.
I've found myself more work than my agent has (although he's trying very hard and is a really good bloke).

[NateOwens]

[ben c]

editorial and books are very different cultures.

there's no one formula for success. agents can help,
but the are plenty of editors who actually don't like to
work with agents, because they are too pushy, or they
take a cut, or some other reason.
from my personal experience as a packager for children's
comics, at least one agent (who wasn't even involved in
the project) interfered so they could wrangle a cut off
of something else, choking up my schedule and leaving
a very unpleasant taste in my mouth (and really pissing
off the editor and half the publishing company as well).

getting into books is like getting into comics - obviously
it's hard getting the attention of people, but there are ways
to do it. agents are one way. the SCBWI is another -- in
fact, like the comiccons, at the annual SCBWI convention,
there are portfolio workshops, portfolio reviews etc... and
directly contacting pubs, assuming you're persistent enough,
(and good enough) can be just as effective.

i think there are 2 situations where an agent might be useful:
1) if you are a terribly antisocial or disorganized person, they
might be better at getting your work out there 2) once you've
got someone interested in a project, they might be better at
squeezing out a better deal... although that would probably
only apply if you were doing something high-profile (like kazu
kibuishi's "flight" books). for a normal gig, the money isn't
negotiable, and the agent's cut comes from your paycheck.

i agree with elliot about doing pre-books, it's just much more
effective and efficient to have a portfolio and a dummy or
sequentials. that's all they need to see -- and editors do this
all the time, so they can make a judgement off of that as well
as off a self-published book. please save your money and
your time! (if you HAVE to show them a complete, finished
work, you might as well just print it up of a laser printer and
assemble it at home.) also... instead of putting all your time
into a single book, you could do 2 or three dummies. one
thing i've learned -- which applies to ch books, comics, and
animation -- is that you never know what is going to grab
their interest. many times my "main" idea doesn't interest
someone as much as some rough sketches for another idea
that i happened to have with me. so you have a better shot
if you have more than one thing to show. (it can also show
your range, if you have a few dummies of different types of
stories or art, editors and ADs like to think in long terms, and
they'd rather work with someone who they can turn to again
in the future.)

also also... it is true that clients like to see pro work you've
already done -- but if you're just starting out, that's impossible!
showing them something you've self-published isn't an
example of pro work you've done... its just a another,
particularly expensive portfolio piece.

if you're talking about a "bochure" portfolio, that can be handy
(if expensive) handout, like postcards or business cards. my first
printed sketchbooks were done for that exact purpose. but that
is different from self-publishing a book/story. if you want to do
that because you want to tell your story your own way, and you
have the time to do it, great! i'm thinking of doing something like
that for an upcoming project! but again, ii's not the most effective
or efficient (or economical) way to get hired.

and of course, a great way to get hired is to create enough
interest in your work... like paolini with hie "eregon" book. at
the risk of sounding cynical, he didn't get published because
he was a creative genius, he got published because he and he
family hustled and hawked at conventions -- and emphasized
how young he was, wow -- until there was enough interest. i
think there are a lot of opportunities for this sort of thing with
the internet, now.

and a lot of it is simply luck and timing, which is always true
in every field. and i don't agree with elliot that people only want
mediocre shmaltz -- ch books is like any other field/medium,
most of it is junk, some of it is good but bland, and sometimes
there is something that is good and different. frankly, ch pubs
are generally much more willing to try something new than
an animation studio or game developer, because failures and
mistakes cost them a lot less. having said that, most "trade"
ch books (the nicer, h/c books with pretty art that wins awards)
never earn back their costs -- it is the supersellers like harry
potter or eric carle, or all those cute/crappy books that keep
the industry in existence.

...although i should emphasize that this is all from my own
particular experiences -- there are lots of different opinions!

[Elliotanimated]

i don't agree with elliot that people only want
mediocre shmaltz

I don't really believe it either, but it does feel that way...

Also - regarding agents.
If you have a good agent they are going to know a lot of people who you simply will not have access to.
Submission policies over the last 3 years alone have become stricter and tighter and the number of people submitting are more than ever before.
The avenues open to submit work have shrunk and having an agent who personally knows the right people is very handy.
I have projects (unpublished) that have been seen by people who I simply had no way of getting to without an agent.