By

Will Terry & Jake Parker

www.svslearn.com

Part 2
Creating the Artwork
Traditional Publishing VS Self-Publishing ................................................................................ 5
Opportunity .................................................................................................................................. 5
You: The Brand ........................................................................................................................... 6
Branding Yourself with Social Media....................................................................................... 6
Marketing Your Art ...................................................................................................................... 9
How Do I Get Hired? ............................................................................................................... 9
Developing Your Art—Quality and Style ............................................................................... 10
Physical Portfolios ................................................................................................................. 12
Digital Portfolios ..................................................................................................................... 14
Your Own Domain ................................................................................................................. 14
Portfolio Builder Sites ............................................................................................................ 16
Portfolio Advertising Sites ..................................................................................................... 17
Portfolio Reviews ................................................................................................................... 18
Mailing Lists and Postcards................................................................................................... 19
More About Postcards ........................................................................................................... 21
Mailing Lists ........................................................................................................................... 22
Ways to Generate Your Mailing List:..................................................................................... 24
Updating your mailing list ...................................................................................................... 27
Blogging ................................................................................................................................. 28
Suggested Blogging Rules .................................................................................................... 30
Social Media .......................................................................................................................... 30
Artist Representatives and Agents ........................................................................................ 32
Marketing at Conferences and Book Festivals ..................................................................... 36
Marketing Your Books ............................................................................................................... 42
Social Media .......................................................................................................................... 42
School Visits .......................................................................................................................... 44
Library Readings ................................................................................................................... 53
Book Trailers .......................................................................................................................... 53
Book Signings ........................................................................................................................ 55
Press Releases...................................................................................................................... 56
Website .................................................................................................................................. 59
Publisher Marketing .................................................................................................................. 59
Book Clubs ............................................................................................................................ 60

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Award Submissions ............................................................................................................... 60
Trade Shows.......................................................................................................................... 61
More Publishers Marketing .................................................................................................... 62
Writing and Illustrating Your Own Book ................................................................................ 63
Dummy Books ....................................................................................................................... 65
Submitting Your Own Manuscript/ Book Dummy.................................................................. 77
Receiving an Acceptance Letter ........................................................................................... 80
Deadlines ............................................................................................................................... 82
Publishing Contracts.............................................................................................................. 83
Book Payments...................................................................................................................... 97
Pricing your work ................................................................................................................. 101
Best Business Practices ...................................................................................................... 106
Things to watch out for: ....................................................................................................... 109
Fighting off the negative voices ........................................................................................... 110

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Author’s Message

When I was in elementary school I loved to draw and paint. I didn’t really know what an illustrator was, but I loved
looking at the artwork in some of my favorite children’s books. I hated reading, so I learned to pretend to read to
throw off my teachers as I fell into the fantasy world of illustrations. Luckily I got busted and straightened out before
irreparable damage set in.

I went to college looking for an easy way out, as opposed to learning a “real” profession. That’s when I found the
illustration program at BYU. I had some great teachers who exposed me to the idea that illustration could actually
become my career.

Fast forward twenty-two years: I can’t believe I’ve illustrated for all of the major publishers, many newsstand
magazines, and Fortune 500 companies. I have won awards and have been accepted into the Society of Illustrators.
I’ve illustrated thirty children’s books, three e-books, two apps, and a soon-to-be-released game for Xbox™ and
PlayStation™. During all of this time, I’ve also been teaching part-time at two universities and a high school in
California.

Teaching has been my second love. I love explaining concepts and helping artists improve their work. When I was in
college, I was placed on probation in my illustration program because I wasn’t good enough. That was frustrating. I
was frustrated that lessons weren’t broken down into smaller concepts. Did it have to be as hard as it seemed? I’ve
spent the past decade developing lessons that will make it easier to understand what you have to improve and how to
improve it. Creating these classes for SVS has been a pure delight. I hope you enjoy them and I hope they make your
learning easier.

-Will Terry

Six years ago, I was sitting at my art desk with a manuscript for a children’s book in front of me. It was written by
Michael Chabon. I sat there thinking about how I wanted this to be the greatest thing I’ve ever done...except this was
my first children’s book and I had no idea what I was doing. I had drawn comics, and worked on animated films; but
children’s books were new to me and I was a little scared. Despite the confidence of my agent, my editor, and
Chabon himself, I still felt in over my head. This project was an Everest standing in front of me. After organizing my
studio, alphabetizing my art books, and sculpting a little goblin head with my kneaded eraser, I realized I’d never
make it to the top of this mountain if I didn’t stop procrastinating and take a step. Several months later, with the
patience and guidance of my editor and art director, I planted my flag on top of the mountain with a finished children’s
book in my hands. It was exhilarating and I realized I could actually do this!

Since then, I’ve been supplementing my income by illustrating children’s books. As I write this, I am beginning my
sixth book and my agent is sorting out the contract for a seventh. Getting into the children’s publishing world wasn’t
easy, and even after I got in it seemed like there were a hundred things I needed to learn in order to make a great
children’s book. Do I know everything there is to know about making a great children’s book? No. But I’m a lot farther
along than when I first started.

As I begin this next book, I sit here wishing the “me” from five years ago knew what I know now. And that’s the reason
Will and I want to do this class. We want to take everything we have learned so far and pass that knowledge onto
you. It’s going to be intense, it’s going to be information overload; but when you come out the other side, you’ll know
more about children’s books than I did when I illustrated my first book. And you’ll be making the “me” from five years
ago just a little bit jealous.
- Jake Parker

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Traditional Publishing VS Self-Publishing
We believe that more has changed in publishing in the last twenty years than ever before. We believe that
there are great opportunities in both traditional and self-publishing. These two methods share as many
similarities as differences. This class is focused on traditional publishing; but this doesn’t mean that we
don’t believe some projects are better suited for self-publishing. Jake Parker and Will Terry have both
dabbled in self-publishing, and have seen some great success and failure. Failure often gives you the
best opportunity to learn and grow. We encourage experimentation in taking your own projects to market
without the aid of the publishing machine if you have an idea that you feel is right for a particular market.

Opportunity

Opportunity will look different to different people. Some will only see the traditional methods as
“acceptable” or “the right way” while others will open themselves to more possibilities. Typically when
markets change, new opportunities are created. We’ve seen the circle of opportunity shift; and while this
has made it harder to get into traditional publishing, it has also opened up new possibilities for illustrators
and authors. In the graph below, we explore has areas that have grown and those that have gotten
smaller. This chart is our best guess—it is not entirely accurate as a representation for these actual
markets.

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You: The Brand

1) Create great art that editors can’t resist— and get it in front of them.
2) Write and illustrate a story that editors want to publish—and get it in front of them.

Having an amazing portfolio is like riding a bike with pumped-up tires— it’s easy to pedal. When
your portfolio needs a lot of work, it’s like pedaling a bike with flat tires: Sure, you can get it to
move, but it never coasts or gains momentum on its own.

What Do Art Directors and Editors Fear?

You. They are afraid of you. They are afraid that they will stake their reputation on you and then
you won’t come through. They are hoping that you will create amazing art for their project and
that you will make them look good to their boss. If you don’t come through, it’s a poor reflection
on them. It shows that they made a poor choice by hiring you. This is the reason that they are
often more comfortable working with artists who have already proven themselves. This is why you
must create a body of work that they can’t live without— one that repeatedly demonstrates that
you know what you’re doing.

Branding Yourself with Social Media

One of the first things you need to establish is your brand. Typically when you hear the word
brand, you think of the cereal aisle at the grocery story. That’s actually a great place to see how
branding works.

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Think about the difference between Captain Crunch™, and Grapenuts™. Captain Crunch is a
cereal for kids; Grape Nuts is a cereal for adults. From the cereal itself to the box design… to the
logo… even to print ads in magazines and commercials on TV… these brands are consistent and
focused. The Captain Crunch logo is big and bouncy; it has a goofy caricature of a captain on it.
The colors are bright and happy. The cereal is exploding out of the bowl. It’s begging to be
snatched up by a kid. On the other hand, the Grape Nuts box is white with subdued colors.
There’s an image of an older couple riding mountain bikes, and a pile of the cereal next to a stalk
of wheat. There’s text displayed in a small, non-descript font about fiber content and vitamins.
This cereal is begging to be handled carefully by a responsible adult.

Now turn that Grape Nuts brand on its head. What if you saw an advertisement of a bouncy
squirrel scientist with frazzled hair conducting an experiment with beakers filled with grapes and
nuts? Mr. Squirrel zaps the ingredients with a shock of electricity and a new invention fills his lab:
Grape-Nuts! That might have you scratching your head. Clearly this cereal tastes like something
for a senior citizen, but it’s marketed to kids. Who would buy this?! The adult would ignore the
commercial and the kid would spit the cereal out.

As an artist, you too have a specific brand. It’s a combination of your artistic style, your tools, how
your work is presented, and how you are presented… along with your personality, your subject
matter, and even your signature. If there isn’t a certain level of consistency and quality in all of
these things, you could be coming off as a cartoon squirrel selling Grape-Nuts.

Think about your favorite children’s book illustrator and take a moment to answer these
questions. Does he or she have a consistent and defined style? Is his style similar to any other
artist? Does he stick to one genre? If he moves between genres, is there consistency between
his various works? Does he stick to one medium? If he moves between mediums, is there
consistency between illustrations? What other things does he do that separates him from other
artists?

For several years, I worked with author-illustrator William Joyce. Even before knowing him
personally, I saw that he had a unique brand. His stories and art felt like they were rooted in
classic films from the ‘30s and ‘40s. Whether it was a story about a boy as tall as an apple, or a
dinosaur brought home on vacation, his art’s style, compositions, colors, and medium all had a
consistency. After working with him for some time, I asked him what his influences were and he
told me that everything he created was, in some way, influenced by three movies he saw as a
boy: King Kong, Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood, and The Wizard of Oz. If you look at all of his books,
you can see a little bit of each of these movies within them. The foundation of his art is built from
these movies, and if he ever strays from that foundation, he does so cautiously.

So how does an artist brand herself?

First, identify your brand by answering these three questions:

1. What am I good at?

2. What am I passionate about?
3. What makes me special?

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It can be hard to figure these things out, but digging in deep and uncovering what makes you
unique is key to your success. It’s the foundation for everything you’ll create. So be honest and
transparent with yourself because you can’t fake passion, and your audience has pretty good
authenticity radar.

Second, find your target audience.

Once you’ve figured out who you are at your core, you must find an audience that will find your
work appealing. The picture book world is fast and varied, so there’s plenty of room to explore.
However, you’ll need to pinpoint your audience in order to position your talents and work in the
best way possible.

1. Determine your target by finding publishers who put out books similar to your voice
and style. Which ones would be interested in your work?
2. Identify your competition by finding others illustrators who do what you do. What can
you do to differentiate your work from theirs?

Third, build a communication platform.

What good is having a solid brand if no one knows about you? The first thing you need to do is
create a personal website. This is your hub, a foundation for your online reputation. Then,
building out from there, you need to create profiles on sites that your audience is familiar with:

 Facebook
 Twitter
 Tumblr
 Instagram

Once this is established, it is important to feed these sites with content. Curate what you share,
by making sure it is relevant to your brand. The most important part of this is to be consistent.
Consistency is more important than frequency. For your art to stick in people’s minds, it is much
more effective to post once a week for five weeks than five times in one week (with nothing for
the four weeks that follow).

Finally, consistently engage your audience. Answer questions, spotlight, and reward loyalty. Your
first ten followers will be instrumental in getting your first 100. Nurture those relationships while
you’re small, and it will lead to a thriving fan base of thousands. This is what also will attract the
eyes of art directors and editors.

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Marketing Your Art

How Do I Get Hired?

Understanding what editors look for takes years of careful observation, work creation, and
critiques by industry insiders. Most successful illustrators have a substantial collection of
children’s books in their homes. Collecting becomes a passion of appreciation and an absorption
and consumption of other artists’ work. These successful artists visually deconstruct children’s
books to understand the choices of other artists. They have an extreme art appreciation for all
things in the children’s publishing world.

Quite often, the road to success means having your work critiqued by editors, art directors,
professional illustrators, and teachers who work in the children’s book industry. It’s very hard to
understand what the industry wants without this kind of critical feedback. Good critiques are often
hard to get, but some colleges have children’s book classes and the SCBWI (Society of
Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrators) organization regularly provides critiques by big-name
editors and art directors. We’ll talk more about the SCBWI further in this manual.

It’s not easy to get your work in front of an editor, but there are a few ways you can reach them,
including blogging, direct mail such as postcards, social media, your personal website and/or
portfolio site, an agent, and as previously mentioned—the SCBWI. We’ll talk in detail about these
later in the manual.

Since there are tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of artists who want to illustrate
children’s books and are vying for attention, editors insulate themselves from the masses. Getting
“seen” by editors takes dedication and diligence, but it’s very possible. In the Marketing section,
I’ll go over the best ways to make sure your work has its moment in front of editors and art
directors.

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Developing Your Art—Quality and Style

Your art is unique and only you can make it. You’re probably like many artists who are afraid they
don’t have a personal style. You do, but right now your ideas are probably better than what you
are capable of putting down on a surface. It’s going to take long hours and many years to become
proficient at your style. You want it this way. If it were easy, it would be common and anyone
could do it. If anyone and everyone could do it, it wouldn’t be special. Embrace the journey—it
gets more and more fun as you progress.

Below is a short list of images from some of Will Terry’s favorite artists...

Step 1 - Develop a list of your hero artists. If you don’t have heroes, you don’t have a true idea of
what you want to become. Every aspiring athlete looks up to top professionals and looks to them
for answers. Art is no different. You need constant inspiration and it needs to come from people
who are doing what you wish to do. If you don’t know who your favorite pros are, you won’t
become one.

Step 2 - Make a list of specific aspects of your favorite artists’ work. Call it a style list or pro list,
but don’t skip this step because it will accelerate your learning. This list should only be comprised
of aspects that you really like such as flowing lines, dark lines, no lines, soft edges, crisp edges,
monochromatic, muted palette, limited palette, warm palette, cool palette, colorful, dark, moody,
sketchy, loose lines, limited focus, blurry and crisp, “design-y,” smooth, rough, heavy texture,
distressed, vintage, flat, dimensional, lots of overlapping, etc. Your descriptions should be
personal to you. Use your own words. Make up words. Describe to yourself each aspect that you
really like.

Armed with your list, start creating works that celebrate these characteristics. Your work should
start to evolve if you are following your list.

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Step 3 - Copy the work of your artist heroes. Does this go against everything you’ve ever been
taught about plagiarism? If so, you either misunderstood or received bad advice. Every great
artist borrows or uses elements from other artists. To think that you can create a truly unique style
without borrowing is to not understand the creative process. Every master painter throughout
history of art has had their influences, teachers, masters, etc.

The Academy of Art in New York City has classes where students are assigned master copies.
They must travel to museums and copy a certain number of art works to pass the classes. The
object is to create an exact copy including color and brush strokes. By doing, this you are opening
new channels in your brain—new ways of understanding how to create art and the subtle aspects
of doing so, which merely viewing the work can’t provide.

1939 by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer

Copying art is no different than copying the moves of a ballet instructor, professional actor, comic,
or basketball player. When you learn to play basketball, the coach runs drills. Drills of good
moves. Drills of the good moves invented by the pros. Copying is perfectly acceptable in every art
form when you are learning. The trick is to begin making your own discoveries and combinations.

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 You won’t get into trouble with copying unless you try to pass it off as your original work. There is
a difference between copying to learn and copying to satisfy an assignment. When it’s time to
create your own work for a children’s book, it needs to be your own creation. If you change things
enough, nobody will be able to tell what you were looking at. It’s okay if people can tell who you
are influenced by, but you don’t want them to find evidence that you plagiarized someone else’s
work.

Step 4 - Compare your work side by side with the pros that you aspire to fit in with. Most of us are
afraid of this step because it means accepting a potent honesty that’s hard for most of us to inflict
upon ourselves—but it’s necessary. Often we hear of artists who are frustrated because they
have been marketing their work for years with no attention from editors or art directors. Keep in
mind that editors are constantly looking for new, fresh, original styles. They get paid to find you—
when and if you’re ready. They want you, but not if your work looks like everyone else’s, is poorly
executed, poorly designed, communicates unintended ideas, etc.

The painting on the left is an early oil painting that I (Will Terry) created when I was ten years old.
There is obviously a marked difference between this and Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon
on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

Physical Portfolios

Having a physical portfolio has, in many ways, become a relic of the past. Online portfolios now
come in the form of personal websites, portfolio sites, and blogs; and social media sites have
largely taken their place. There are, however, a few opportunities to show a physical portfolio.
Sometimes at children’s book conferences, editors, art directors, and professional illustrators will
offer one-on-one reviews. In this case, it’s often handy to show them your work in physical form.
Meeting and talking with an art buyer is the best way to find work. The numbers don’t lie— when
you meet someone in person, your chances of getting hired go way up. That is, opposed to when
you’re dealing with a cold contact.

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You portfolio is an extension of you. It speaks for you. You should only put your best pieces in
your portfolio. The lowest quality pieces drag your portfolio down. If you have five old pieces and
five new (and better) pieces, the art buyer reviewing your portfolio will probably only remember
your bad work. It’s human nature. And if you only have five good pieces in total, then you are not
ready to show your portfolio.

How you present your work matters, too. It’s easy to buy a portfolio like the ones below; but what
do they say about you? They are store-bought, always black, always the same, vinyl, cold, and
boring. In a creative field, it’s interesting that so many artists take the easy way out when it comes
to their presentation. What will the art director or editor remember? This is a fashion contest and
yes—you’re up against hundreds, if not thousands. Sometimes it’s that little extra attention to
detail and presentation that sticks in the art buyer’s mind.

Each page in your portfolio should be neat and clean. The purpose of each page should only be
two things:

1. Display the best representation of your work that you can afford. If you are using
color prints of your work they must be of the highest quality. Art buyers don’t want to
hear, “you should see the original” - excuses won’t get you hired.
2. Display your name. Each potential client that reviews your work needs to associate your
name with the beautiful art they are viewing. Every page should have your name clearly
yet subtly displayed. This principle goes back to your personal branding.

These portfolios are different. Home-made. Hand-crafted. Unique. They give the art buyer
something to enjoy. They enhance the art. They are memorable. Take the extra time to create a
presentation that matches the style of your art.

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Digital Portfolios

The world has obviously changed a lot in the last few decades. What used to be common advice
has now completely flipped. At one point, you were advised to have a digital portfolio to enhance
your physical portfolio, and now the opposite advice is true. Your digital portfolio will most likely
be your most important presentation of your artwork to the world. It’s always available, and can
be seen from almost anywhere and everywhere. You don’t have to have good light to view it, and
you can organize it any way you like and edit it easily. It doesn’t get damaged or lost, and you can
share zoom features that allow an art buyer to see the details up close.

For both your digital and physical portfolios, you should always lead off with your best piece or
your second best piece. Follow your first piece with your third best piece. Fill the middle with the
rest, but end with your best or second best piece to leave a good impression. Never end with your
worst work.

Your Own Domain

Purchasing your name.com or a simple business name (if you can get it) always makes it easier
for people to remember; and no matter how your business grows over the years, you will always
have it as long as you renew each year. Buying your own domain also allows you to register more
customized email addresses for yourself. You also won’t have to worry about the terms of a third
party website changing functionality or terms that you don’t agree with. One of the downsides of
using your own personal domain is cost. You will probably have to pay more to get a web
developer to build a website for you unless you’re good with building your own site with products
such as WordPress. But you can then create whatever you dream up.

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The Layout of your site should be very clean, neat, and simple. If you’re lucky enough to attract an art
buyer to your site, make sure they can click through your images quickly. They see thousands of
portfolios each year— they won’t hang around if they can’t see your work in less than a minute. A minute
is actually a long time for them to spend on your site, so make the most of it by showing as much work as
you can in that time. Creative ways of revealing your work might be fun for you but not for them. They live
in a fast-paced world and they never have enough time.

You can see that the navigation in both Will Terry’s and Jake Parker’s websites is simple
and straightforward. This isn’t the time to create a navigation journey. There is a lot you
can do to personalize your site with graphic design; but the navigation should borrow
commonly used methods, so there isn’t any learning curve for the art buyer.

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Portfolio Builder Sites

A portfolio builder site is a website in which you (usually) pay a monthly fee to create your own
website on the builder website. You can still personalize and buy your own domain address for
most of these options. In the past you would have had an address such as
joesmith.squarespace.com; but now most of these sites will allow you to shorten to
joesmith.com even though it takes navigators to the squarespace.com site under your domain.

These sites really do make it easy to use and build your site with standard and premium
templates without having to understand how to code. One of the main advantages of using a
builder site is the ability for you to update your portfolio, bio, portrait photo, etc. Because you
create the original site, you know how to use it and can make changes to it. This is much more
cost-effective than hiring a developer who will charge you every time he or she edits your site.

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Portfolio Advertising Sites

If you do a simple Google search with the words “children’s illustrators portfolio site,” you will
notice that there is one main site that comes up on the first page for most Google users. We won’t
name it here in order to avoid any potential conflict. There are many other paid general illustration
portfolio sites on the internet, but for children’s illustration geared to attract publishers, this one is
the largest online.

One of the problems with this type of site is that you are one small listing in a giant sea of
illustrators trying to attract the attention of editors and art directors. This wouldn’t be a big
problem if art directors and editors used this source exclusively, but they apparently don’t. Some
people call this type of site a “dead site” because the same content will be displayed each time a
visitor comes back to the site with very little turnover. In the past, illustrators had to spend large
sums of money to advertise in source books that were mailed out annually to publishers, graphic
design firms, and ad agencies. The cost of entry also created a higher caliber portfolio from each
artist. You had to be really sure you wanted to pay up to $3,500 per page for your listing.
Beginning artists didn’t dare risk that type of money unless they were getting paid illustration work
to cover the costs.

The internet lowered the cost of entry to a few hundred dollars— a much smaller amount to risk,
and as a result, the quality has gone way down for these types of illustrator portfolio advertising
sites. In some cases, the quality isn’t low but it is often predictable—that’s not a quality editors are
looking for. Put yourself in the shoes of an art buyer. Would you want to go back to the same site
you saw last month and look through the same portfolios you saw before? These creatives are
looking for something exciting, fresh, new, innovative, original, and unique. Yes, illustrators get
work from these types of sites, but many report a disappointing result.

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 Dumping your work on one of these types of sites and paying your money is easy, and that’s why
so many do it. However, if you want to catch the bird, you’ll have to work harder for it.

Portfolio Reviews

Getting your portfolio reviewed is probably the best way to get work and an even better way to
improve if you’re willing to listen. It’s similar to a job interview when an art buyer’s attention is on
your work, except your portfolio will do all of the talking for you—whether it’s good or bad. This
can also be one of the most painful experiences in your life—it’s time to grow some thick skin.
Almost every successful artist has been through this process, so the more portfolio reviews you
can get, the better you’ll get. Here are some tips:

1. Don’t try to talk over the person giving the critique. You’ll just make her or him more
nervous to give any kind of advice if you’re nervously jibber jabbering. Stay quiet so that
the reviewer can collect his or her thoughts; but don’t be silent either. Just understand
that there’s probably nothing you can say (other than “So you’re my aunt Martha. Dad
said to invite you to Sunday dinner…”) that will make any difference in landing an
assignment. That’s your portfolio’s job. If you don’t get a rave review, you won’t get an
assignment...and even if you do get a good review, you probably won’t get an
assignment— at least not right away.

2. Take notes. Writing down what the art buyer is saying will make him feel that you respect
his opinion— this can earn you points. Even if you’re seething inside, take your mind off
of the sting by writing down the more important points. After the dust settles and you can
think again, you might even want to try to take some of the reviewer’s advice—after all,
getting better is the name of the game.

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 3. Don’t make excuses for things the reviewer doesn’t like. “I did that intentionally” is
interpreted as “you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nobody likes excuses. You’re
in the review to learn. Be gracious and accepting. You want an assignment way more
than the art buyer wants to give you one.

4. Ask questions. Only ask a question if you do not understand the reviewer’s comments.
There’s a fine line here— if you’re upset and conducting an inquisition, you might freak
out the reviewer. A few clarifying questions will create endearing feelings towards you by
the reviewer.

5. Be genuine and likeable. You never know what can happen when art directors like the
person behind the portfolio. People like helping other people they like. You’re trying to
create as many allies as you can in this business. Unlike a cold call to a stranger, you get
to subtly sell yourself.

6. Thank the reviewer. She or he took time out of their day to see you. Even if they are
getting paid, it’s probably not as much money as they normally make.

Mailing Lists and Postcards

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Mailing postcards to art directors and editors is still one of the best ways to attract attention from
them. The reason? The postcard will get to their office and someone will have to see it, even if
they throw it away. Getting your work seen is the goal. The postcard is a direct line to a moment
of their time. If your work is what they’re looking for, they’ll save it. Many art directors and editors
keep file folders with postcards. Others pin them to a board in their office. If an art director really
likes your work, your postcard might sit on his desk, waiting for the next pitch meeting. Lots of
published illustrators owe postcard mailings to their success.

1. Mail on a regular basis—a campaign across one year allows you to show a good sampling of
your work. Sending a different postcard every other month to the same list is a good way to
generate name recognition. Impressing an art buyer for a moment is easy; impressing them
to the point of offering you an assignment will take more work most of the time. Remember:
You’re competing with lots of postcards from other artists. You need a quality postcard that
consistently reminds them that, “oh yeah...I love this work!” You really can’t judge how your
work is received unless you mail for at least a year.

1. If you don’t get any response, you can conclude that what you’re offering is not what they’re
looking for. This is good information because you can use it to alter your portfolio.

2. Don’t mail postcards unless you have a good online portfolio to back it up. If an art buyer
loves your postcard, he or she will immediately go to your web to see if you have more work
in the same style and quality.

3. Don’t overload your postcard with images and information. You only need one image on the
front of your postcard with your name. A name and an image is all an art buyer needs to
know if they’re interested in you. On the back, you can include your email address, phone
number if you want, and a short bio. Some illustrators include another small spot illo on the
back as a nice touch. Below is an early example from author/illustrator Brett Helquist. He left
ample room for a stamp or indicia, the address, and the postal service’s printed internal
routing information.

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 4. Make your card compliant. Before you design your postcard you should make sure your
layout is in compliance with the postal service’s templates. If you print in areas the post office
requires you to leave blank, they may reject your card— that’s a costly mistake, both in time
and money. To download their template, simply go to the United States Postal Service’s
website.

5. Always include a return address. If you pay for first class postage, you will get the returned
postcards from bad addresses, partial addresses, typos, forwarding orders expired, people
that have moved, etc. You can use these returned postcards to update your mailing list
database.

Mix up the types of images that you send. If some of the art buyers on your list are saving your
cards, you will want to build a mini portfolio on their bulletin board. If you illustrate a boy one
month, illustrate a girl the next month. Switch it up each month—from animals to people, warm
palettes to cool palettes, happy to sad to action images, etc.

More About Postcards

Making a postcard is very easy these days— you don’t even have to leave your home. Simply
jump on Google and look up the word “postcard” and you will find many sites that cater to your
every postcard need. You can upload your image(s) from your computer… use their templates
that are USPS compliant… type in your information… edit … swap out your image… choose the
color, size, style, thickness of your paper, etc. The site will even mail it to your list for an
additional fee. You never even have to see your postcard in physical form, and it will go out to
everyone on your list. Or you can choose to mail them yourself. Just about anything is possible.

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 Bulk Permits. Often we’re asked about purchasing a bulk mail permit. You should do your own
research on this topic; but basically, unless you’re sending out hundreds, if not thousands, of
pieces of mail to the same zip code, you won’t save any money. You have to bundle your
postcards a certain way (check with the post office) and they must be bundled into their
respective zip codes. You would go to this trouble to save money, right? However, if you go for
the cheapest rates, you forfeit the return service, which will make your mailing list obsolete over
time. For most illustrators, this just isn’t an option.

Oversized postcards. Many artists wonder if it’s worth the extra cost to pay for larger sized
postcards. There are advantages and disadvantages but it’s critical to do your homework. On the
positive side, bigger is more impressive and shows your art a little better. You can certainly write
a longer bio or display more or bigger images on the back side as well. A larger postcard will also
stick out if stacked with others on the desk of the art buyer. On the downside, they cost more,
which takes money away from future mailings. Also be sure you look at postcard templates
before you order an oversized postcard because you might get bumped up into the next category
of postage.

Mailing Lists

Obviously, in order to mail out your postcards, you need names and addresses of your prospects.
There are many ways to develop or obtain a mailing list. The following is a list of ideas, but this
isn’t the time to follow the leader blindly. Be creative. Your mailing list is one of the most important
marketing tools you can have. There are many ways of generating contacts that you won’t find on
our list… simply because we haven’t thought of them.

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1. Purchase a list. This is the easiest way to obtain a list. You pay your money and you get a
list. There are many companies that are eager to rent or sell a list to you, but the path of least
resistance often produces the poorest results. Because anyone can purchase the list,
everyone has the list. So these contacts get bombarded and tend to insulate themselves from
the mail. Many places that get a disproportionate amount of mail have interns sort through it
with the directive, “Throw out 90%— keep the best.” How does an intern know what is best?
Of course, you will find illustrators who have received work from a purchased or rented list;
but the gems are those art buyers who are not on the list, who aren’t receiving the high
volume of mail. That takes homework.

2. Generate your own list. Creating your own list isn’t going to be easy. It takes lots of hard
work and creativity, but this will actually yield the best results. What follows below will give
you some methods for gathering names and addresses.

3. “Who do I mail to?” To make things more complicated, editors and art directors move
around and change houses (publishers) like most of us change clothes. In an ideal world, you
would address each of your postcards to a specific person, but that’s not always possible and
not always the best option. Let’s say you find out who the art director is and where she works,
so you mail her a postcard. She might have moved to another publisher working in an entirely
different market, so she can’t use your work in her new job. Since her mail was forwarded,
your postcard followed her to her new job where she can’t hire you. The flip side is that she is
working at a new house, your postcard finds her, and she hires you to work for her new
publisher.

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 These scenarios are endless but sometimes it’s helpful to send multiple postcards to the same
address—the same house. You can address some of your cards to specific people and address
some to “Current Art Director” and/or “Current Editor”. This gives the secretary or intern
permission to give the card to whomever he or she sees fit. Keep in mind that a company like
Scholastic or HarperCollins has hundreds and hundreds of editors and art directors. Many
illustrators mail hundreds of cards to one publisher and/or imprints under the umbrella of the
parent publisher.

Ways to Generate Your Mailing List:

Visit Libraries and Bookstores. If you want to work for publishers, you need to mail to the
publishers that produce books that you like. One of the easiest ways to find these
publishers is in your local library or bookstore. Go prepared with pen and paper and write
down the name of the publisher. When you get home, Google them and find out if each
one is an imprint of a bigger publisher or the parent company. Sometimes you can also
find editor and art director names.

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SCBWI or Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. We will describe the value
of this organization later in this PDF, but for now let’s talk about its mailing list. When you
join this organization, it grants you access to its mailing list. You will find a lot of
crossover between SCBWI’s list and other list-generating methods, but this is a game of
collection and constant updating— and SCBWI updates its list for you.

Children’s Book Council. The Children’s Book Council has a list of all of the major- and
medium- sized publishers who have joined the Children’s Book Council on their site
(CBCBooks.org). We will look at that list in class—please refer to the videos to find how
to navigate to their list. It’s not easy to find it on the CBC site.

Artist’s Market. The Artist Market is a periodical available at most major book retailers. It
gives many categorized pieces of information on marketing your children’s book writing
and art. You will find an updated list of children’s book publishers for trade books (picture
books and mass market books), educational children’s books (such as textbooks and
learn-to-read books), and children’s periodicals that hire illustrators (like Highlights). You
can copy the names and addresses out of this book and add them to your mailing list. Of
course, this is another easy method, so these addresses will get a lot of mail.

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Google. Using Google is one of the best ways to find names and addresses. We will not
give multiple examples of how to Google to get contacts for two main reasons: 1)
Information is fluid and constantly changing. If we list specific sites and someone comes
to this PDF a year or two later, some of the sites we list might not exist, the service they
once provided is no longer available, or the information is no longer updated, etc. 2) We
can’t possibly know of all the resources available online. The complexity of the internet
cannot be comprehended. There will always be new avenues, secret pathways, doors,
magic manholes to drop into, etc.

We want to teach you how to fish: We found this resource in two minutes of searching
Google. We typed in “list of children’s book editors” and the third link down was
http://www.bookmarket.com/ so we clicked on it and within a few clicks, we found a magic
carpet ride of editor names and addresses.

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 Go To http://www.bookmarket.com/ - Click on the “Resources” tab - then “Author
Resources” - then “Children’s Book Editors and Publishers”
Of course, there will be many ways to find names and addresses online. It will take some
digging, time, and effort, but it’s very doable to the motivated.

Updating your mailing list

As mentioned before, the trick to having your own mailing list is to update it regularly.
Most people don’t look forward to this task, but it’s necessary to protect all of your hard
work. Editors move, new ones get hired, and companies move their physical locations.
One of the best ways to get those updates is from the returned postcards you already
sent out. On the back of a returned postcard, you will see a sticker with the new address.
Save these cards and update them in your computer.

Below is a postcard with the “return to sender” label from the USPS. We do not have
instructions for every postal service in the world, so we’ll talk about the US since that’s
where we live. When you get a sticker like this, it usually means that the address you put
on your postcard had an address error(s). You can peel it back to reveal the incorrect
address. At this point, you can check to see if you did indeed address it incorrectly… then
update your file.

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 When you receive postcards back with the “forwarding time expired” message, it means
that the company or person you mailed has moved and their mail has been forwarded to
their new location. Additionally, this particular sticker means that the post office is no
longer forwarding your postcard to this contact; however, the good news is that your first
class stamp or indicia qualifies you to receive this valuable update. The new address is
printed on the sticker. Simply update your list.

Blogging

Blogging, when done right, can generate lots of interest in your work and web traffic. It can also
expose you to potential art buyers. The better your work, the more traffic you will likely receive.
People love to share great things online. There is a direct correlation to the quality of work and
the clicks on your site. Here are seven reasons you should consider having a blog:

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1. Online Journal of Your Progress. So what if you think nobody is reading: Do it for you.
Being selfish with your blog is a good thing—you'll do more of what you want and,
ironically, that will make your blog more valuable to like-minded people.

2. For Your Mom. Your mom wants to know what you're up to and if you're blogging on a
regular basis, so you can get a quick follower by letting her know.

3. Accountability. Having assignments and deadlines are good for us. If you know that you
owe your blog an update, you'll be more likely to log out of Facebook and get on with
working on you… which is a good thing, right? Good drawing skills require exercise— get
crackin’!

i.

4. Personal Growth. The more you share, the more you grow as an artist. The
accountability of regular blog updates will force you to create content that you’re proud of.
This process will help you understand what people respond to and what they don’t. This,
in turn, will help you learn what to work on. You’ll be amazed at how improved your posts
are after a few years of blogging.

5. Help Others. Probably the best reason to blog. We're all in this together. I'm a product of
many artists and teachers along the way. Some I've given credit to while others I've
forgotten or don't realize their impact on my career. Some I've borrowed from—ok,
stolen—but you get the point. We all get help—blogging is a way to repay.

i.

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 6. Story. People want to know about the artist behind the art. In fact, I'll go as far as to say
that most people purchase the artist just as much as the art itself. I'm constantly surprised
and disappointed when I run across an artist's website with great work, but no blog. I
want to know the human side behind the craftsman. I want to learn from them and know
what they like besides making art.

7. Merchandising. We can sell our work in some form, whether it’s originals, prints, books,
apps, e-books, cards, stamps, collectibles, animations, etc. Developing a good blog
following is a great way to get the word out when you have a new artist.

Suggested Blogging Rules

1. Be regular. Blog every day, once a week, twice a month, or once a month. The quickest way to
kill your blog is to be intermittent.

2. Stay on topic. If this is your art blog, don’t write about your cooking or gardening projects unless
they relate back to your art.

3. Write quality posts. Always ask: Would I care about this post? If you don’t think much of it,
nobody else will either.

4. Connect. Don’t leave your readers stranded—connect with them when they leave comments from
time to time. They took the time to reach out, but they won’t again if they never see you interact.

Social Media

Everything has changed. Everything. Well… unless you were born yesterday. All of the art buyers
are online! For some, mailing postcards is old school, even though it still works. If you’re only
interested in contacting potential clients via the internet, you’re in luck! You can get your work out
without ever buying a stamp.

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 Step 1: Make a list of the clients you would most like to work with. Again, you’ll find them by
looking at books in the library or your favorite bookstore. You can also find them within the steps
we discussed in the section called “Ways to Generate Your Mailing List” above.

Step 2: Follow them. Almost every art director and editor is on at least one of the social media
platforms. Follow them and send friend requests on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. If they
won’t accept your friend request on Facebook, they might be using their account for personal
uses—in that case, follow them on Twitter instead.

Step 3: Build your presence. Make sure you have an updated photo album on Facebook of your
best, most current work. Make sure your settings allow lurkers to view your work; otherwise this
step won’t help you at all. Art directors are constantly finding new talent from images that have
been shared on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Step 4: Email. Send out emails to your list with new work. You only need to send out new images
once a month at the most; quarterly is also good. Images should be 72 dpi and around 1000
pixels wide or tall at most. Large images will annoy your potential buyers, as will sending every
week.

Don’ts!

Don’t use phrases like “call today,” “order now,” while supplies last,” etc.—these phrases are left
over from the heyday of mass marketing. This makes the statement that you’re mass producing your work
and that you work is a common commodity—not unique—and that your supply WILL last (that is, unless
you plan on dying soon).

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Don’t sound desperate. Desperation is a repellent for most humans. It’s hard to watch. You need to put
on your game face. It’s time to act the part even if you are desperate. Writing “I’m at my wit’s end” or “If I
don’t get a job soon I’ll…” or “I really need this” are all ways of ensuring that you never get the
assignment. After all, no one wants to work with someone who isn’t stable

Don’t send follow up messages asking why they didn’t respond. Your business is part of a buffet for
art buyers. They browse and occasionally reach for something to add to their plate—the food is supposed
to remain silent.

Don’t tag art directors, post to their walls, expect to chat via messenger, or ask for portfolio
reviews. Each one of these is a breach of good etiquette. Being invasive is worse than sending in
substandard work— you can turn art buyers against you. It’s important to remember that art directors
think they don’t need you because they have access to the best in the world. The only way for you to
wake them up to you is with that perfect image(s) that shouts for you.

Remember: If you aren’t getting any attention, it can only mean either that your work is not getting seen or
that your work isn’t good enough yet. It’s that simple.

Artist Representatives and Agents

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What is the difference?

Artist representatives (reps) typically represent illustrators. Agents typically represent authors. But
they both cross over into each other's territory at times. Some reps also represent authors and
vice-versa. Agents typically charge between 10-15% of any monies collected for the
author/illustrator. Reps typically charge between 25-30% of all monies collected for the artist.

Agents are now doing much of the heavy lifting for publishers. Publishers have downsized many
of their departments since 2008 to become more profitable. Editors are often doing the work of
two or three people. It is very time-consuming to read manuscripts from authors as opposed to
looking at an artist portfolio. Agents sift through the “slush pile” for editors.

An agent might spend –ten to thirty minutes reading an author’s work, while it takes only a few
seconds to review an artist’s portfolio and determine its value. Editors depend on agents to bring
them quality manuscripts—these agents weed out the novice writer’s work. Agents spend years
cultivating mutually beneficial relationships with editors to facilitate steady streams of manuscripts
moving back and forth.

Reps have to work harder to get their artists’ work in front of editors. There is a glut of illustrators
in the marketplace now and editors don’t necessarily need to spend time with reps because the
internet and direct mail allow the artist to bypass the rep. Pre-internet days were much different.
The flow of artwork towards art buyers was much smaller and reps were much more welcome at
publishing houses back then. Getting “face time” with editors and art directors is next to
impossible now.

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Do I need a rep for my artwork?

It depends. If you are willing to spend lots of time working on the marketing options we talk about
in this PDF— no. The internet has leveled the playing field so that anyone can contact anyone
with their artwork. You do not need a rep. Can a rep make your job easier? Yes, but it depends
on how good your work is. Just because a rep decides to represent you doesn’t mean that your
work is good enough for them to get you work. Many artists who have reps complain about rarely
getting assignments or getting assignments that pay so low that they have to turn down the
offers.

Some artists who work in animation use a rep to bring in the occasional side project. For these
artists in this type of situation, it makes sense to let someone else do the “looking” while they
perform at their day job.

Some artists use a rep, but market their work at the same time. Many reps frown on this, claiming
that it’s a conflict of interest and that it can confuse clients. The rep will usually ask you to sign a
contract that limits the amount of prospecting you can do on your own. This is risky from your
standpoint because if you have the time and want to look for work, you will breach your contract
to do so.

How do I get an agent?

There are many ways that agents and artists end up together— so many that we can’t possibly
list them all. In fact, looking for agent might just be the wrong way to go about it. Agents are
looking for only the very best. They can’t sell less than top-notch work and they stake their
reputation on the talent they decide to represent. Trying to find an agent before you’re ready will
probably waste your valuable time—time that you could be using to improve your work.

A good approach might be to submit your book proposal to a small list of agents once or twice a
year. If you don’t receive any offers, it probably means that your work isn’t good enough yet.

How do I get a rep?

The same advice applies when looking for a rep, although it doesn’t take as much time to submit
your work to them. Add a few reps to your mailing list and send to them as you would send to
potential art buyers.

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What are the pros and cons of having a rep or an agent?

Pros
More time to work on projects - less time spent prospecting
Professional help negotiating contracts
Better clients and assignments
Book proposals submitted to editors (agent only)
More money per project

Cons
Lack of work -inability to prospect
Receiving bad advice that serves the rep or agent
Paying 10-30% of your income without receiving an equal or greater benefit
Long wait times to receive your payments
False sense of security in retaining representation
Not developing your brand

How do I find reps and agents?

All artist representatives and agents are online and can be found through simple Google
searches for their websites. A popular search to find lists of agents would be to Google
“picture book agents list”

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Marketing at Conferences and Book Festivals

There are children’s book conferences and book fairs throughout the world each year for
beginning authors and illustrators. We will talk about a few of them here, but there are many more
that we will not list. Google “children’s book fair (your state name)” or “international book fairs list”
or “children’s book conference (your state name)” or “children’s book festival” or “children’s book
workshop.”

36
You are in the presence of some of your future employers at all times during these conferences.
It is important not to let your guard down. Talking or texting during their keynote is probably a bad
idea, akin to bad table manners at lunch. Don’t corner them in the hallway or follow them into the
bathroom (all of this has happened and we’ve heard editors talk about it). You need them to have
a good opinion of you on every level—not just your work.

Many of these conferences have fee-based portfolio reviews with editors that you can sign up for.
Sometimes you can get a portfolio review with professional illustrators and art directors as well.
The illustrator reviews are helpful—they can give you the kind of information you need to improve
your work. The editor/art director reviews can get you hired. We know quite a few illustrators who
owe their careers to the conferences they attended and the reviews they received; but your work
has to be what the art buyer is looking for.

Postcards, prints, and business cards are also a great way to make a lasting impression with an
art buyer. If you attend a conference without these important “leave-behinds,” you’ll be unarmed.
Make sure you have something that an editor or art director can take with them after they’ve met
you.

Make sure you get the names, email addresses, and postal addresses from each editor and art
director that attends your event. You can update your database when you get home. They will
often talk about some of their colleagues back at the office: Write those names down and enter
them into your database.

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SCBWI

The SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) is the largest organization
supporting children’s book authors and illustrators. This organization has the most members
worldwide. It has two annual national conferences open to the public and members— one in New
York City during the winter, and the other in Los Angeles during the summer. In addition, many
states or areas have their own chapters of SCBWI with regular meetings and special events. You
probably have a chapter that meets not too far from your home.

It’s a good idea for you to get involved in your local chapter of SCBWI to get a good start for the
author/illustrator community near you. You will learn a lot as part of a community with a common
goal. Pictured below are SCBWI members from the Illinois Chapter.

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BCBF

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is probably the most famous international children’s book
event. Many authors and illustrators say they owe their careers to attending this event. Check out
their site to see more details: http://www.bookfair.bolognafiere.it

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WIFYR (Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers)

Highlights Foundation

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ALA (American Library Association)

TLA (Texas Library Association)

41
 BEA (Book Expo America)

Marketing Your Books

Once your book is printed, your job has only just begun. Many feel that it’s the publisher’s job to
promote books they print, but publishers are expecting you to do your part, too. They often won’t
tell you what they expect because it’s not written in your contract; but because so many authors
and illustrators market their own books, you won’t fit in if you don’t. We’ll talk more about what the
publisher will do to help market your book in an upcoming section.

There are many proven methods that help get the word out on your book. The following is a
partial list, but there are many creative ways to get your book noticed that nobody has thought of.
Creativity in marketing is in short supply— most people want to follow a map from A to Success.
Keep in mind that the path well-traveled is easier to ignore by consumers. If you have an idea and
can afford the time and money, it might just be the thing that launches your book!

Social Media

We talked about using social media to find client work. This time we’re going to talk about it in
terms of finding potential consumers of your projects. There is so much to discuss when it comes
to using social media to get your message out that we could fill an entire manual with opinions,
conjecture, facts, stats, etc. There are a few solid rules to follow and tips to grow your networks:

42
1. Engage. Many people use Facebook, Twitter, and/or other social platforms to post what they
have to offer without taking the time to connect in a sincere way with their online friends and
acquaintances. This is a turn-off for most people. A sales pitch used to work when radio, TV,
and newspapers were the way we sold products in the past. Marketing for the small business
owner today has to be much more personal because people have learned how to insulate
themselves from sales pitches. You have to give to get.

2. Be yourself. This is the age of transparency. People can smell a liar online from far away.
Telling people that your book is “doing amazingly well” or “Is the best bedtime book of the
year” can be good if you have legit stats or quotes to back it up; otherwise it looks
overreaching, which is a huge turn off. It sounds desperate. Just tell the truth.

3. Don’t over post. Once or twice a day with new content is about the most you should
probably share. The key is to post new content. If it’s not new, it’s going to get annoying. The
last thing you want to be to your friends is annoying. With social media, it’s easy for them to
unfriend, block, untag, or unsubscribe you. The golden rule applies in all aspects of social
media: Do unto others!

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 4. Tell a story. We are driven by stories. When something unique happens in our daily routines
we can’t wait to tell it to our friends and families. Posting your artwork alone isn’t good
enough because you’re missing the story behind it. Sometimes you can tell a story in only a
few sentences and sometimes it takes a bit longer. Get to the point and let people know
something unique about your project. Perhaps it’s how long it took… or the unique process
you used… or the lessons learned… or disasters avoided or corrected.

5. Complete your profile. You can engage with people but if they can’t find your website or
contact information it’s probably not going to do a lot of good. Make sure that your other
social platforms, website, blog, and email address can easily be found.

School Visits

Your publisher will be really happy if they find out you’re scheduling school visits. Authors and
Illustrators who visit schools keep their book in print much longer than those who don’t. When you
visit schools, you are expected to make your books available for sale. Librarians, media
specialists, teachers and principals, and parents want to be able to buy your books for their
children.

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What I include in my school visits:
Finding schools

There are basically 3 kinds of schools:

1) Those that love to have authors and illustrators visit their schools every year,
2) Those that are open to the idea of school visits every now and then,
3) Those that have never and probably never will have authors and illustrators visit their
schools.

It usually comes down to the principal. If the principal values your visit it’s fairly easy to schedule
and get paid for your visit - and vice versa is true.

It’s a waste of time to try to visit schools within the third scenario. They don’t want you to come;
or a teacher or librarian might want you, but the buck stops with the principal and if he or she
isn’t on board, it’s a lesson in frustration. Spend your time looking for schools within the first
scenario and you will not only find visits easy to schedule, but your visit will be that much more
rewarding. These schools roll out the red carpet for you. They will prep their students to read
your books, assign book reports, complete units on writing stories, make mocked-up books, etc.
They will be ready with audio visual equipment and will know how to set up your presentation
space for maximum effectiveness.

Some artists find reps that specialize in setting up school visits. Just do a simple Google search
for “authors visits schools” or “author/illustrator school visit rep,” etc. These reps will want you to
fill out a profile for their websites and will take a commission for every visit they facilitate. They
typically do the finding, but you still have to communicate with a contact at the school to know
who you’re meeting at the airport or at the school, what time to be there, equipment you will
need, etc. They often work like a literary agent or an artist rep— they have to choose to
represent you. It’s a good idea to check the artists they represent to get an indication of the
working relationship before signing a contract.

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 You can also print up postcards and develop a mailing list for elementary schools. This is a
market that might be worth paying a postcard printing company to obtain a mailing list. It’s
customary that you will only be able to “rent” their list for one-time use, but it might be worth it.
You can also develop your own list by going to school district websites and painstakingly finding
the contact info for each school.

Another way to find schools to visit is by doing a few local visits for a reduced price just to be
able to get the word out that you do really good visits.

Advertise on your website or blog that you love to do school visits. Librarians might think you do
not like to do them if they don’t see it on your website.

Selling Books

This is a subject of controversy. Some say that selling books at elementary schools isn’t fair
because not every student can go home with a book. Some parents can’t or won’t afford it, so
some children might feel left out. Others argue that this is just part of life and that when the book
fair comes to a school, not all children buy books, yet the book fair goes to almost every school.
Most agree that putting books in kids’ hands is a good thing to promote reading. It’s good to tread
lightly and feel out the situation at each school. Most of the welcoming schools from the first
scenario above are eager to help you promote and sell your books.

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There are a couple of ways to sell your books at a school:

1) Have the school order your books directly from your publisher to get a discount. They
take the orders and sell the books. You just show up and do your presentation and
then sign the books they sold. They are good at organizing this, and will have lists
with names for you to personalize in each book. The only downside to this method is
that they make the profit. When you set up your visit you need to cover this topic with
your contact at the school.

2) Buy the books from your publisher with your substantial author/illustrator discount
and sell them yourself. You will have to make arrangements to have your books
shipped to the school(s) you plan to visit or bring them with you if it’s a local visit. You
will want to generate an order form for the school so the school can print and
distribute it to their student body. Students can then take it home to their parents.
This method greatly complicates the artist’s workload since all of this organization
needs to be done months before the visit. The upside is that you make any profit
generated by the book sales. Many authors rely on the income they generate from
personal book sales at school visits. There is a lot of money to be made if you’re
organized and do lots of school visits… and handle your own book sales.

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Presentation

Your presentation should be a reflection of you. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. If you’re
funny, it helps; but if you try to be funny and you’re not, it usually backfires. Your presentation
should be both entertaining and educational. Teachers often worry that your presentation takes
time away from the classroom; but if they feel that you offered a lot of educational value, they’ll be
happy you came.

Younger children from K-3rd grade will have a hard time relating to pure discussion, while older
children from 4th-6th can understand higher concepts. It’s important to have two different
presentations— one for each group—or a modified version for each. Visuals help a lot! Most
presenters use an LCD projector hooked up to a laptop or iPad. It’s really nice to have an adapter
to connect to a VGA cable or plug. VGA is older—HDMI is the newer set up. Many schools don’t
have projectors that output to HDMI, but VGA is older and more standard.

Many authors and illustrators share pictures of themselves at elementary school age to help the
children relate so they can understand that you were once a student just like them. Sharing your
other interests and stories that led you to writing and/or art are helpful too. Sometimes authors
share the whole process from story idea to printed book… and all the steps in between. Others
share the process they use to create their art. Illustrators often draw on large sheets of paper with
markers— sometimes of characters from their books. You can do whatever you think will work
best for you—you can even draw on your iPad hooked up to the LCD projector.

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Honorariums

It is standard procedure to be paid for your school visits. Market forces still apply and if you’re
doing your first school visits for your first book, you probably won’t be able to charge as much as
some of the big shots in the industry. Fees range from $50 to $2,500 for a full day at a school.
You can set the rules for your visit. Many authors/illustrators put a limit on the number of
presentations they will do for a “full day.” Some will only do two presentations while others will do
as many as five. Everything is negotiable and experience will help you develop your policies.

Schools generate the money for an author/illustrator visit in various ways. Some have the money
in their budget, while others rely on book fair money to pay for your visit. Sometimes it’s the PTA
that raises the money.

If you’re asked to do a visit, you’re in a better bargaining position than if you’re the one asking for
the visit. This doesn’t always mean that you will earn less if you instigate the visit, but a few
bargaining tactics can help you maximize on the fee you will get. Ask the contact if they have a
budget in mind. You can make statements like, “I don’t want to break the bank— what do you
normally pay?” You might be surprised at how much school contacts will divulge. Keep in mind
that it’s not their money and they don’t know that you don’t normally get $600 to $800 per day.

If you’re a beginning author/illustrator with a locally published book, be prepared for a hard sell
and your fee will probably be on the low end— say, $50 to $300. If you’re a first-time
author/illustrator of a nationally published book from a large publisher, you might find it easier to
get closer to $500 per day or higher. Artists who have ten books or more from large national
publishers will find it easier to break the $1,000 a day mark, and author/illustrators who regularly
do school visits each week of the school year AND who are known for their amazing
presentations have no problem booking around the $2,000 per day mark.

There are quite a few artists who make a good portion of their income from their school visits
each year.

David Biedrzycki is an author/illustrator of many books—he is on the road throughout most of the
school year. Each year is scheduled before the first day of class in August or September. Almost
every single week of the school year is booked, and David can find himself in any part of the
world sharing his stories and artwork with elementary school children. David’s school visits have
taken him to many places in Europe, Japan, and even Dubai!

David Biedrzycki pictured below— learn more about him from his website.

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Will Terry illustrated one of Jerry Pallotta’s books called Santa Pups for Scholastic. Jerry is an
author who is on the road constantly just like David. This is a huge benefit to both Scholastic and
Will Terry. Lots of book sales are generated through the efforts of Jerry. If you’re considering
taking on a manuscript to illustrate, one question you might want to ask before agreeing to it
might be “Does the author do school visits?” This one piece of information could generate many
thousands of copies in sales for your book. Compare that to a much smaller number when the
author never ventures far from home.

Jerry Pallotta pictured below at a school visit—learn more about Jerry at his website.

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Billing

Schools that bring in authors and illustrators each year expect you to bring an invoice with you.
You can snail mail your invoice after your visit, but this will only delay your payment. Some
schools will prepare your payment check ahead of time and will hand it to you if you hand them
an invoice. We’ll talk about generating an invoice later in this manual.

Collecting

We’ll talk about this in depth later in this manual, but the name of the game is “be polite and firm.”
Sometimes the school will want to be billed, or will have forgotten to prepare your check...or the
PTA member who is responsible for paying you wasn’t at your visit. You will send your invoice,
but sometimes you might go several weeks to a month without receiving a payment. It’s time to
get on the phone and give them a call. Remember that the first person you talk to probably has
no idea who you are and isn’t responsible for the delay in your payment. Being nice will help you
get what you want faster than showing attitude right from the start.

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Networking

One of your best marketing tools you have is to use your school visits to generate more school
visits. Take careful notes and update your software with as many names, phone numbers, and
addresses as you can. In your downtimes during your visits and after your visit (assuming it went
well), you can ask your contacts from the school about other teachers, librarians, principals, etc.
from other schools that might enjoy a visit from you. A referral is one of the most powerful
marketing tools that you can get. If you call a name they gave you and you’re able to say,
“Sharron suggested I give you a call,” your bookings will go up.

Scheduling

Most school professionals like to schedule their school visits well in advance—some up to a year-
and-a-half in advance. It takes time to get the necessary paperwork in order. Many of the
author/illustrators who visit schools regularly have their entire year scheduled in the spring or
summer before the upcoming school year. Trying to schedule visits a month or two ahead of time
usually doesn’t work, or is the mark of a school that rarely has author visits.

When traveling out of state, it’s much more economical and financially viable to schedule multiple
visits in one area. Many artists won’t travel unless they can visit at least three to five schools per
week. The school contact that invited you can help you get into more schools in her his district.
Don’t be pushy, but tell them that in order for you to fly to their state, you will need them to help
you find other schools to visit the same week that they want you at their school.

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Library Readings

You can volunteer to read your book and give a special presentation about your writing/illustrating
process at your local library. Getting the word out on your book is important to generate
excitement about your project. Library visits probably aren’t as productive as school visits in terms
of direct sales, but getting librarians on your side is extremely important for many reasons:

1) Librarians love books and often fall in love with the authors and illustrators they meet in
person. If they recommend your book, it will likely get checked out more often. The books
that get checked out often wear out and are re-ordered more often. Re-ordered books are
book sales for you.
2) Librarians serve on awards committees. Librarians are people. People like to recommend
people they feel they know and love. It’s no accident that many of the Caldecott winners
are the darlings of librarians who love to brag about knowing them.
3) Parents buy books. The more parents that know about your book, the more chances you
have to generate sales.

Book Trailers

Platforms like YouTube are wonderful ways to get the word out on your book. Many authors and
illustrators now make book trailers to advertise and tease their soon-to-be-released books. Video
can be more powerful because it engages more senses. On the other hand, it can be confusing
and ineffective if done poorly. Most editors and industry professionals agree that if you can’t do a
really good job making your book trailer, you are probably better off not doing one at all.

A good book trailer isn’t like a movie trailer. You don’t have to have animation or flashy video
effects and probably shouldn’t—after all, you’re not selling a movie; you’re selling a book. It
should enhance the spirit of your book. It should highlight what is unique about your book, and it
shouldn’t give too much away.

A few tips:

1) Music—your music shouldn’t be budget music or homemade to save money. It needs to

be the right music, even if it costs you.
2) Narration—you should use professional voice actors and they’re much cheaper than you
would imagine. The voice can sell the idea as much as any aspect of your trailer.
3) Motion—you need to know how to handle your editing software or pay someone who
knows how to use programs like Final Cut Pro. If it looks clunky, it is a turn-off to potential
buyers.

What follows are a few links to some really nice book trailers.

Jed Henry went to animation school and used his skills to add clever animations to his
characters. Some think this might be the wrong approach, but you can’t argue that he didn’t do a
masterful job. His book trailer is a masterpiece among children’s book trailers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQJm5F5DUWc

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Lane Smith’s book trailer was produced by Macmillan and has much less animation, which helps
the viewer understand that they are learning about a book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDbEfsdIGjI&index=6&list=PLAC9B5F3A93E48F12

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Book Signings

Making appearances can definitely help sell your books—if people are really anxious to meet you.
There’s nothing more uncomfortable than to watch an author and/or illustrator sitting all alone at
their table in the back of the bookstore waiting for someone to buy his or her book. That scenario
isn’t what any artist dreamed of when they woke up the morning before their book signing, but it
happens all too often.

The reason a book signing works for authors and illustrators to sell more books is that they have
an audience that’s excited to meet them. In a way, it’s an extra benefit for being famous or
successful in publishing. It helps those at the top stay at the top.

How do you do a book signing?

It’s actually fairly simple: 1) Have a new book (not self-published) that is available for purchase, 2)
Contact a book store(s) you are interested in—at Barnes and Noble stores, ask for the CRM
(community relations manager), 3) Be friendly and confident and tell them why your book signing
will be successful; then do the work that will make it successful.

How do you make your book signing successful?

Promote it like crazy. Tell everyone and anyone. Start with friends and family and let them know
how excited you are to have them stop by. Tell everyone on your social media accounts. Print up
a few flyers and post them at the bookstore so that patrons of the bookstore can find out about it.
Let your publisher’s public relations person know about it—he or she may have connections in
your area. Do school visits leading up to your book signing at the store.

Brandon Mull created an overnight success with his Fablehaven series by doing free school visits
that advertised his book signings at Barnes and Noble stores. Brandon was a virtual nobody in
the children’s book publishing world. He developed a short power-packed half-hour presentation,
complete with visuals that he offered to schools as a way to pump up the kids and get them
excited about reading. He offered this presentation to schools for free, but they had to be ready to
rock and roll as soon as he arrived. He’d arrive at the school, set up quickly, bring the students in,
give the presentation, and then run to the next school. He sometimes hit five schools in one day.
At each school, he told them to bring their parents to the local Barnes and Noble store to get his
books. Sometimes he was able to visit fifteen to twenty schools in a week for his Saturday book
signing event. He pretended that everyone should know who he was—he acted the part of the
rock star, so he was a rock star.

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 When he first started doing this, B&N didn’t know who he was, so they wouldn’t order enough
books and he ran out—very frustrating. After the first few weeks of running out, he had the CRM
from his last book signing’s store call the next store’s CRM so that they would have enough
books for him. This is how his series became a New York Times Best seller for many weeks.
Soon his small publisher couldn’t handle the demand and was forced to sell the book rights to
Simon & Schuster for distribution purposes.

Press Releases

A press release is a written statement to the media. It can announce a range of news items,
including scheduled events, personal promotions, awards, new products and services, sales
accomplishments, etc. It can also be used to generate a feature story. Reporters are more likely
to consider a story idea if they first receive a press release. It is a fundamental tool of PR (public
relations) work—a tool that anyone can use. You can find lots of websites that will show you how
to format your press release so we won’t go into it here, but when you’re ready just Google “how
to format a press release”.

How do you know if your book is press release worthy?

You don’t. It’s not that hard to do, so you might as well do it because you never know what stories
the media outlets are working on and if your book could fit in. Your local news channels and
stations do stories all the time that include children’s books. You should especially write and send
out a press release if your book deals with a specific problem like bullying or the death of a loved
one, or if your book talks about healthy eating or exercise or any other newsworthy topic.

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How do you submit your press release?

There are a few ways to get your press release out so it can get to the right people:

1) Contact the city section editor, weekly news editor, magazine editors, radio station directors
and/or TV station news director.

2) Submit to the key people who are in line with the focus of your book project. (If I produced a
book about some kids who took care of a family of stray dogs, I would want the key players of
the Humane Society to know about my book)

3) Use a distribution service. You’ll have to pay for a good one but PR distribution agencies will
be able to get your press release to wire services—that is, if your goal is to reach as many
people possible.

What follows is a sample press release...

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58
Website

Informational websites are relatively cheap to make with 3rd party service providers such as Wix,
Weebly, Squarespace, etc. Another option is to register your own domain and create a
WordPress site. This isn’t an expensive option since all you will need it to do is provide
information about your book. Your book website is merely a landing page for Google searches. It
will provide accurate information and you can include any news and events—including book
signing appearances. You can also include quotes from people who loved your book and note
who’s recommending your books and why.

You can also include a section on your website for your book(s), which in many ways is more
ideal. The more “spokes of the wheel” that lead back to you, the better. A dedicated page for your
books will bring traffic not only to your book, but to you.

Publisher Marketing

Many people think that publishers spend lots of money advertising the books they publish but this
simply isn’t true. In this next section we’ll examine when publishers advertise and promote books,
how they do it, and when they don’t.

Most publishers have a win/loss ratio that they are very aware of—in fact, they rely on it.
Interestingly enough, they don’t believe in every book that they publish. They realize that picking
only winners is nearly impossible; so instead, they pick lots of books that they think could be
winners and let the market decide. Most publishers operate with a win/loss ratio of 1/7 to 1/10—
that is, one win out of seven to ten losers. What’s a loser? A loser doesn’t “earn out,” meaning
that the publisher didn’t sell enough copies for the book to generate royalties for the
author/illustrator. In most cases, the losers lose money for the publisher and are taken out of print
and remaindered. (Remaindered means sold at a heavy discount for clearance, a.k.a. “bargain
basement.”)

Understanding the logic behind publishing can help you understand how best to take advantage
of all it has to offer. If you’re a first time author or illustrator, the publisher is taking a huge risk. It
costs anywhere from $50,000 to well over $100,000 to publish a picture book. The costs for fine
papers, color proofs, large format presses, hard binding, graphic design, editing, art direction,
shipping/receiving, distribution, sales, customer service, public relations, etc.—are enormous.
Agreeing to publish your book means that the publisher thinks your book has a good chance—
that’s it—and most won’t spend much, if any, money to promote your book. They want to see how
well it will be received in the reviews and through your efforts first.

In short, publishers wait to see which books show signs of life before they throw money at them. If
they publish ten books and books number three and eight get really good reviews and sales are
much higher than the rest, they will spend more money on books three and eight.

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 Authors and illustrators like Jerry Pallotta and David Biedrzycki are more attractive to publishers
because they are on the road promoting their books throughout the school year via school visits.
Publishers want to continue working with them and promoting their books because they get so
much more value from their efforts.

Book Clubs

The Scholastic Book Fair is a book selling battle ship! Imagine a tiny bookstore in every
elementary school in the nation with your book in it… but wait, it gets better. Teachers send home
flyers with your book in it, telling parents to send money with their kids to buy your book(s) at
school… but wait, it gets even better. Teachers, principals, and librarians all cheer the kids on to
spend money at the book fair. The kids are even taken by the hand for their turn. Putting books in
the book fair isn’t cheap for publishers but they know that it will pay off.

Award Submissions

When a children’s book wins a big award, it is usually the single event that propels the book to
best seller status. There are hundreds of awards that children’s books can receive. There are
domestic and international awards, and state, special merit, and interest awards. Winning a
Caldecott for picture books is the biggest award in children’s books next to the Newbery for
Young Adult novels. Winning a Caldecott or Caldecott honor book is the equivalent of winning the
children’s book lottery prize—your book will stay in print for the rest of your life and earn untold
amounts of money in royalties each year.

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 Submitting books for these awards comes at a hefty price. Let’s take the Randolph Caldecott
medal through ALSC. Luckily, it’s free to enter; but the publishers must donate fifteen books—one
for each juror. So let’s say fifteen x $2/book = $30, plus shipping to each juror is fifteen x $5 =
$75. And let’s say that it takes their staff member a few hours to package everything up. So it
takes approximately $150 to submit just one book for one award. How many books do publishers
send in to be considered for Caldecott? And how many other awards are there? Every state in the
U.S. has at least one award and many have a handful. Combined with international awards, you
can find over 200 book awards.

The cost for publishers to send every book they publish to every award is prohibitive, so they only
send their best… or what they’re willing to gamble on. Sometimes they send certain books to
specific state awards if they feel that the book will appeal to jurors in that state. For example: An
author/illustrator creates a winter book with kids skiing/snowboarding and playing in the snow.
That book probably has a better chance in Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Vermont, New Hampshire, etc.
than in Arizona or Florida.

One little known secret is that you as the author or illustrator can help finance the submission
process if your publisher isn’t going to submit your book. Many artists take this step to make sure
that their books are considered. You should check with your publisher to find out what their plans
are concerning submissions of your book.

Trade Shows

Publishers spend thousands of dollars renting space, organizing, shipping, staffing, and traveling
to and from trade shows. They target the events that will get your books seen by school teachers,
librarians, book retailers, bloggers, editors, etc. If you make arrangements well in advance, you
can meet publishers at their booth space and sign your books. Below are Will Terry and Helen
Ketteman signing for Albert Whitman at TLA (Texas Library Association).

To give you an idea of costs, a standard 10’ x 10’ booth space at ALA is about $2,000 and many
small to mid-sized publishers will buy two to three spaces. That’s $4,000 to $6,000. Many large
publishers will buy ten spaces, which cost $20,000 or more; but then there are carpet charges,
electrical costs, tables, chairs, etc., which all add much more to the cost. Publishers also have to
ship all of their books to the event, print banners, and signage. –Add to that the fact that they
have to fly out staff, pay for their meals and lodging...and it’s all very expensive.

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More Publishers Marketing

Publishers:

 Print Advance Reader Copies or ARCs and F&Gs (folded and gathered) loose
pages of picture books before the final print run is given the go ahead. These are
very expensive to publishers.

 Write inside flap copy and catalog marketing copy

 Write press kits to gain reviews, interviews, and blog highlights

 Create write-ups and highlights in publisher’s catalog

 Develop product placement in retailer’s catalogs

 Place ads in relevant trade magazines

 Pay for premium product placement space in retail stores

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  Find placement on publisher’s website

 Secure placement for high volume retailers such as Amazon.com

 Email blasts to publisher’s lists

 Regular social media announcements

Writing and Illustrating Your Own Book

Writing your own story

The children’s book industry is very fond of having one person writing and illustrating her or his
book —more so than hiring a separate author and illustrator. This is not to say that publishers
don’t want to hire illustrators only or authors only; but given the choice, they often prefer one
person do both jobs. This saves on time and money, but more importantly allows them to build a
brand around one artist. The product is often more cohesive and more streamlined because the
right hand knows what the left is doing, so to speak. If you’re writing your own story that you’ll
illustrate, you can minimize the word count and that’s what editors love. The words rely on the
illustrations more than when an author writes a manuscript for an illustrator to illustrate.

This is good information for you because, from a marketing aspect, you are more marketable if
you also write great stories. If you want to shoot for the top in the children’s publishing world, you
need to at least consider writing your own stories.

Controversial Subjects/ niche books

Absolutely! Trying to please everyone is the quickest way to fail. If 1% of parents fall in love with
your book and buy it, you’ll be a rich author/illustrator. Writing for a niche market allows you to
target your audience, which makes it easier to find them and let them know that your book exists.
There are many groups of people that share the same beliefs, diseases, challenges, and causes
and often they don’t have good children’s books that address their needs.

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Caution: often people pick the cause first and then try to write a story that teaches their morals.
This is often a great way to fail. It’s almost impossible to write a good story when you start with an
agenda. It’s much better to write great stories and then figure out if you can make small changes
to comfortably match them to your morals. The key is not to force it.

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 Alphabet and counting books

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of alphabet books that have been published over the years.
This makes it a tough sell to get an editor excited; however, there has always been and always
will be a need to teach children the alphabet. There will be alphabet books published this year
and next year, but many feel that avoiding such a common genre is a good idea. If your book has
an unbelievable twist on an alphabet book, yours might just be what they’re looking for.

Rhyming books

There is a huge stigma over rhyming books in the children’s book publishing world. Editors
typically do not like them for the reason that most people cannot create a rhyming book that
works. What does that mean? A rhyming book “works” when the meter or rhythm of the words
hits a mathematical cadence. The problem is compounded by having to use words that
accomplish the meter but cause the author to order his/her words in a way that is awkward and
unnatural for the reader. In other words, the story is often written in a way that we don’t speak
and it lacks the educational value for children.

Many new authors will counter with, “Yeah? Well what about Dr. Seuss? He’s one of the most
celebrated rhyming authors,” to which an editor will explain that Dr. Seuss used made-up words
to fill in the sections that are impossible to find rhyming words for. Dr. Seuss had perfect meter
and he wrote in a natural way because of the made-up words; so if you do the same thing, it
becomes an obvious Dr. Seuss copycat and editors just won’t publish those.

In addition, there is so much of a stigma around rhyming books that new editors will pass on your
book even if they like it because they fear getting laughed at by their peers. There’s almost no
way to create a rhyming book and get it published unless you self-publish.

Dummy Books

What is a book dummy?

A book dummy is a book mockup of what you want your book to look like. It resembles the vision
of your finished book without going all the way. Book dummies are accurate to the number of
pages, the proposed pagination (text split up on each page), proposed drawings (often done in
loose form), book orientation (such as wide, tall or square), and color suggestions. It can be made
in physical form or digital. Physical book dummies give a much more literal feel for how the book
will look, but are more difficult if you want to make multiple submissions.

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Who should make a book dummy?

Usually physical book dummies are only made by author/illustrators who are trying to sell their
manuscript and illustration project to a publisher. Illustrators hired to illustrate someone else’s
story often do NOT make a book dummy, but many illustrators still find the benefits too important
to skip this step.

Reasons to make a book dummy

One of the best reasons to make a book dummy is to be able to flip through your book before you
send it off. When creating the drawings for your book, each illustration is created one at a time.
Therefore, it’s hard to tell whether you have the visual storytelling that you’ve imagined for the
book without putting all of those drawings together. Often creating a book dummy will reveal
illustrations that are too similar in composition next to each other. It can also reveal visual gaps—
things you’ve omitted by accident in the visual story. You might also see that your text placement
doesn’t vary enough and that you have too many spot illustrations next to each other or too many
full pages.

Below is a book proposal “dummy” by Russ Cox— http://www.smilingotis.com/

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Another reason to make a book dummy is to help the editor understand your idea. Many books
have sub-plots and/or creative visuals that can only be conveyed in physical form. You don’t want
to come up with a great idea only to have it rejected because of poor communication. As the
illustrator, you have a distinct advantage as an author/illustrator over an author who can only
submit a manuscript. Authors often have to use more words to convey their ideas because if they
write a picture book the way it should be—where the words rely on the images and vice versa—
the manuscript is stripped of context. In this case, the author is afraid that the editor will NOT
understand the story and reject it, so they have to use more words, which weakens the
manuscript.

Below is a small physical book dummy by Will Terry.

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As an author/illustrator, you have the advantage of being able to write only what’s necessary
because you can also show the images to the editor in book dummy form. Many argue that
author/illustrators can create a more harmonious book for this reason and it’s probably no
coincidence that more author/illustrators win the Caldecott medal each year for this reason.

How to make a book dummy

Whole workshops are conducted on this one question alone. The first rule is that there are no
rules. If someone tells you there’s only one way to make a dummy book they haven’t been paying
attention.

Below is a book proposal by Shawna J.C. Tenney—http://www.shawnajctenney.com/

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Physical Book Dummies: Many author/illustrators create an actual physical book that looks
much like the project they are pitching or illustrating. Most use copy paper cut to the proportional
size and orientation (landscape, portrait, or square) of their imagined book. Some go as far as to
make a cover for their bookbinding smooth cardboard with a paper covering. While a really nice
book dummy can convey your idea better, it’s also the mark of an amateur. If you have the time to
polish a dummy book, it means you have lots of time on your hands and are not busy with other
projects.

The key to making a good dummy book is cleanliness. That means cleanliness in the cut pages—
crisp and square, and not ragged or torn. The text should be typed in a clean simple serif font like
“Times,” and the illustrations should be printed from your printer/copier instead of original
drawings. Why not original drawings? It shows a lack of forethought—what if your book is lost in
the mail? If that happened, your book dummy and chances to sell your story are gone. Editors
size you up every step of the way. Make sure you bind your book dummy in a simple clean way
as well—a few neat staples, artist tape, or hand-sewn bindings are good options. Your book
dummy is a reflection of your personality and editors don’t like to work with sloppy artists.

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To make a good clean computer printer version of your book is fairly complex. It’s not a good idea
to print out each illustration and glue/paste it to other paper—this makes for a heavy, clunky book
with hard-to-turn the pages. What you need to do is go the extra mile and use a program like
Photoshop or InDesign from Adobe. InDesign will cut your images and print each part on the right
piece of paper for you to then cut out and bind.

See this diagram to understand the problem you’re faced with:

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Electronic Book Dummies

Many authors and illustrators are now only making electronic versions of their book proposals.
The advantages are fairly obvious: 1) unlimited copies, 2) less time to create, 3) no worrying
about lost copies or getting them back from an editor to submit to another house, 4) instant
submission to your agent or editor.

Jed Henry created the following images for his electronic PDF book dummy to submit to
publishers. He created the images in Photoshop and added text in Photoshop. You can see more
of his work here: http://www.ukiyoeheroes.com/

The first step to creating a digital book dummy. Instead of having to worry about page folds
and which page prints on the back of which piece of paper, Jed just created JPEG images. These
images can then be converted to PDF format. Adobe PDFs are the most universal and readable
files from any device (mobile, tablet, laptop, PC, Mac). Many illustrators use Photoshop to create
their PDFs because they already have that program.

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Below is a PDF of Mark Pett’s dummy book that was purchased by Simon & Schuster Books for
Young Readers.

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He used the PDF format you see below.

One of the nice things about PDFs is that you can view them in multiple ways. In this format, I
reduced the size of each image so you can see multiple spreads on the screen at the same time.
Below you can see that now I’m zoomed in and you can scroll easily or click through each page.
It’s very convenient for editors to be able to consume a book in a few minutes this way.

To see more of Mark’s work visit his site: http://www.markpett.com/authorstrator/books/

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Will I have to make alterations if my book is accepted?

Yes. It’s almost unheard of for an author to have their book proposal (dummy) accepted and
printed without any changes. Editors provide a wealth of experience in storytelling and will usually
ask for changes that will enhance the story and experience for the reader/viewer. The final
product will often be quite different than the original dummy book.

What if I’m not under contract with a publisher but the editor asks for changes?

Sometimes after submitting your manuscript/dummy book, it will catch the eye of an editor who is
interested in “buying” your book (offering you a contract). Rarely will they just offer you a contract
on your book. What will happen most often is that they will ask for changes before any talk of a
contract. This can feel odd for first-time authors. Most of us live in a world where we get paid for
our hard work. Making changes isn’t easy—it’s a lot of work—and editors often ask you to do it for
free.

When they ask for changes, it means they’re very interested in taking your book to an
acquisitions meeting. It means that they want to work with you if you’re willing to alter your story.
It’s also a “feeling out” time for the editor. They wonder what it’s like to work with you. Are you
willing to be a team player? Are you married to your story? It’s no surprise that there are
author/illustrators who don’t play well with others—editors don’t usually want to begin a working
relationship with someone who can’t compromise.

In the publishing world, most established authors/illustrators would think that the person who isn’t
willing to make requested changes from an editor is crazy. Working with an editor is a sign that
you’re getting close to joining the group of published authors.

What is an acquisitions meeting?

This is a regular meeting that publishing houses have for editors to meet with executive editors
and sales staff to discuss the possibility of publishing new books they’ve found. One of the
responsibilities of editors is to find the best book proposals and manuscripts. An editor presents a
new book idea and it’s the responsibility of the rest of the team to shoot it down. Everyone but the
presenting editor has to protect the company from publishing something just because one editor
fell in love with the project. If the team can’t find enough good reasons to not publish your book,
you might get an acceptance letter

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How finished should my dummy book sketches be?

This is a question that only you can answer. Some artists polish their sketches, although it’s
probably not necessary. Others probably don’t spend enough time finishing their sketches. Your
drawings are a reflection of you. If you send in sloppy sketches, you won’t give an art director or
editor a very good impression of your capabilities. There are exceptions, however. Illustrators with
a track record can afford to send in quick ideas to their editors because they’ve already
established what they’re capable of.

Signing and copyrighting your sketches

You should not sign or place a copyright “C” on your work—it is the mark of an amateur. When
you illustrate a children’s book, you will never be asked to sign any of the pages in your book. In
fact, if you sign your pages, you will be asked to remove your mark. The copyright for the book
and artwork is usually registered by the publisher, so you have that protection. Copyright is
implied at the time the artwork was created. If you created the work, you own the copyright.
Registering your copyright allows you to sue for more damages (as opposed to someone who
has not registered their copyright) against someone who has infringed upon your rights. You
should never place a circle with a “C” inside of it (the copyright symbol) on any of your work. It’s
meaningless and provides you with no protection in a court of law. It will only make you look like
an amateur.

For more on copyright law go to the source: http://www.copyright.gov/

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For work in your portfolio, it’s perfectly acceptable to sign or watermark your images. Small is the
key. Most successful artists don’t place large watermarks over their art, but they do place their
name, in a small font, in a corner somewhere. It allows anyone who wants to track them down an
easy Google search to find them. The logic is that if someone wants to steal your art, they’re
probably going to do so. The kinds of people that usually steal art aren’t successful in selling your
art and have virtually no money. Businesses with money don’t need to steal so they don’t. What
you give up by placing an ugly watermark over your entire image is huge compared to the small
risk of not placing it there at all.

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Submitting Your Own Manuscript/ Book Dummy

Most of the large publishers will not accept unsolicited manuscripts, meaning that if they haven’t
been in contact with you, they won’t read your story if you mail or email it to them. These
publishers have so many people submitting to them that their pile of manuscripts (referred to as
the “slush pile”) is often too large to get through. They will frequently use interns to sift through
stories and pass along the good ones.

There are a few established channels to get your work submitted properly (properly for the
publishers) and it’s often good to try to use these channels.

1. Attend a children’s writing conference like SCBWI where an editor/editors will be attending
from houses that you wish to submit to. The publishers will often send along stickers for the
editors to pass out that say something like, “solicited material.” The staff at the publishing house
has been trained to look for packages with these stickers on them to open. The logic of the sticker
method is that conference attendees are more serious about writing and are learning the DOs
and DON’Ts. They feel that the quality of the submissions goes way up and their chances of
finding that diamond in the rough are higher.

2. Find an agent. Agents have become the heavy lifters for publishers. With the economic
problems beginning in 2008, publishers have downsized tremendously and have some editors
doing the work of two to three people. For this reason, they rely on agents to do the sifting for
them. A simple Google search will reveal site after site of literary agents. Most literary agents
actually have multiple agents working for them, so one company could have as many as twenty to
forty agents. Follow the submission guidelines on the agency websites and make sure that your
correspondence is very professional. Everything you send from your cover letter to your bio to
your story is going to reflect on the type of person you are. Do not assume that they will overlook
bad grammar, punctuation, spelling, formatting, etc. Finding the right agent can make or break
your career so your communication with them is vital to your success.

3. Illustrators can use the backdoor. If you’re getting work as an illustrator from publishers and
have established a relationship, you can use your connection to further your endeavors with their
company. If you’re getting children’s textbook work, learn-to-read illustration work, or trade book
work where you work with an art director, you can ask her/him the name of a good editor to
submit your story idea or dummy book. This is one area where illustrators have a definite
advantage in the discovery process. Of course, you have to be well-liked by your connections or
they won’t want to help you submit your material to one of their colleagues.

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 Packaging your submission

First, specific publisher or agent submission guidelines trump our advice so you should make
sure you’re following what they advise. In general, you want to include three to four things with
your package:

1. Cover letter: Your cover letter should be short and to the point. Trying to become friendly with
the agent or editor will only mark you as an amateur. They are at work and don’t want to sift
through a long cover letter—in fact editors have told stories about refusing to read manuscripts
because the cover letter was too long. Include your name, contact information, the manuscript
title, a one- or two- sentence elevator pitch about your book, and one sentence mentioning your
target audience. You may want to try to make a small connection with a few tidbits about yourself,
but keep it very brief—one to two sentences.

2. Manuscript: You story should be on plain white copy paper, double-spaced and UNbound. Using
a staple will slow them down—they want to be able to freely flip through your pages. Number
each page consecutively and include your name at the top of each page to clearly identify the
work as yours. This is no place to get creative with a font either—a simple serif font like Times
New Roman will do just fine.

3. Use a box or bubble mailer: NO fiber-cushioned mailers as they can rupture, which will taint
your story with awful messy fibers as you make your grand debut!

4. If you’re the author/illustrator, send along a dummy book to enhance the manuscript but
send the manuscript as well. More information will follow on how to make a dummy book.

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5. Include a SASE. A self-addressed, stamped envelope is the mark of the professional writer. To
leave one out shows that you have no idea how this process works. Editors want to send you an
acceptance or rejection letter, but not on their dime. Don’t forget to include this in your package.

6. Send your package via snail mail— another mark of the professional. Sending your parcel via
overnight or express mail is the mark of the amateur who thinks that by so doing they will either
accelerate the process or show that they think their story is worth it.

Receiving a response

If you polled 100 authors or author/illustrators, you would probably get 100 different answers.
Some editors want to keep things flowing through their office and get back to writers in as few as
two to three months, while others take up to a year. In rare cases you will have done everything
right and never hear back. The industry doesn’t have the best track record, and many writers
have horror stories to prove it. Tenacity is your best friend if getting traditionally published is your
goal. The more you submit great stories, the better your chances of getting that acceptance letter.

Single vs multiple submissions

This is a question often argued in groups at children’s book conferences and there are definitely
two camps.

1. Single submission: A single submission is as obvious as the title. An author or

author/illustrator submits her/his story to a publisher and waits for an answer before submitting to
another publisher or editor. Editors are the champions of this method and they cite good reasons.
For starters, they argue that it takes lots of man hours to research similar books as your
submission. This research has to be done to determine marketability of your book and whether or
not there are overlaps of story, title, characters, etc. The editor can’t afford to waste time taking
your book to an acquisitions meeting without doing her/his due diligence in knowing where your
book fits or doesn’t fit into current book markets.

The editor argues that all of this takes time and money and if you’re going to submit to other
publishers at the same time, he/she might not even bother.

2. Multiple submissions: Many authors are in favor of this method. This is when you send out
copies of your submission to a handful (or more) of publishers all at the same time. The logic is
that time is of the essence, and waiting up to a year to receive a rejection letter is too long. Many
books are rejected five, ten, and even twenty times before a publisher buys it, so getting on with
the process only makes sense. Multiple submissions also have the potential of attracting two or
more editors from different publishers at the same time. In this case, there is often a bidding war
in which the author is able to sit in a very strong position. This actually happens more often than
you think, and editors and publishers hate it—that makes it good for authors.

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 Many feel that you should let the publisher know if it’s a single or multiple submissions, while
those submitting to multiple publishers often do NOT let them know. If you are going to single
submit, you should definitely let the editor know because that’s one more item in the “plus”
category for your book.

What if they only like my story but want someone else to illustrate my book?

This is a distinct possibility. Sometimes an editor might fall in love with your story, but feel that
your illustration style isn’t right for your book. They might express interest in finding another
illustrator for the project. At this point, you will have to decide if you want to proceed with this
publisher. The upside is that your work is almost over and you will get paid for your story—you’ll
be free to begin work on your next project. The obvious downside is that you will only probably
get the standard 5% royalty instead of 10% and not get to work on the art.

Many author/illustrators would probably like to have this problem...it means you’re getting
published and included in a group that has access behind the curtain.

Query letters

A query letter is a short, one-page cover letter that accompanies your manuscript introducing you
and your book. It shouldn’t ramble on and on about your life and your pets. You don’t know the
agent so don’t try to be friendly in your query letter. Don’t tell the agent why your book is going to
be the best thing she or he has ever read.

A good query letter should contain three short concise paragraphs. 1) A hook, which is a
sentence geared to grab the reader and make him or her want to know more about your book, 2)
Small synopsis, where you get a whole paragraph to explain your book. The theory is that if the
agent (or intern) keeps reading past your hook, they might want to know more. This is where you
get to fill in a few details—again keep it short, 3) Mini bio, where you let the agent know what
you’ve been doing in your professional life or at least as your life pertains to writing. You might
not have much to say. You might not have won any awards or earned any degrees. Convince
them that you’re passionate about writing to show how sincere you are about writing as a career.

Your query letter must be professional in writing, grammar, and punctuation. This is something to
sweat over—work out the details. It’s a cold call in a cold world and the only advantage you have
over someone else is your book idea and your professionalism.

Receiving an Acceptance Letter

Receiving an acceptance letter could just possibly be the best day of your life. For some, it might
come in the first year of sending out submissions. For others it can take over a decade. Every
published author has a different story of receiving their first acceptance letter in the mail or email.
Below is author/illustrator Julie Olsen showing off an acceptance letter.
http://jujubeeillustrations.blogspot.com/

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Who will I work with?

If you are the illustrator working on someone else’s manuscript, you will primarily be working with
an art director. If you are an author/illustrator, you will first be working with an editor and most
likely an art director for the illustrations. Your relationship with your editor could last for many
years over many projects (and even more than one publisher should your editor move). It’s of
extreme importance that you establish a healthy working relationship with your editor and art
director. Gaining these professionals as your advocates is no easy task and nurturing your
connections should be a high priority.

How does the assignment begin?

You will often be asked or feel pressure to start the project before you receive a contract. Some
speculate that publishers delay getting the contract to the artist to delay the first payment
because the payment clock doesn’t start until you sign and return the contract. Insiders in the
publishing industry will cite delays as “natural complications in generating a contract through their
legal departments.” Some artists refuse to work until they have a signed contract in hand, while

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 others say they won’t make their deadlines unless they begin as soon as they have a verbal go-
ahead. This is a decision you will have to make for yourself. The danger in working pre-contract,
of course, is that the project could be cancelled, leaving you with no legal recourse.

How much time will I have to complete the book?

It really depends on your publisher but often artists get between six months to a year to complete
the artwork for a children’s book. Editors know that rushing the art process is counterproductive.
They know that illustrators need to schedule their projects with overlap so that they can stay
busy. You will usually spend the first few months paginating the manuscript, pacing your
thumbnail sketches, and creating the drawings to send for consideration. It’s up to you to manage
your time—your publisher won’t micro-manage you.

Deadlines

Publishers give loads of lead time; but when the project is due, it’s due! It’s tempting to think that
since you have a whole year to finish your book, a few more days won’t create a problem. Wrong.
It’s important to know that publishers have to schedule “press time” with their printers. A book is a
big project for a printer, and publishers can’t just snap their fingers and have their books printed.
They have to schedule and pay for time ahead of the date your book is to be printed. If your book
isn’t ready to be printed they have to rush something else into that time space or lose their
deposit money. If you’re the reason the publisher is losing their deposit, they might not want to
work with you again.

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 Sometimes art directors want to start working with your art before the end of the deadline. This is
common because they know it’s going to be crunch time if they wait for you to dump all of your
artwork in their lap on the due date. It’s good practice to plan on finishing your book a few weeks
to a month before your due date. If your calculations are off, you’ll still make your deadline; but if
you’re right, you’ll send in the art a little early. Your art director will love you for it and that’s
always a good thing.

A word of caution: If you’re given nine months and you send in your art after three months, it will
look like you don’t have anything else going on in your illustration business. It won’t speed up the
publication date because they adhere to a strict schedule. Take the time you have and use it
wisely.

Publishing Contracts

Almost every publisher will insist that you sign a contract and you should also make sure a
contract is used. The contract helps honest people stay honest and forgetful people remember
what they agreed to. It should protect both artist and publisher from the other party. It should
include items that hold you to your bargain and protect you from the publisher and vice versa.

In the end, it’s just a piece of paper and if things go wrong, it usually takes lots of time and money
to settle it. The contract itself will not protect you from unscrupulous people. Unless you have lots
of money, you won’t be able haul someone from another state into an out-of-state court to get a
judge to find in your favor… so you shouldn’t feel that you have to rely on the contract at the
beginning of the project.

Work for Hire Contracts

Many artists and authors will tell you that signing a Work for Hire contract is like signing your life
away. They’re right in some ways. WFH agreements are worded in such a way as to make you a
temp worker for the publisher with no rights to the work that you created. In fact, WFH contracts
clearly state that you are not the creator of the work. This can be compared to a programmer
working at a software company can’t claim any ownership over the products he or she helps
create for her or his company. What’s worse is that you don’t get any benefits like retirement,
healthcare, stability, etc. that the programmer gets. WFH contracts are de-evolutionary to the
rights that have been fought for and won by many of the artists that came before us.

However, you shouldn’t base your decision to sign a WFH contract based on what other people
think you should do. Many of the entry level illustration jobs come with a non-negotiable WFH
contract. Many of the artists that will condemn you for signing those contracts have worked their
way up the food chain. They have plenty of standard royalty contracts offered to them on a
regular basis. Some want you to turn them down flat to “help” the health of the industry.

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There are many more artists that want more freelance work than there is available. This has
always been the case and has become much more amplified since the invention of the internet.
Turning down a WFH contract will ensure that someone else signs the contract you were offered.
You should base your decision on things such as how badly you need the money, how much you
love the project, and how much time you have.

You should expect to see WFH contracts in educational publishing and smaller publishers in
many different types of projects. It’s typically the lower end projects and clients that use WFH
contracts; however, many of the larger publishers use them outside the trade book markets. You
won’t see them very often from mid-large publishers working on trade books (picture books).

Below is a typical WFH contract. The wording varies, but the deal is usually about the same.

1. You get a flat fee.

2. You get no royalties.
3. You didn’t create the work.

So if the project sells millions of copies you only get that initial flat fee.

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Standard publishing Contract

There are as many variations of “standard” contracts as there are insects in the world. They are
written in that “legal-ese” that makes most artists cringe when trying to comprehend each word
line by line. Sometimes it’s helpful to try to re-write what you understand in your own words within
the margins.

This is no time to gloss over what is written. There are untold potential treasures for the artist who
signs the contract with favorable terms—get it wrong and those possible treasures can slide back
into the publisher’s hands.

We aren’t qualified to give legal advice but if you’re unsure about the terms in your contract, you
might want to buy an hour of your attorney's time. It just might be the best money ever spent.

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What are acceptable or normal terms?

If you’re the illustrator:

- An advance against royalties: Small Pubs $1,000 - $5,000; Mid Pubs $5,000 -
$10,000; Large pubs $10,000 +
- 5% royalty on trade books; educational readers get a 3% royalty
- Copyright registered by publisher
- Large discount on buying your books
- Author copies shipped to you for free
- Semi-annual payment schedule on royalties
- Payment schedule: ⅓ on signing, ⅓ on completion of sketches, ⅓ upon
acceptance of final artwork

If you’re the author/illustrator:

- An advance against royalties: Small Pubs $1,000 - $5,000; Mid Pubs $5,000 -
$10,000; Large pubs $10,000 +
- 10% royalty on trade books; educational readers get a 6% royalty
- Copyright registered by publisher
- Large discount on buying your books
- Author copies shipped to you for free
- Semi-annual payment schedule on royalties
- Additional subsidiary rights
- Payment schedule: ⅓ on signing, ⅓ on completion of sketches, ⅓ upon
acceptance of final artwork

Do I have to accept everything in the publisher’s contract?

No. Everything is negotiable. You might not get what you ask for, but it is common practice to ask
for changes in publisher contracts. It’s usually a matter of how bad your publisher needs you and
how badly you need them. There are many items in these contracts that most authors and
illustrators haven’t been able to change en masse. Royalty percentages are more set in stone;
but advances can often be bumped up. For example: If you’re offered a 5% royalty against a
$10,000 advance, you probably won’t be able to get a 6% royalty but you might be able to get
them to pay you an $11,000 to $12,000 advance. If they offer a royalty calculated on “net sales,”
you might be able to negotiate them calculated based on “retail sales.”

It really boils down to how much you’re willing to ask for without becoming a sharp thorn in the
side of your editor. If you fight too much, you might not get hired again, or worse—the project
could get cancelled. If you don’t ask for anything, you could be giving up lots of money in potential
royalties. Negotiating contracts is a necessary part of working with publishers.

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 Things that are commonly granted:

-more time
-more advance money
-higher royalties on reprints or paperbacks
-higher royalties on electronic rights
-more author copies

Book Payments

Your payments will come in the form of a check in the mail. Be sure to send your invoice as soon
as you send in your final artwork. Many publishers won’t start your payment process until they
receive your invoice. If you send original art, you can simply include the invoice with the art.
Some artists prefer to send the invoice in a separate envelope or electronically—just get it to the
publisher ASAP!

Many publishers are on a “net 30” payment schedule—this means that they will process your
invoice within thirty days of receiving it. Some don’t include postal time in that thirty day timeframe
and others do. It’s okay to ask your editor or art director what to expect. Some publishers work on
a “net 60” so if you start calling and asking where you check is after 30 days, you will find out that
you still have to wait another month.

Invoicing

Most of your clients are expecting you to send an invoice. They don’t want to teach you how to
invoice them, and you shouldn’t ask them how. Sometimes a publisher won’t ask for one or will
tell you they don’t need one from you but that they only need you to return a signed contract.
Creating your own invoice is a matter of spending an hour or less in Google Docs—it’s fairly easy.

in·voice
ˈinˌvois/
noun
1.
A list of goods sent or services provided, with a statement of the sum due for these; a
bill.

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What follows is a sample invoice. This isn’t something you need to lose sleep over. It doesn’t
have to be formatted in a particular way—it just has to reflect the important information. What
your client needs to know from your invoice is the following:

1. Your company name, or your name if you are a sole proprietorship

2. Your mailing address
3. Billing date
4. Your invoice number
5. Your SSI# or EIN# if living in the U.S.—if outside the U.S., you’ll need to confirm with
your client
6. Name of the company you are billing
7. Description of services or goods you provided to the client
8. The total amount of money they owe you
9. Optional: The word “Invoice” —most include this somewhere so the document is easily
recognizable
10. PO# or purchase order number. Sometimes your client will provide you with their PO#,
but often they won’t. If they don’t give you one, it’s okay to leave it blank.
11. Commissioned by: __________. You should put the name of the editor or art director
who hired you on the invoice so the billing/payroll department knows who to
communicate with.

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Remember: The sooner you get your invoice to your client, the sooner the payment wheels start
rolling. Delay your invoice and you only hurt yourself. Sometimes your editor/art director knows
that they have a slow payment system and will ask to get your invoice in his or her hands before
they have signed off on the final art in order to get the ball rolling.

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Collecting

Collecting monies from late paying clients is unfortunately part of being self-employed. It’s not a
matter of if you will have to deal with late payments—it’s when. It’s frustrating, but projecting your
frustration is often counterproductive. You want to get paid and you want more work. Frustration
can lead to not getting more work in the future and still getting paid late on your previous project.
Here are some tips to help you get what you want.

1. Be prepared to be professional and firm about getting paid on time. If you act like a
business person instead of a push over artist, you’re more likely to be taken seriously.
The trick is to stay friendly and professional, but firm.
2. Follow up. So many entrepreneurs lose track of their late payers, and late payers love
this. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Start with an email and let your client know that
you will be calling them in a week to see if the payment is coming along. If they know you
will create more interactions, they will want to get you paid before the illustrator/vendor
who has forgotten about their late payment. Keep following up, but be polite. You don’t
want to make an enemy—you just want to get paid.
3. Financial Department. Often you can ask your editor if it would be easier for you to
speak directly with the accounting person who is responsible for cutting you a check. This
removes the emotion and headache from the person who might hire you again. It also
lets the editor or art director know that you aren’t blaming him or her for holding up your
payment. You can be a little more demanding with a person who has nothing to do with
the projects you work on with the company.
4. Be solution-oriented. In rare cases, you might want to offer a payment plan if your client
is going through really tough times. You are within your rights to charge interest on a
payment plan and clients know this.

Many illustrators now have a bargaining chip that didn’t exist a few decades ago and that’s to
threaten to expose the client on social media as a means to leverage a payment. SVS cannot
advise you to take this approach but many illustrators have reported that this action has
generated positive results in the form of payments that might not have happened without the
threat. In addition, many other illustrators could be spared the same harm by reading your
warning and avoiding working with the troublesome client. This should only be used as an
extremely last resort after many repeated attempts to collect in a civil manner.

Exposing a client online could have negative side effects as well. In the US anyone can sue
anyone for any reason. Even if your client knows they’ll lose in court they could sue you for
defamation of character costing you lots of time, money, and stress. Again, we cannot
recommend this action.

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Pricing your work

You will have many opportunities to work with many different types of clients. Some of them will
make you offers up front of how much they’re willing to pay you for your illustrations. Most large to
mid-sized publishers will have worked with so many illustrators in the past that they already know
how much they are willing to pay. They save time by telling you what their offer is, and might be
willing to go up by just a little.

Many of the small publishers, startups, individual authors, and other small companies will be
inexperienced in the process of hiring an illustrator. Many of these companies don’t know how
long it takes for most artists to create quality illustrations. In this world of anything goes, you need
to have a game plan to succeed.

You often have to educate your client and walk them through the process of working with you.
Relying on the information of what is “normal” in the publishing world is a good start.

How much do you charge?

This question will be asked of you and you need to have a good answer. Your first response
should be something like, “I’m willing to work with your budget...what do you have in mind?” This
tosses the ball back in their court. Sometimes they will just give you the budget discussed in their
last meeting— “We have $5,000 for the project...will that work for you?” Don’t answer yes or no!

Always tell them you will think about it and get back to them. Most mistakes in pricing work
happen under pressure. You need to get off the phone or that Skype or face-to-face meeting so
you can weigh out the work and money offer on your own. If you email back and forth, you
already have the time to think about it.

Going back to the $5,000 offer—this might be a few thousand higher than you would have asked
for. This is great news because now you’re going to be really happy accepting their offer. You can
even ask for $500-$1,000 more. Anyone who can pay $5,000 is prepared to pay $6,000. But what
if $5,000 is a few thousand less than you were thinking. Now you get to negotiate and figure out
what your bottom line is. We’ll talk about that further down.

What is the going rate?

Many artists, in an attempt to do what’s right, will look to pricing books or other artists asking,
“What is the going rate?” This is a dangerous question to ask.

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Back in the 1940s, illustrators like Norman Rockwell were creating art for Saturday Evening Post
covers and getting paid about $3,000 per cover. Today illustrators compete to be published on
some of the world’s top magazine covers like Time and they get paid about $3,000 per cover.
This is true across the board in illustration. Rates have remained the same for many decades
while the cost of living goes up each year. Back in the ‘40s the average home price was about
$6,500. That meant that an illustrator like Rockwell only had to do a few assignments to pay in full
for an average home.

Today’s average home price in the U.S. is somewhere around $200,000-250,000. That means
that in today’s prices, illustrators for Time magazine would be getting around $100K for a
magazine cover… but we’re not. To make matters worse, publishing prices are actually reversing
for the first time in some markets. Globalization has led to an influx of cheap illustration labor from
countries around the world, and many of them have a lower cost of living. What you might
consider a low rate is often a huge pay increase for someone in the Philippines.

Many illustrators in the U.S. will say that they can’t afford to spend months working on a book that
pays somewhere between $1,000 and $3,000; but in some countries, that money is a fortune.
There will always be people who are willing to do a job cheaper than you.

Another reason why this is a bad way to price your work is that the value of the project constantly
fluctuates for you! A bottle of water at the gas station has a fixed price—say, $1.50. Let’s say that
you never pay for bottled water because you think it’s too expensive or because of environmental
concerns. So the cost is too high for you. But what if you’ve been running late after your workout
and your body is craving water and you know that there will be no water where you’re going?
$1.50 might be a small price to pay for your current situation just this time. But what if you’ve just
escaped evil captors in the desert and after walking twenty-five miles in hot sand, you stumble
into that gas station? You’d probably pay $10.00 or more for that same bottle of water. The value
of goods and services is in constant flux. One price doesn’t fit all your needs yesterday, today,
and tomorrow.

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Asking, “what is the going rate?” puts you on the same level as any other illustrator. This isn’t
hanging and taping drywall. This isn’t building forms and pouring concrete. This job isn’t
assembling parts in a factory where workers are all trained the same and paid the same. Being
an artist means being unique. You need a unique price to fit your style, method, workflow, etc.
How can you compare the two illustration styles below from Chris Van Allsburg and Oliver
Jeffers? They aren’t delivering the same product, so why should they be paid the same?

A Better Way to Price Your Work

It starts with you. What do you need? What will make you happy? What do you want to avoid in
your life? What will you feel like after you accept the assignment? How will you feel in two weeks?

You and I are different. You might be faster at getting your illustrations finished than me so it
might be worth it to you to accept a lower fee. I might enjoy painting fire hydrants more than you,
so the assignment of painting fire hydrants might not annoy me like it will annoy you. I might have
more time than you or vice-versa. I might have lower monthly bills than you so I might need less
money. You might want to do the assignment for your portfolio while I might not care about that.
You might like the client more than me.

We can’t charge the same because the assignment will have a different value to both of us.

1. Ask how badly do you need the money?

2. Ask how much you want to do the assignment?

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What is your bottom line?

Ask yourself, “What is the least amount of money I would be willing to take to illustrate this
assignment?” This is a number where you’re barely happy with the number and happy to lose the
project if they won’t pay. Knowing what your bottom line is will help you avoid regret. It will help
you avoid taking an assignment that you wish you hadn’t.

This doesn’t mean that you should ask for your bottom line—it just means that you now know the
low end of what you will accept. You can now ask for more based on how badly you want the job.
If you’re busy with other jobs or have a day job, you might be willing to lose this new assignment
by asking for three times your bottom line. If you’re desperate for money, you might want to ask
for a little more than your bottom line so you don’t lose the job. It’s hard to ask for $7,000 and
then back down to your bottom line of $2,000—it makes you look silly and makes it look like your
price has no meaning.

If I were asked to illustrate a children’s book by a small to mid-level company, I would first ask for
the company’s budget. If they insist that I submit my price—i.e. how much I charge—I would then
make sure I had a discussion about the complexity and subject matter that they are looking for in
the book. I would also insist that they send me samples of other artists’ work that they like and
samples they saw of my work. If they send me very complex examples, I now know that each
illustration is going to take me much longer. I would also want to know the deadline. If they want it
in a week, I know that’s impossible; but even if they want it in three months, that’s fast. I would
want them to pay a rush fee for that. I want to know how much art direction they expect to
make—how heavy-handed they will be. That ups the aggravation factor. This information is
critical when asking for compensation.

If I asked you to price out the cost to dig a hole in my backyard, you would probably ask how wide
and deep for the hole. You have to know what the job is before you can ask for an amount of
money.

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Use this graphic to help you determine your bottom line:

Keep in mind that it’s possible to hit home runs in different areas, or for different reasons. You
could get paid a very low amount; but for some people, that might be great because they develop
portfolio pieces by drawing something they love...or someone might hate the work, but love the
fact that they’re getting paid a lot of money to illustrate it. You have to make sure that your
motivations are being met before you sign the contract and before you quote a price.

You can always back down to your bottom line.

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 I once counseled an artist to figure out her bottom line. We went over the job and how much she
wanted to work on the book project and how much money she needed. She went forward with
confidence and quoted her client her price, which happened to be her bottom line because she
was afraid to lose the job. The client passed and went with another artist for much less. She
contacted me and was very frustrated that she was willing to work for less. I listened and tried to
help her understand that she actually quoted them a price well above her bottom line. I told her
that if she had quoted her actual bottom line, she would have been happy to lose the job.

Best Business Practices

1. Under promise over deliver. It’s a good habit to leave your clients loving to work with
you by giving them more than they asked for. You can do this in many ways: Give them
more sketches than they asked for. Don’t charge them for a small change here or there.
Take ownership over your art so that they feel you are part owner of the project instead of
a hired hand.
2. Be early. Make it part of your routine to get your artwork delivered a day or two early.
You’ll take a lot of stress off your client and that is one more reason that they will enjoy
working with you as opposed to the person who sends in their work at the last minute. It
also shows that you have your act together and run a tight operation.
3. Be friendly. It might not be natural for you to extend yourself on the telephone or email
but people tend to want to work with their friends. Given the sheer number of illustrators
in the world that want your assignment, you need to give your art director every reason to
stay with you instead of them.
4. Be firm. When you are firm on some of your requirements, it gives you the mark of a
professional. This doesn’t mean that you can’t make concessions, but saying yes to
everything your client asks for will make you look weak and amateurish. If you want to be
treated like a pro, you need to act like a pro. If the client asks to move the deadline up
and it will really affect other assignments or the quality of your work, being firm and
saying “no” is acceptable and understandable by normal people. This puts the
responsibility back on the client to realize that they are asking for something that doesn’t
work, and they have to figure out how to make it work without changing your rules.
5. Be organized. Art directors and editors are usually organized. It’s very frustrating to work
with someone who is not. If you have to call your editor because you lost her or his email
address, you are probably disorganized and you’re wasting your clients’ time. If you wait
until the last minute to ask for your clients FedEx number, missed the shipping deadline,
etc., you’re probably disorganized. If you misplaced the art director’s alteration notes… If
you missed some of the changes and have to be asked again to make the same
changes… the list goes on.
6. Be honest. You will almost always be caught if you lie, or your client will probably think
you lied. “I didn’t make the deadline because my power went out.” If you’re the client,
you’re thinking it’s a lie because you’ve been lied to by other illustrators before.

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 7. Be excited. Excitement is contagious and it’s reassuring to your art director. They want
nothing more than to know they picked the right illustrator who is going to own the project
and do their best work.
8. Be solution-oriented. Instead of seeing only the problems, which is negative, try to
figure out solutions to the problem. Positive thinking leads to more collaborative thinking,
which usually leads to a solution quickly. If you’re seen as a problem solver, you’re going
to be seen as an essential team member.
9. Be consistent. Your artistic integrity is one of the most important things you can possess
in this industry. If you only release your work when you’ve done your best (and you know
when it’s your best), no matter how much you’re being paid, you will create a client base
that will re-hire you and tell their professional friends about you.

Communication with your editor/art director

When illustrators complain that they never get hired back again, one of the reasons often boils
down to bad communication. If the working relationship doesn’t go smoothly or is awkward, the
art director or editor will probably go to one of their fall backs instead of beating their head with
you again.

Often illustrators complain about how their clients are always trying to take advantage of them.
Part of the problem can usually be traced back to bad communication that you as the artist have
some control over. Here are a few tips for good communication with your client that will not only
save you time, effort, headache, and money, but will put money in your pocket with repeat work.
Repeat client work is the best bang for the buck because prospecting for new clients is expensive
both in time and money costs.

1. Small Talk with your client over the phone or Skype. Ask open-ended questions about
their interests and share some of your own. This builds interest for both of you and
connects you with your client a little beyond the professional relationship you’re about to
enter.
2. Be a team player. Use words like we, we’re, our, and ourselves to show that you see
yourself as part of her or his team. This is important to show that you aren’t just in it for
the paycheck at the end—that you really care about helping to produce a quality product.
Of course, you’ll feel a little fake about doing this if you hate the assignment, which
speaks to the idea of only taking on projects that you love. This isn’t always possible.
Sometimes you just need the money, but it should be your goal.
3. Ask questions. When you talk to or email your client. If you don’t get enough information
from your initial conversation or email, you will feel silly calling or emailing your client right
away for more details. This sets you up for the worst-case scenario of “winging it” —that
is, trying to figure out or remember answers to questions that you have. Go into a
conversation prepared with questions or make sure you ask enough questions in your
email. On your first contact, you will want to know things like: 1) Client’s phone or Skype
number, 2) Email address, 3) Sketch due date, 4) Final art due date, 5) Number of
illustrations, 6) Amount of money they are offering, 7) Complexity of illustrations, 8) Why

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 they picked you, 9) When you will get a contract, 10) Details about the content of the
illustrations they want you to create. (Towards the end of the project, you will want
additional information, but make sure you get this before you’re finished or it can delay
your shipping and billing), 11) Billing/ shipping address, 12) Parent company or name of
company that will pay you, 13) Preferred method of delivery, 14) Shipping code, 15)
Purchase order number, 16) Tax forms (they will insist that these be filled out).
4. Get answers or you will almost always have regrets. So many problems can be avoided
by insisting for all the information before you start the job. Illustrators are usually very
eager to get illustration work and clients often take advantage of this. There are predators
out there—not so much at the higher ends of the publishing world, but definitely at the
low end. You would never start playing a board game if your opponent told you that he or
she will only reveal the rules and consequences each time you broke a rule, right? You
need to know what game you’re being asked to play before you start. “I’d love to do
twenty illustrations for your children’s book. I love books about foxes and I can’t wait to
get started...by the way, how much do you have in your budget? Oh...I don’t think I can
afford to do it for only ________/illustration…”
5. Repeat back what you understand you heard from your client. This really is
Communication 101 and, yes, it takes extra time and will make you feel like you’re
working a drive-thru at your local burger joint… but it works! You’ve got to get this right.
Illustrating something wrong because you thought they said something that they did not
only makes you look unprofessional AND it can cost you a ton of time and effort in re-
dos. Make sure you know all the details before you start drawing.
6. Inform your client of problems as they arise, or aspects of the job you don’t
understand. If you notice that they asked you to illustrate something that doesn’t fit what’s
in the text and you don’t have a conversation about it, they might ask you to re-illustrate
that piece of art. If you aren’t going to make your deadline, don’t wait until they call you
the day it’s due to let them know you’ll be a week late. Yes, it won’t be a fun call to let
your client down the week before the due date; but even though they might be upset,
they’ll appreciate the heads-up even though they might not thank you for it. They might
alter their work week based on your late arrival to minimize the damage to their
schedule—you owe them that.
7. Never Lie. It’s wrong. But if that’s not enough, know that liars usually get caught and then
it’s often much worse. Owning your mistakes and faults is the professional thing to do
and it will gain you respect. Respect is hard to earn and easy to lose. If you’ve caused a
problem, you need to take responsibility for it. Nobody wants to work with someone who
can’t admit their mistakes. Telling the truth might cost you a client but it will never cost
you respect, which is the currency of the freelancer.
8. Give progress reports at regular intervals to your client. They are worried that you’re
going to let them down because they’ve been let down before. Make their lives easier by
letting them know how the project is going. You don’t need to bug them every day with an
email, and don’t call them with updates. An email once a week or every other week is a
really nice addition to the project. For instance: “Hello Jane, just a short note to let you
know that I’ve finished the sketches on pages 1-10. I’ll be working on 11-20 next week.
Have a great weekend!”

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 9. Ask for repeat work; Let them know how much you enjoyed working with them. It’s
amazing how often art directors and editors never hear back from artists after the
successful project is finished. Illustrators often assume that the art director will call again
when the next project comes along. Art directors are human and they might assume that
if they never heard from you, you might not have enjoyed working for them. Art directors
are getting bombarded by so many illustrators begging to work with them that they might
just as well work with those who show interest. Send a quick note letting your clients
know how much you appreciate and enjoy working with them.

Things to watch out for:

Promises of more work…

Scope Creep

Scope creep happens when your client gives you an art request and then asks for additional
specifications that were NOT given to you in the original request AFTER you sent in your
sketches. It's unfair for a client to give you an assignment that you cannot possibly successfully
complete because they were unprepared originally or changed their minds in the middle of the
sketch process. This is very rare when working with large or established publishers, but it
happens quite frequently with small pubs. It is acceptable to work with a client who might have
made a mistake or miscalculation and needs you to start over on one or two of the illustrations.
Many times the client will offer extra money without being asked if they know they changed
direction on the project—that’s a good client!

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 If asking for new changes is an ongoing method of their working incompetence, you should
communicate that it does not fall within the norm. You need to let your client know that you
routinely charge extra each time the project is given a new direction and that’s it’s standard
procedure to charge extra for this in the publishing industry.

Fighting off the negative voices

No matter how much you accomplish in your career, you will always have to fight off negative
voices that tell you things like, “You’re not good enough, people won’t like it, it’s a waste of time,
this will fail, people will laugh at you, you could spend your time having fun instead, you’re going
to regret this, you won’t make enough money…”

It’s part of our human nature or lizard brain to want to run from the unfamiliar, to want to play it
safe. Safe is the new dangerous. Fitting in will get you ignored. Following won’t get you followed.
Sitting on the sidelines won’t bring experience, and the recipe that everyone uses will make you
forgettable.

Embrace uncertainty. Seek the unfamiliar. If it feels wrong, it might be—and that’s ok because we
learn more from our failures than our successes.

Start with small goals. Maybe it’s not a whole book in the beginning. Give yourself small
assignments—perhaps just one painting at a time, or three sequential illustrations. The more
you’re able to accomplish, even if it’s small, the more equipped you are to tell the voices, “I got
this.”

The main difference between the pros and the amateurs is that the pros have had enough failures
and successes that they have become comfortable with the unfamiliar, with challenges. Telling
the voices to shut up just gets easier and easier the more you work.

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