How to use this Page

Here is Tracy explaining her process:

Below, I’ve included some of the steps I used to draw and paint the “Watermelon Barrette”.

Illustration:

• Draw the design, scan it, and then reduce the drawing to fit the surface.
• Trace the design onto tracing paper.

Paint/Supplies/Brushes:

• DecoArt Americana Acrylics.
• DecoArt Matte Varnish Sealer.
• Krylon Matte Finish Spray.

• Brushes—1/8” and 1/4”      Stipplers, #1 and #3 Round, 3/4” Wash, #2, #4, and a #10 Shader, #6      Filbert, and a #10/0 Spotter.

Wood Surface Preparation:

• Sand the wood barrette with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper.
• Remove the dust with a tack cloth.
• Apply one coat of DecoArt Matte Varnish Sealer.
• Allow to dry, sand, and then wipe clean.
• Paint the background with at least three coats of paint.
• Center the tracing over the barrette.
• Slip the dark blue dress-maker’s paper under the drawing, and then
• Trace the main pattern lines with a stylus and/or a pencil.

Color Worksheet:

 Drybrush Tips:

• Use a 1/8” Stippler to      drybrush small areas.
• Use a 1/4” Stippler to      drybrush large areas.
• Dip the brush into the      desired paint color.
• In a circular motion,      wipe off the excess paint onto an absorbant paper towel.
• In a circular motion,      applying slight pressure, begin in the darkest area and move toward the      lightest area.
• Follow the above steps      until the desired results are achieved.

 Finishing Touches:

• Let the piece cure (I      wait three days).
• Apply one coat of DecoArt Matte Varnish Sealer.
• Let dry (15 to 30      minutes).
• Lightly sand with a      brown paper bag.
• Apply at least three      coats of sealer, sanding between each coat.
• Spray with Krylon Matte Finish.

Did you go to school for art?
No, not unless you count the “How to Paint” workshops I signed up for in 1991.

What types of things helped you to develop as an illustrator?
In 1994, a published picture book illustrator encouraged me to draw my own designs. So with shaky fingers, I picked up a pencil and gave it a whirl. And voila! The fabric tree and snow mama was my first design, and I painted it on slate.

I continued studying “How to Paint” books, and then with three years of drawing and painting practice under my belt, I designed “How to Paint” pattern packets. During that time, I attended a Tuesday morning group for young moms at a local church. The moms loved my designs, and they invited me to teach on Tuesday mornings. One of the designs I taught them, Noah’s Flying Angels, was painted on a wood piece.

My confidence bloomed like the flowers in my garden, and I decided to sell my expanding portfolio. Without access to the Internet, I packed up my car and traipsed all over Southern Ontario, begging and pleading with store owners to stock my designs on their bulging shelves. Krafty Kennedy’s, a store in London, Ontario, took a chance and purchased my packets. Wait, it gets better. They even asked me to teach workshops. A few years later, I became a “Big Brush” teacher at national painting shows in Toronto and London, Ontario.

Here is a pattern packet design.

What was the first piece of art you did where someone paid you?

A small marketing company hired me to design thirty cards. I recently revamped “Gone Fishing” to create a Father’s Day card.

Did you start out doing interior design work?

It wasn’t until 2004 that I received accreditation as an International Design and Decorating Professional. I then obtained my Staging, Color Consulting, and Professional Organizing designations. While I was running my decorating business, QC Design School approached me to tutor students and, later, to facilitate Color and Professional Organizing workshops. I’ve recently cut back on my decorating services to allow more time to pursue my new love…writing.

What are your favorite art materials?
Hmm…I don’t really have a favorite. I paint on many surfaces—illustration board, slate, tin, wood, and canvas.
Here is a “Musical Angel” I painted on a CD box.

Have those material changed over the years?

Yes, I’ve discovered Copic markers, which I must say are not forgiving. To avoid making mistakes, I test the markers on scrap paper to ensure I choose the correct tint, tones, and shades. The upside, I reduce my painting time in half.

Here is a very rough sketch for the painting below.

Once the idea takes shape, I redraw each figure, scan it, and then enlarge or reduce each element until I’m happy with the placement. I then transfer the final drawing onto Strathmore Windpower^TM smooth finish, acid free Bristol.

How long have you been illustrating?

I seriously began illustrating in 1994, so that means almost twenty years!

I like your note cards. How did you start creating and selling them?

Thank you, Kathy. Some of my three-dimensional wood designs were the inspiration that lead me to produce a line of square-shaped greeting cards, which I submitted to the Thirteenth Uniquely Ontario Creative Arts Show in Toronto, Ontario. My cards were judged on design, workmanship, promotional materials, and saleability. After receiving a score of 92 out of 100, I was invited to participate in the show that assists in the growth of Ontario’s best home-based entrepreneurs. I was disappointed I didn’t receive 100. 

Kathy, I hope you’ll indulge me for a moment. Regal Gifts hired me to create A Country Charm Collection, reproduced on wrapping paper and gift cards.

Here are just four designs.

My confidence soared. I queried a well-known calendar company in Markham, Ontario. Rejected, I sulked, unaware God was still at work. A few months later, I received a call. My name had been passed on to Zebra Publishing. They hired me to design a “baby’s first year keepsake” calendar, and the following year, a “twelve-month folk art” calendar. Both calendars sold like hot cakes in mom-and-pop bookstores, Chapter’s bookstores in Canada, and Barnes & Noble in the U.S.

It looks like you have written and illustrated a children’s book. Can you tell us a little bit about the book?

Our Story—You & Me is much more than a children’s book. It’s also a record-keeping book sprinkled with quaint quotes that will appeal to mommies and expectant mommies who want to capture the milestones of their baby’s first year. The book is unique in that it elevates a record-keeping book to an early-reader storybook a mom can read to her child, and uses a child’s natural curiosity about their first year of life to help interest them in reading. In the years to follow, mom and growing child will giggle together, poring over candid photos of things like a toothless grin, wobbly first steps, the ultrasound, and other special moments. This fifty plus page book mirrors my calendar art and will make the perfect baby shower gift.

Do you have plans to self-publish?

I’m on the hunt for an agent.

Is illustrating children’s books a new direction for you?

It sure is. 

Have you ever illustrated something for a children’s magazine?

I haven’t pursued that avenue yet, but I have been published numerous times in American and Canadian “How to Paint” magazines.

Here are two tear sheets.

The drawing and painting instructions for the “Musical Angel CD Box” are similar to the “Watermelon Barrette”. Below, I’ve listed the differences.

Additional Supplies:

• DecoArt Walnut Gel Stain.
• Krylon Matte Finish Spray.

CD Box Surface Preparation:

• Prep the box as per the previous instructions, paint the base Napa Red, paint the lid Antique White, and then paint the edge Deep Teal (apply at least three coats of paint).
• Drybrush the Deep Teal area with Blue Green, and again with Deep Teal plus Buttermilk to brighten.
• Apply scotch tape 1/4” from the edge, and then paint the border Country Red.
• Paint corner squares Lamp Black.
• Dilute the gel stain with water, and then apply with a foam brush. Wipe the excess stain with a cotton cloth. Let dry.
• Spatter with Burnt Umber and again with Lamp Black.
• Trace main pattern lines onto the lid.

Color Worksheet 1:

 Color Worksheet 2:

What have you been doing to get your artwork noticed?

I have an online whimsical shop over at http://www.tracycampbell.net/shop.html and a website over at http://www.tracy-campbell.artistwebsites.com, where Fine Art America reproduces my original whimsical works of art on metal, stretched canvas, and acrylic. You can also buy unframed prints or framed prints that are ready to hang on your wall or on a friend’s wall.

Have you made picture book dummies to show art directors, editors, and reps.?

Not yet.

Do you have an agent?

I’m hard at work querying agents.

Do you ever use two different materials in one illustration?

Not materials per se, but here’s another style where I used a Micron pen and watered down acrylics.

The above piece was painted on illustration board. The process is the same as painting on wood, except I don’t have to prepare the surface. I just transfer the line drawing, ink the design, and then apply watered down acrylics.

I also paint on Paper Mache items.

Have you seen your style change since you first started illustrating?

Oh my, yes! My earlier drawings and paintings were stiffer than my ironing board.

Have you gotten any work through networking?
Yes, from author extradornaire, Susanna Hill. She purchased designs for her online course—Making Picture Book Magic. Take a peek over at http://www.susannahill.blogspot.ca/p/making-picture-book-magic.html.

Do you do any art exhibits to help get noticed?

Not at present.

Are you open to doing illustrations for self-published picture book authors?

Not at the moment. I’d like to concentrate on illustrating my own books.

Do you use Photoshop?

Yikes! I hear the learning curve is steep and I’m not getting any younger. I do scan my artwork, and manipulate my designs with Microsoft Publisher and Paint. Here’s one I reconfigured.

Do you own a graphic tablet? If so, how do you use it?

Unfortunately not.

How much time do you spend illustrating?

Not as much time as I’d like. Some days I work on marketing, other days I write and/or paint.

Do you have a studio set up in your house? Where do you live?

I have a second-floor studio in my 1841 farmhouse, nestled high on a hill in a secret location. 

Is there anything in your studio, other than paint and brushes, that you couldn’t live without?

My art and writing reference books.

What are your career goals?

My career goals are to find a literary and/or art agent, finish writing two picture books, polish my middle grade novel, and continue creating art that one day will appear on home décor and giftware items. Lord willing.

What are you working on now?

Besides tutoring, I’m querying agents, blogging, writing a rhyming picture book, and adding art to sell on my website.

Are there any painting tips (materials, paper, etc.) you can share that work well for you? Technique tips?

I love dark blue dress-maker’s paper. I lay my line drawings over the transfer paper, and then I use a stylus to trace the design onto any surface I like. The beauty of this paper is that as soon as you add ink or water—poof—the lines disappear.

Any words of wisdom you can share with the illustrators who are trying to develop their career?

Don’t be afraid to try new things, step out of your comfort zone. As Will Rogers once said, “If you want to be successful, it’s just this simple: Know what you are doing. Love what you are doing. And believe in what you are doing.”

Thank you Tracy for sharing your artwork and process with us. We will be watching to see how you develop your style to illustrate picture books.

If you want to see more of Tracy’s work or follow her in the future, her website is www.tracycampbell.net.  Please take a minute to leave Tracy a comment. It is much appreciated. Thanks!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

This illustration was sent in by Heather Dent. Since a little girl, Heather’s dream has been to become a professional author and illustrator. Now the time has come to try to make that dream come true.  Right now she works for a small business in Berea KY called Attic Light Studios that transfers old videos and photos into digital files and makes movies for special events like weddings, funerals, and anniversaries.  Her blog is:  http://heatherdentstudio.blogspot.com/.

Anita Nolan is doing a four hour intensive workshop titled, Creating Better Beginnings on June 7th at the New Jersey SCBWI Conference. Here is the description:

It’s vital to make the first pages of your manuscript the best they can be. After all, an editor or agent might read no more than the first few paragraphs before deciding to reject. In this intensive we’ll look at different ways to begin a story and what should be included in the first few pages. We’ll consider what you are revealing about your main character, (and whether it is what you intended!) and whether the character is sympathetic. You’ll rewrite your first paragraphs of your story in this workshop. Bring a printed copy of your first chapter (at least 5 pages, double spaced), paper and pen, (and your laptop if you’d like—laptop is not necessary) highlighter, and be prepared to dig into your first chapter.

I asked Anita if she could share some tips with the writers following my blog. Anita does a great job. You will learn a lot and advance your story if you sign up for her Friday session. Below are a few things from Anita on what a first chapter should accomplish:

As a reader dives into the first chapter, he searches for clues as to what type of story he’s reading. Is it a fantasy? Historical? A fast-paced adventure or a slower-paced coming of age story? Is the voice humorous? Sarcastic? Flowery?

A story’s beginning makes a promise to the reader about what type of story he’s picked up, the pacing, and voice.

Recently I read first pages from one story that promised a fantasy but had no fantastical elements, and from another that had no fantastic elements in the beginning, but the story had an entire secondary fantasy world.

Here are a few things the first chapter should accomplish:

1. Intrigue Reader. Hook them & keep them reading.

2. Introduce either main character/s or theme.

3. Identify what Main character needs/lacks/wants.

4. Identify the obstacles standing in the Main Character’s way.

5. Establish a bond (sympathy) between the reader & Main Character.

6. Present the world in which the story is set.

7. Establish the general tone of the novel.

8. Show Pacing.

9. Show the Voice.

Remember registration ends April 30th at midnight.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Here's the confidentialy notice on an email from CuriosityQuills, a small publisher.

CURIOSITY QUILLS SECRECY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is top secret. Any unauthorized viewing, use, peeking or telling is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, SWAT teams are already on the way to cart you off to a detention center. Or, perhaps, a salt mine.

Manelle graduated with a bachelor’s degree in illustration from Brigham Young University Idaho and has been working as an Illustrator since 2005.  She’s illustrated multiple books. Most recently, In the Garden, (spring 2012) In the Woods, (fall 2012) and At the Beach (spring 2013) for Peachtree Publishers.

Some of my other clients include: McGraw-Hill, Friend Magazine, The Empress Theatre, and Blooming Tree Press.

I work with watercolor, prismacolor pencil, pencil, Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.

Manelle says, “My object in writing and illustrating books for children is: to recapture imagination, rekindle curiosity, and demonstrate the rewards of knowledge and virtue. Pretty good eh? I stole it from Walden Media. Regardless I am creating books and illustrations for children with this in mind. Hoping that others will have a chance to have fun, and learn from the products I create.”

Manelle has sent three panels that describe her process, thinking, and interview answers.

Have you always lived in Salt Lake Utah?

Basically, I did go to school in Idaho. I lived in West Yellowstone Montana one summer and I lived in Provo Utah for about a year after college.

How did you go to college to study illustration?

Well, yes, sort of, I went to college to study art. I thought I wanted to be a gallery artist but then I took an illustration class and the rest is history.

What types of classes did you take that really helped you to develop as an illustrator?

Like I said I took this one illustration class… It was intense and really hard. It seems like during the semester I was just exhausted the whole time but it really gave me the tools I needed to be able to draw the kinds of pictures I always wanted to draw. In the end I took that class three times, twice with the same teacher and once with another teacher. I learned so much in all of them.

What did you do after you graduated?

After I graduated I moved to Provo Utah and got a job doing layout for an educational publisher. I liked it there and I sometime I got to do small illustrations. It was fun learning more about Graphic design and layout there. I still use those skills all time.

What was the first thing you did that you got paid to do?

I think it was an illustration for the Friend magazine.

How long have you been illustrating?

Eight years

What materials did you start out using for your illustrations?

Watercolor and pen, and I also did a lot of digital painting at first.

Have those material changed over time?

Yes. I still use watercolor but now I use colored pencil and pencil more than pen. I just use the computer for prep work now, value studies and things like that. I stopped doing digital after I got a few jobs painting that way and realized I didn’t enjoy doing that as much. And sometimes l like to just try something completely different if I can. That is what Ruby and the Skateboard is, a fun style experiment.

Was the artwork for Don’t be Afraid a self-published book project?

No it was for a small Christian publisher. I think the first book job I got. I was pretty excited about it at the time.

How did you get involved with Familius?

It’s a long story. I’ll try to sum up. The Just In Time books were first being published by another publisher and they hired me. But before they were published the authors decided they wanted to go a different rout than that publisher was going so they pulled out. I had already done some sketches and things for them and I really, REALLY, wanted to do them. Luckily the authors, Cheri Earl and Carol Williams, live in Utah and I had met them at some SCBWI conferences, so the next time I saw one of them at a conference I told her how baldly I wanted to do those books. Later I emailed the sketches I had done and she liked them. She said she would suggest me as an illustrator if they found another publisher. Years later they found Familius and Familius hired me. So I think the moral of the story is be patient, and go to conferences, you never know what will happen.

Will there be other Just in Time books coming out?

Yes, 50 are planned, one for each state.

Can you tell us something about Familius?

They are new as of last year (2012). Christopher Robbins the publisher used to be CEO of Gibbs smith. So far they have been good to work with and we’ve enjoyed getting the Just In Time books ready for publication.

Will you be the illustrator for all of them?

That’s the plan.

Did you do any interior art for The Princess and the Pee or was it just the cover?

Yeah, I did an illustration for each chapter.

I see that you just wrote and illustration your own picture book and are selling it on Amazon for $.99. Was it easy to take the book dummy and turn it into an ebook?

It wasn’t too hard. But like I said I had a job doing layout and I took some deign classes in college. I don’t know that it would have been as easy if I didn’t know how to do that.  After the layout there is just some mechanical stuff to figure out that takes time but isn’t too hard. Julie Olsen has a nice blog post about how to do that. http://jujubeeillustrations.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-to-create-and-publish-ebook-picture.html

How hard is it to get people to notice your ebook?

I haven’t been good at it yet. Gradually I’m selling more and more and I’ve been trying things here and there to market them. Just learning stuff from people online and trying it. No giant success yet but I kind of enjoy the trying.

Do you plan to produce the book and self publish it, so kids can hold it in their hands?

Not at this point. Both of the ebooks I have out right now were just little things I did for fun and for practice telling stories. I think they will always just be ebooks.

What are your thoughts about the acceptance of buying a digital picture book?

I think people are accepting it more and more and that we all aren’t sure what a digital book is exactly. It’s all a process and I just want to be involved in the new fun. I don’t have programing skills or animation skills so my books are just pictures and text but there are so many more things they can be. I plan to keeping learning and telling better stories and just seeing what happens with digital picture books.  And having fun with them as they evolve.

Do you plan to write and illustrate another children’s picture book?

Of course. I think the reason illustration appealed to me in the first place was the chance to tell stories with my art. I plan on doing that until I die and still doing it in the after life. Why stop right? I have some fun manuscripts written and new ideas all the time, and as I said I feel like I’ve just been practicing so far. I plan on getting better at telling better stories.

Are you concentrating on becoming a children’s picture book illustrator?

Um… yes, and no. I like variety I love picture books but that is not all that I want to do. Mostly I just want to tell good stories.

How did you get involved with Peach Tree Publishers and the board book you illustrated for them?

They hired me after I sent sample postcards.

Who is Jeremy D. Miller and how did you work together on a wordless picture book?

Ha ha, good question. Jeremy is my husband and after I had the idea for Ruby and the Skateboard he helped me figure out everything that would happen to her. Then I drew it.

What types of things do you do to get your work seen by publishing professionals?

Postcard mailings, and a website are the main things. Conferences are great also. You never know what is going to happen. I have heard of people getting jobs from twitter but that hasn’t happened to me yet.

Do you have an agent? If so, who and how long have the represented you?  If not, would you like one?

I don’t have one. I would like one but I want them to be the right one so I keep dragging my feet. I’ve submitted to some before and got some offers but they never felt right. I’ve also gotten a lot (and I mean a lot) of rejections. That was a couple years ago though so maybe I’ll try again soon. But not having an agent has been good for learning. I feel like I know my way around contracts and I’m getting better at taking better jobs. It’s hard asking for more money or changes in contracts. When I have to do stuff like that It’s always nerve racking but I like the feeling of accomplishment at doing something hard even if I don’t get what I want. And of course I’m getting better at it the more I do it.

I see you have used your artwork to make t-shirts, cards, ipad, iphone covers, etc.  Can you tell us a little bit about this?

Yeah, I just use the website society6 which is a service where I upload my art and they print on demand. If someone buys something of mine I get a percentage. I think they have good quality from what I’ve seen. It’s been a fun little side thing.

Do you ever use two different materials in one illustration?

Yes. Right now almost all of my color illustrations are a combination of watercolor and colored pencils. Some of my pencil stuff has a grayscale digital under painting. Doing that helps me save time.  Ruby and the Skateboard is ink and digital.

Have you seen your style change since you first started illustrating?

Yes. Although I don’t know how I can explain it in detail.

Have you gotten any work through networking?

Yes. I would say the just in time books are a good example of that.

Have you published any illustration in magazines or newspapers?

Yes. I’ve done a couple jobs for the Friend Magazine, and some other stuff here and there. I’ve also done illustrations for text books and thing like that.

Do you do any art exhibits to help get noticed?

Not usually but sometimes if the opportunity arises.

Are you open to doing illustrations for self-published picture book authors?

No.

Do you ever use Photoshop?

Yes. I use it for value and color studies and all kinds of other stuff. I used to do a lot of my paintings with it but now I just do paintings with Photoshop for fun when I’m doing experiments and the like.

Do you own a graphic tablet? If so, how do you use it?

Yes. I use it  for painting in Photoshop mostly.

How much time do you spend illustrating?

As much as I can I suppose and sometimes more. I just finished the second book for Just in Time. We had a really tight deadline with it and I spent every waking hour illustrating.

Is there anything in your studio, other than paint and brushes that you couldn’t live without?

I suppose I would prefer not ever live without the salt lake county library system. They provide most excellent recorded books for me to listen to while I’m illustrating (It’s not technically in my studio but the books are).

Any picture books on the horizon?

Not right now.  I have some manuscripts I’ve been working on but it remains to be seen if I will turn them into ebooks or try to publish traditionally. Right now I’m just really busy with Just In Time.

What are your career goals?

Be amazing and keep getting better.  I did have the goal to illustrate cover and interiors for beginning chapter and middle grade books. That’s what Just in Time is and they will keep me busy for a long time.  So I met that goal and haven’t made any new ones yet. I suppose my goal would be to not mess them up. I have some personal projects in mind to do while I’m working on those as well.

What are you working on now?

I just finished the second, Just In time and will probably start on the third soon.

Are there any painting tips (materials, paper, etc.) you can share that work well for you? Technique tips?

Every painting needs an awesome composition and the right values.

Any words of wisdom you can share with the illustrators who are trying to develop their career?

Keep moving forward. I still think I’m in development stage but when I look back I can see that I have made progress. It has been slow going but the work is starting to pay off. I just had to be persistent and I have to keep being persistent and believe it’s gonna be great.

Thank you Manelle for sharing you process and journey with us. We look forward to hearing more success stories from you. Please make sure you let us know.

If you would like to visit Manelle you can go to her website: www.manelleoliphant.com And please take a minute to leave a comment here for Manelle. It would be  much appreciated. Thanks!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Yesterday we talked about Paper Lantern Lit, Lexa Hillyer, Lauren Oliver, who are part of this  years NJSCBWI conference and what they were doing with authors, editors, and Stephen Barbara. Today, I thought I would share a great article they wrote to help authors improve their writing. Here it is below:

Chapters are kind of like socks—something we writers and editors use ALL the time, but hardly ever think about. We all know that most novels are anywhere from 40,000 words to 140,000 words long, and we all know they’re broken up into units called “chapters.” But how often do we stop to ask why? How do you know you’re getting the most from a chapter?

We see this challenge in two parts: WHAT goes in the chapter, and HOW it goes in.

Let’s start with the juicy WHAT, first.

Chapters must give good, purposeful content that moves the story forward, that’s what! Unlike socks (ew), a chapter is something you should be able to sink your teeth into and get some real nutrients from it. Let’s consult the magic 8-ball of chapter content questions:

1) What is the main character’s goal in this chapter? How does that goal evolve? (I.e., is the main character thwarted, or does her goal get more urgent?) If there’s no goal, what would make a good goal for the chapter? It should be based on the character’s overall goal in the book! If her goal in the story is to find missing treasure, then perhaps the goal in this chapter is to first dig up the map, or confront the pirate who buried it.

2) What happens in this chapter? Is there action, and does it naturally lead to more action? If not, what new actions might lead to consequences that increase the urgency or difficulty of the goal? (Here’s the thing about goals: we should be making it more and more difficult to get to while simultaneously more and more seemingly necessary.) For instance, perhaps the pirate who buried the treasure has mysteriously vanished, and now your main character must solve the mystery of his disappearance! Or maybe the character’s mother plans to sell her home, and now she needs that treasure more than ever.

3) What new information is learned? (And why now?) If not much is learned, what “clue” might be inserted into this chapter to help set us up for the actions and reveals of future chapters?

4) Does the chapter seem urgent? Does it have tension? If not, what would make everything more pressing, more dire? What might be causing the tension to deflate? Watch out for moments where things are getting easier for the characters, where they seem to be fed the answers. Instead, there can be clues leading them forward, but there should also be obstacles keeping us interested! Remember that you are supposed to be making things more complex and challenging—that’s good narrative!

5) Unity of action. Is the action contained to one location? Does it focus on a single event? Is there a logic to where and why it comes to an end? If you close your eyes, can you easily picture this chapter? Can you describe the action in a sentence? (Think: It was Mrs. White, with the wrench, in the drawing room).

6) Is there causality from one chapter to the next? Remember that the goal in chapter A should lead directly to the goal in chapter B, either linearly (“I had to talk to character M and he told me to go talk to character N”) or because some obstacle encountered in Chapter A redefines the goal in Chapter B (“I got shot at while talking to character M and now I need to go to the hospital, which has replaced talking to character N as my immediate goal.”)

7) Where have we come from? Have the actions, revelations, and emotions of the chapter been properly “seeded” in previous chapters? If not, what would be a few specific places earlier in the book where we might get enough information or “clues” to prepare us for what happens now?

8) Where are we going? What are the elements of this chapter that you’d like to see “pay off” later in the book? In novels, unlike in life, everything must serve a purpose. Even small developments should have some impact on the plot—a.k.a. that development should cause something important to happen later, throw a wrench into the narrative making the goal harder to get to, or aid in a significant reveal later on. Otherwise, it’s simply filler!

Now on to the HOW!

That is, how are we building this baby? What’s the appropriate structure of a chapter? Get ready… we’re about to tell you how to win a game of writing Jenga.

1) Importance of Innies. Is the chapter “in” strong? Does the opening “hook” you from the beginning with a surprising or vivid first sentence/paragraph? Are you peeking around the doorframe or leaping right into the middle of the room? Variety is the key. Experiment with the three A’s of openers: Action, Atmosphere, or Attribution (i.e. dialogue that is quickly attributed to a character). Either start in the middle of a scene with a sound (Splat! The burger hit him in the face), or with vivid description and mood (A dark, feathery form swooped across the fading skyline like a streak of black ink across the gray) or in the midst of a conversation (“How dare you call me selfish! I’m only trying to help you,” Cindy said, raising an eyebrow at me.)

Read the Rest

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

If you write for young children, this might be just the ticket for you to get published. Check it out.

knowonder is looking for creatively crafted read-aloud stories, written in 3rd person limited.

The focus and mission of knowonder! magazine is to help parents promote, encourage, and teach creativity, imagination, and literacy to their children.

Their audience is parents and their children between the ages of 3 and 10. We publish 10 fiction stories per month on the web site. Additionally, weThey publish both print and digital collections of stories from the 500 stories available on our web site.

Stories: Story submissions should be fiction. They sometimes accept an occasional non-fiction story but this is the exception, not the rule.  They encourage writers to submit stories that are full of action, adventure, and/or fun.  They discourage stories that deal with everyday lives of children or present familiar things in a familiar way.  They encourage creativity and imagination, and most of all, fun!  Each story should be one that a child will love to listen to.  Imagery and action are key elements that we strongly encourage.

Story word counts may range between 500 to 2000 words.  Call outs are appropriate and do not count toward the total word count.  Call out activity ideas or “talk time” ideas are welcome! We are willing to entertain longer stories.  We may be willing to accept stories told in rhyme, but have very high expectations for proper meter, etc.

Fiction: We pay $25-50 per fiction story.  Each published story is also eligible for the monthly Editor’s Choice Award and a $100 cash prize.

Articles: We are currently looking for volunteers to help us build out this section (fun facts). Please see the submission guidelines for more information on what we are looking for in this category.

for You by You articles:  We are currently looking for volunteers to help us build out this section.  Please see the submission guidelines for more information on what we are looking for in this category.

Kid Stories: We do not pay anything upfront for Kid Stories or Kid Art, however, we hold a monthly contest and award kids with great prizes each month!

Click here to submit a story.  (Note: you will need to create an account with them. It’s quick and painless, and once you’ve done it, you’ll be able to use that account to submit work to lots of other publishers, too).

Before submitting, however, they ask that you please do these two things:

1.  Read through our legal agreement.  By submitting to us, you acknowledge that you have read and accept our legal terms and agreement.

2.  Read our submission guidelines!  We have accepted a lot of different stories in the past, but we are narrowing our focus and want you to have the best chances possible of getting your stories published.  So please read these guidelines before submitting to make sure you’re sending us something we really want to see.

Here is what they are looking for.  This is very good explanation of what makes a good book for this age group. I cut out all the examples from books they provided, but when you have time it is worth studying.  Here’s the list:

Narrative stories that are fun, adventurous, engaging, silly, imaginative, creative, have great characters, are memorable, entertaining, flow well when read aloud and have action! Remember, you are sitting by the bedside of the child, you have just enough light to read-aloud. The child’s eyes are closed, or even if they’re open he’s imagining what you are reading. knowonder!  wants stories that will paint images in a child’s mind and encourage use of all 5 senses as they imagine amazing visions of their own.

Read-Alouds – knowonder! stories are read-aloud stories.This means that a large majority of stories you submit to knowonder! should be stories that a parent or older child can read out loud to younger children. These are very different in form, format, function (etc.) than picture books.   Our stories have just one picture and rely, instead, on imagery created inside the story.  In that sense, our stories are much more akin to chapter books and young adult fiction. Therefore, be careful to write stories that aren’t envisioned from the beginning as a picture book.

SDT—This stands for Show-Don’t-Tell and is a well-known method for drawing the reader into a story. Please look it up; research SDT. Then check every sentence to make sure you are following the rules!

Narrative– please don’t eliminate good narrative because you are attempting to Show-Don’t-Tell. Narrative includes telling a story using description and well written prose that allows the child listening to create the pictures in his own mind. Imagery and style come in to play here. Give the child the opportunity to use all of her senses when engaging in the story.

Literary device usage—simile, metaphor, imagery, onomatopoeia, alliteration, hyperbole,  and use of idioms are all devices that pull readers into the story, make the story exciting, liven up the characters, and make reading aloud fun and engaging.

Plot—A good story will include a well designed plotting of events that somehow effect the main character. Every word, sentence, and paragraph should be analyzed to make sure it is significant to that plot and moves the story forward.

• Beginning–jump right into the action, in medias res! Remember the children are lying in bed, waiting for the action of the story to begin. Write your beginning in a way that will have them mesmerized so much they’ll quit squirming and listen.
• Middle–remember these pointers– rising action (with action being the operative word here), the main character engaging in some conflict, active voice, and keep moving!!!
• Great endings / tie-backs / punchlines–A well written story will follow the plotting to a point where the action rises to critical mass and Explodes! Then it will come down and have a rap up. Good endings do not fall off cliffs, they have a punch line (not necessarily a funny ha!ha! punchline, although that would be nice) but a great ending that has punch and ties back to the conflict, characterization, repetition, or some other element of the story. Wrap up stories nicely. The last line is the hardest to write for a reason. It takes work to get it just right. (Finding a great ending is like the scene from Sister Act where Whoopie Goldberg punches that young red-headed nun in the stomach and out comes that great high note!!! Ahhhhh!!!)

Words—check your writing for weasel words. Do you overuse the word “that,” or any other word? If you have more than one “that” on a page you should just take them out; I’m sure that you will find that you don’t need them. Also, use a thesaurus!! If you’ve used a descriptive word more than once, look it up in a thesaurus and use a synonym. Also, check your word choice–again use a thesaurus! Thesaurus.com should be your best friend! When writing for children an author must look at every single word. How do the words fit together to make a sentence? How do those sentences flow to create a paragraph? How does each word, sentence, and paragraph come together to paint a picture in the mind of a child?

Repetition—Children giggle when funny things happen in stories; they engage when funny things repeat in stories. I’m not talking about rhyme; I’m talking about rhythm and beat and repetition of lines, actions, etc…. A well crafted story will roll off the reader’s tongue and skip along through the child’s mind.

Characterization—Have you been around children? If not you should spend some time listening to them, seriously eavesdropping! You should talk with them, interact with them, keep a notebook nearby at all times, and jot down what they say and do. Each character in your story should be developed so we can see them, hear them, and understand them. They should be quirky, exceptional, and unique. No two children are the same in the real world so they shouldn’t be the same in fiction either. Characters should be dynamic and well rounded, not static and flat. Static means they don’t change, and flat means boring. Show each character through their actions and traits.

Voice—Dialogue should move the story along and help us hear the voices of the characters, especially the voice of the main character. That voice should be unique, whether it’s sad, happy, spunky, thoughtful, philosophical, or whatever, the words chosen should bring that voice out so we can hear it. The tag-lines should be well written. As our editorial team discussed dialogue, we decided we don’t want too much dialogue in our stories. Remember these are read-alouds. The more narrative prose and the less dialogue the better. Not that we don’t want any dialogue – we just don’t want a story that is 75% dialogue! We are looking for more description, imagery, and narration in between because this lends well toward reading aloud.

Point of View—After careful consideration, we’d really like knowonder! stories to be written in 3rd person. First person is also ok, but not the norm. Also, as I looked through the stories I noticed some of the ones we like best are written in 3rd person omniscient. This style is considered archaic nowadays. But I’ve had to consider why. Third person omniscient allows the author/narrator to step into the mind of every character. The powers that be say this is too confusing for a child. J.R.R.Tolkien and C.S. Lewis wrote in this manner. Even J.K. Rowling steps into this style in some of the Harry Potter books. When interviewed on this, she stated it was necessary to step into the mind of Voldemort on occasion and even into the minds of Hermione and Ron. The important point? It moved the story forward. Sticking with 3rd person limited in the mind of only the main character will be our norm, but occasionally the listener might want to know about the minds of different characters.

Tense—Past tense is best for read-alouds. Please stick to past tense. Novice writers tend to switch tense and point of view.  No present tense and no switching tense please!

You are your best critic– Write a first draft. Read it out loud. Look carefully at the beginning, middle, and end. Look at each of these guidelines and see if you can spice up your story before submitting to our editorial department. Rewrite. Revise. Submit. We’ll send suggestions as needed. Our goal is to encourage your own creative genius to blossom. (A note on formatting- Justify flush left, no double spacing, only one space after punctuation. (Word-processing has been allowing for the extra space now for many years).

Didactic stories– Didactic means preachy. A moral can be woven into a story without making it come across as a lecture. Characters should grow naturally out of the choices they make, the events in the stories, and their interactions with other people. We get stories all the time that are obviously written with the express purpose of teaching a lesson. Many of these types of stories will fall flat with children.  Should we teach them good values and morals? Can we use literature to teach lessons?  Yes, absolutely!  But let it happen naturally. Also, because of the nature of what we are (2000 words or less) this can be difficult to do without forcing it. So keep in mind the the main purpose of knowonder! is to make reading fun. It’s more important for children to learn to love reading at this point than it is for us to play parent and try to teach them through the stories we write. Think about  fables and parables and how relateable they are.

Click this link to read their full Submission  Guidelines to make sure you are not sending in the types of stories that stack their desks. You will also find the Editor’s favorite stories and why. Good luck!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

One of the assignments the writer’s attenting the Writer’s Retreat in March are facing is putting together a pitch for the novel they have written.

Goal is to pique interest in what you wrote and hear, “Tell me more!”

A pitch is a two or three sentence summary of your book. You want to: indicate the genre, the basic premise, and to generate interest to the point where the agent or editor wants to read your manuscript. A pitch should tantalizes the listener with a hook that sets your manuscript apart, so choose your words wisely.

To prepare you can:

1. Read movie descriptions.
2. Read the jacket of a few of your favorite novels – that’s the level of detail you want.

It should be a short and snappy, only be about 2-3 minutes long. Here are a few types of pitching techniques you can use:

1. The When a… technique brought to you by Craig Lewis

2. Hollywood-style: This is where you describe your novel as a mix of two other well-known books or movies. Hint: make sure the two you use were both profitable. For example: “It’s Twilight meets Harry Potter.” Then explain in the rest of your pitch.

3. The “Save the Cat” method: The idea is to come up with a sentence or two that describes your novel and includes the following:
• It should be at least somewhat ironic.
• It should paint a compelling mental picture.
• It should give an idea of genre and audience.
• It should have a killer title.

Blake Snyder, screenwriter and teacher, describes this method for coming up with loglines for film ideas in his popular screenwriting book Save the Cat, but it works for pitches, too.

Here are a couple from Blake’s book Save the Cat. They should be movies you know:

“A cop comes to L.A. to visit his estranged wife and her office building is taken over by terrorists.” – Die Hard
“A businessman falls in love with a hooker he hires to be his date for the weekend” – Pretty Woman

Start here, add some interesting details like who your hero is, what his goal is, why he needs it, what’s stopping him from getting it, then focus on the heart of the conflict and you’ll end up with a “knock their socks off” pitch. You cannot go wrong with this formula.

4. The 1,2,3 Log Line Approach:

First log line: a single sentence that includes:
The hero
The hero flaw
The life changing event that starts the story
The opponent
The ally
The battle or conflict

The second log line:
The character who changes & what changes

The third log line:
includes a sentence about the book’s theme. What the character learns? How he or she changes.

Now:

Since so many of us are using social media and are used to packing in lots of details in short sentence, you could hone into this mind thinking when start. Maybe going to Twitter and writing something or using your cell phone to text your pitch to see how it feels.

You can even get an app for your iphone to help you pitch. Here’s the link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pitch-your-book/id432755697?mt=8

Write and Revise: Try writing 10-15 short intros to your pitch. This is the hook. When done pick the best and polish it. If you nail this part you are almost guaranteed to be asked to submit.

Now it is time to describe your book in a bit more detail. Be natural, be excited, be funny (if that is you or part of the book) describe the key turning points of your story, but make it short.

Practice Make Perfect: Pitching can be nerve-wracking, but it gets easier if you do it often, so practice on your family, friends, and anyone else who will listen. The more you do the more relax you will be.

Formal Pitches: If you are doing a formal pitch to an agent or editor at a conference, then finish by asking if your novel sounds like something they’d be interested in and let the discussion evolve. If they request a portion of your book, then make sure you clarify what they are asking for – the first few chapters – the entire manuscript? Remember to ask for a business card and contact information.

Hope this helps! Even if you aren’t attending the Writer’s Retreat or a conference in the near future, you still should be prepared. Opportunities are all around. Don’t let one slip pass you by not being prepared.  I can’t get the memory of a writer I know meeting a publisher in line at a funeral and letting him know about her book, which ended up being the catalyst of her first published book. 

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

If you have decided to self- publish, there are lots of things you need to know and consider. Don’t think you get to wiggle out of doing your homework and making a plan on the steps you need to take and things you need to consider.

The biggest mistake writer’s make, is thinking their story is ready after they have finished writing their book. Whether you go the traditional route or want to self-publish, it is always a mistake to run out and seek someone to publish your book after the first draft. You should pat yourself on the back, because you have accomplished something that eludes many writers and you have a right to be excited and proud, but 99% of the time it is not ready for publication. You have just taken step one of the publication process.

So many self-published books could have made money for the author, if only they could take control of that excitement of finishing that first draft.  Even if it is your fourth draft and is the best book ever written, don’t mess it up by accepting a bad contract. There are companies who try to act like real publishers, who will take anybody and any book and offer a contract. The author is elated and jumps at the offer. Don’t do That!

I am convinced these companies do not give any thought as to the quality of the content. Sometimes I wonder if they even take the time to read the books submitted. They offer production, distribution, press release, and design and artwork, but it is all so inferior that even if the first draft of the book was well written and unique, it ends up being so ugly and made from such poor quality paper that no one, other than friends and family would purchase the book. Then they throw on an extremely high price, like $25 for a picture book, which further dooms the sale of the book.

These pretend publishers realize everyone has friends and family and will get those sales and occasionally they might get someone who really promotes their book and sells more than 50 copies.  For all their work these motivated authors end up making maybe a total of $150. When if they had taken their time, did their homework, and made the right choices, they could have put out a good book that people actually read and would have made money for them.

There are so many things to consider and now so many forms of publishing your book. At the beginning of the year, I promised to start including self-publishing in my post. Next week, I will start pointing out steps you need to take, places to consider, and what they bring to the table, new formats and how to make that happen, and how to get your book seen and distributed.

Hope you’ll stop back.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

The other week I had a post about Kristina Swarner who illustrated ZAYDE COMES TO LIVE written by Sheri Sinykin after it was awarded the 2013 Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Younger Readers Award. Her art work is so wonderful, that I thought you would enjoy seeing more of her work.

Kristina Swarner created her first illustrated story using crayon on manila paper, at the age of 5, and has been drawing ever since.

Often described as magical and dreamlike, Kristina draws much of her imagery and inspiration from dreams and from memories of exploring  forests, gardens, and old houses when she was a child.

Since graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design,  Kristina has illustrated books, greeting cards, magazines, wine labels, CD covers, and theatre posters, and has won numerous awards.

When not painting, Kristina enjoys music, reading, and trying to grow trees on her balcony. She lives in Chicago.

Here is Kristina talking about her process and Journey:

First, I think about the concept, a lot. Sometimes for days. Once I think I have a good idea, I do a lot of really light, really rough pencil sketches on paper until the drawing looks right.

Then I do a tighter sketch, and trace it so that I can transfer it to linoleum or a vinyl block. I carve out the areas that will be light colored in the final piece, ink up the block, and make a black and white print on heavy paper.

Once that’s dry, I work over it with watercolors and colored pencils. (Above is a picture of my desk.)

Final piece done for Cricket Magazine Cover.

Kristina has published 19 books.  Below are a few of the covers.

How did you come involved with Zayde Comes to Live?

As I heard it, Jane Yolen recommended me to Sheri Sinykin as a possible illustrator.  Luckily for me Peachtree Publishing agreed with the choice.

This is the cover of the book that sparked the 2013 Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Younger Readers Award.

How long have you been involved in art?

When I was three, I told my parents that I wanted to be an artist. I’ve made illustrated books since I was very young. I still have one of my first drawings, of a girl named Alice who looks a lot like a daddy longlegs.

Did you go to college to study art?

I graduated from RISD.

Can you tell us some of the art classes you took?

I took as many different classes as I could–besides a lot of drawing and painting, I took graphic design, photography, animation, poster design, and different types of printmaking.

Do you think those classes influenced your artistic style?

Definitely. The style I use is a distillation of a lot of the techniques I learned.

I noticed that a piece of your art has been chosen for Society of Illustrators Annual Exhibition.  That is a big honor.  How did that come about?

I’d been looking at a long genealogy chart and wondering about the people on it, and had the idea to paint a series called Imaginary Ancestors. I started with a painting of a queen, and was really happy with it, so I entered it in the the Uncommissioned category. I was completely blown away that it was selected. I went to the opening in New York just so I could see it at the Society.

What was your first paid art assignment?

I think it was a tiny painting of a horse for a story in the Providence Journal-Bulletin.

Do you think your style has changed since you first started?

I started out doing mostly watercolor. It was a little frustrating for me to achieve the contrast and texture I wanted with watercolor, and I got tired of standing around waiting for it to dry. I rely much more now on the black and white linoleum print under the watercolor–it’s faster, and gives great depth and contrast and texture.

Was Zayde Comes to Live your first illustrated book?

My first illustrated book was Yiddish Wisdom, for Chronicle Books, in 1996(?).

How many books have you illustrated?

I’ve done 18, not counting textbooks.

What publishers have you worked with?

Some of them are Chronicle, Roaring Brook, Penguin, Dutton, Scholastic, Oxford University Press, Knopf, Random House, and National Geographic.

Do you know how books get considered for the Sydney Taylor Book Award? 

So far it’s been a mysterious process to me, because my publishers submit the books without telling me, and then I’ll suddenly get a phone call that I’ve won.

Have your illustrations been published in magazines?

Yes, I love working for magazines. I’ve done many illustrations for Cricket, among others.

When did you decide you wanted to illustrate for children?

When I was about five and could read children’s books on my own. Ferdinand,  A Birthday For Frances, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble– I wanted to make something as magical.

Do you have any desire to write and illustrate your own book?

It’s a goal of mine. I have a notebook full of more or less fragmented stories. I’ve been too chicken to submit them–I’m working on feeling braver.

Do you have any favorite materials?  Such as paper, paints, pens, etc.?

I like Rives BK paper, Prismacolor pencils, Winsor Newton watercolors and brushes, and Conte pastels.

Do you take research pictures before you start a project?

I hardly ever work from photos–it always seems to show in the finished art, somehow.  When possible, I sketch from life, or even from my memory, instead. I had to draw an old-fashioned biplane for one project, so I built a biplane out of cardboard and drew that.

How do you get art directors to notice your artwork?

Besides my own website, I have portfolios up on various websites, and still send out mailers every so often. I research places that might use my art and submit work to them, too.

Are you represented by an agent?  If not would you like to be?  If so, who represents you and what have they brought to the table?

I have an agent in London, who’s brought me a lot of work from European clients.

Did you set up a studio in your home?

My current studio takes up half of the dining room.

Excluding the normal things like paper, paint, brushes, pencils, and pastels, is there one piece of equipment in your studio that you really like and would not want to live without?

I have one very favorite discontinued Prismacolor pencil that is only about a centimeter long, so I only use it in extreme emergencies–it’s like the Holy Hand Grenade in Monty Python.

Do you try to spend a certain amount of hours each day illustrating?

I always start at 9:30 and try to work until 5, depending on how much I have to help my kids with homework and things.

Do you use Photoshop?  How and where do you use it?

I use Photoshop for scanning, resizing, and occasionally retouching artwork.

Do you own a graphic tablet?

I do, but I use it mostly for signing things.

What are you working on now?

My 19th book! I’ve just started it, so it’s still at stick figure stage.

What did you do in the beginning to get noticed and what do you do now?

When I first started out, I relied mostly on sending out printed mailers and tear sheets, and occasionally going around with my portfolio. Now it’s much easier to just email samples and put up new work online, but the flip side of that is that there’s a much larger and more visible pool of people competing for the same amount of work. I still get good results sending printed postcards to point people to my website. I haven’t done as much as I probably should with social media–I tried Twitter for about a week, but it kept making me feel like my writing had hiccups.

Do You have any words of wisdom to share with other illustrators?

Work ebbs and flows. When work is slow, it’s easy to feel like everyone has forgotten you and that you’ll never get hired again and have to get a job at Dunkin Donuts. I’m trying to retrain myself into treating slow times like a vacation. When my calendar is looking emptier than usual, it’s a good time to research and approach possible new clients, do some artwork for myself, or go out somewhere I usually don’t go and get some new ideas. In a short time I’m usually back to being busy.

Thank you Kristina for sharing you process and journey with us.  I look forward to following you as  you create more wonderful books and illustrations. If you would like to see more of Kristina’s work, you can visit her at: www.kristinaswarner.com

Please take a minute to leave a comment for Kristina. THANKS!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Every book sold on the market needs an ISBN Number and a bar code, so if you are planning to self-publish a book, you will need both of these things, too.  Retailers use these numbers to track and catalog your books, and to report your sales.  

I am not saying you should run out and purchase these right now, because it will depend on the choices you decide to make. You may decide to accept a package from a company that includes these numbers. You could run into an editor who wants to buy your book and that would change everything.

That being said you should realize what they do for you and your options.

ISBNs are sold like any other commodity by Bowker www.bowker.org and a few authorized re-sellers. And to accommodate the needs of these self-publishers, they made individual numbers available for the first time.

In addition, Bowker is actually registering your publishing company when they issue you your numbers, not your individual books. This is a key step for many self-publishers and that’s a pretty good reason to get an ISBN as well.

Bowker sells most of the ISBN numbers and discounts according to the amount purchased. The cost of buying just one is $125, so it is better to buy a block of numbers, because you will need more than one anyway. Most publishers these days are going to publish at least five (5) versions of a book (Hardback, Softback, EPUB, MOBI, and PDF), each of which requires an ISBN.

Smashwords will tell you that retailers such as Apple and Sony will not accept your Smashwords book unless you have a unique e-ISBN and everything on Smashwords is an e-book, but there isn’t a special e-ISBN, just plain old ISBNs.

Owning a block of 10 ISBNs is usually enough for two different books. Those who purchase blocks of 10 ISBNs are usually self-publishers who have researched their needs before making a purchase and realize this is the most cost effective purchase for their needs. The price of 10 ISBNs is $250.

The Bookland EAN Barcode is an essential component of booksellers handling of the book. You must provide a retail price for your barcode. Cost $25

The largest book retailers, as well as many book wholesalers, require books to display the Bookland EAN barcode graphic symbol which carries the ISBN. At the point of sale in a bookstore, the ISBN is scanned and all related information about the title is accessed in their sales system — identifying the price correctly and subtracting a copy from their inventory etc.

In the US, the first digit of the add-on data indicates which currency the price is expressed in — so for US dollars, the designated digit is a 5. So an add-on of 51995 indicates a price of US$ 19.95. The largest US retailers such as Barnes and Noble now require the use of EAN-5 barcode on books they handle. Scanners in American bookstores cannot read the Bookland EAN code without the corresponding 5-digit add-on. Publishers who don’t comply with this requirement may be penalized.

Please remember what I said last week, writer’s who want to self-publish need to do there homework and try to hold back their enthusium in order to make the right choices, so please check back for my weekly post or start researching on your own if you can’t wait. Just make sure you do your homework before you jump in with both feet. Click here to read 1st Self-Publishing post

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Chuck Sambuchino who writes the Guide to Literary Agents Blog from Writer’s Digest had another good post and is sponsoring a book give-a-way of Kathy Leonard Czepiel, author of A VIOLET SEASON
(Simon & Schuster), named one of the best books of 2012 by Kirkus Reviews.

She is the recipient of a 2012 creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and her short fiction has appeared in Cimarron Review, Indiana Review, CALYX, Confrontation, Brain Child, and elsewhere.

Czepiel teaches writing at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. Learn more about Czepiel
and her work at her website.

As an added bonus, Chuck posted five of Kathy’s tips on writing the first draft of your novel. So read and learn, then visit Chuck to leave a comment and maybe win a copy of Kathy Leonard Czepiel’s award winning YA Fantasy Novel.

1. Make an outline. Then be willing to leave it behind. Writing an outline forces me to think through some big questions before I begin. But I follow it the way I travel with my husband sans kids: “Hey, Honey, look at this weird little mountain on the map. Wanna check it out?” And pretty soon the story has taken a turn. Sometimes the side trip changes everything, and I revise my outline. Sometimes it’s a dead end. Then I have my outline to get me back on track.

(Learn how to start your novel.)

2. Think of your first draft as the clay, not the sculpture. Imagine that what you are doing is digging up clay, just a hunk of stuff from which you’ll create something later. Much of it will be messy and unrefined, but that’s not your problem now. Your job is simply to get from the beginning to the end. Keep digging! When it’s time to write a second draft, you will have your raw material.

3. Every time you think about how pedestrian and clumsy and downright awful your first draft is, remind yourself that no one else has to read it. I don’t show my first draft to anyone. I already know it needs a lot more work, and I even know what some of that work will be, so asking someone else to read it would be pointless (and embarrassing). If you don’t know what your first draft needs, then by all means, ask for help. But if you decide not to show it to anyone, it may be best not to tell anyone about it either. Otherwise, your well-meaning friends will keep asking you how it’s going, and you will have to distract them with beer or chocolate or witty conversation on another topic (my personal favorite).

4. Don’t let a lack of research slow you down. I write historical fiction, so I do a lot of research, but I only do a little bit to get started. When I began drafting my debut novel, A Violet Season, I needed to know that violets were grown in the Hudson Valley beginning in the early 1890s, and that wet nurses had become somewhat obsolete by the turn of the century, when infant formula was invented. As for the details—how to pick violets, how much wet nurses were paid—in my first draft, I made them up! If I’d been concerned about research too soon, all those trips to the library (and the violet farm, and the Lower East Side of New York City, and so on) might have prevented me from ever finishing that first draft. Instead, I use CAPS in my first drafts to indicate where details need to be filled in later.

(Read author interviews with debut novelists.)

5. Set a deadline. A Violet Season was written over four summers—each summer, another draft. This was a crazy schedule, I know, but in some ways it was perfect. There was a clear end to the summers (sadly), and to my drafts. If you don’t have a deadline, you run the risk of one draft spilling into the next, and you may never feel a sense of closure or accomplishment. This is really important in a business in which we often work alone and without recognition. When you finish your draft, celebrate! Then start the next one.

GIVEAWAY: Kathy is excited to give away a free copy of her novel to a random commenter. Comment within 2 weeks; winners must live in Canada/US to receive the book by mail. You can win a blog contest even if you’ve won before. (Please note that comments may take a little while to appear; this is normal).

Deadline for leaving a comment ends on March 20th, so don’t delay.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Ask anyone who’s been in a writers critique group, and you will hear that there is no better way to hone your craft.  Ideally, a critique group gets you where you want to go as a children’s writer.  But what if you can’t find a group to go to?

Start one of your own.  I know, it’s a little scary.  But it’s worth it.  (Trust me:  I’ve been in critique groups since 1995. All that critiquing helped me reach some major publishing milestones!)  So here goes, a few pointers from my own experience:

GET THE WORD OUT.

The best way to let like-minded writers know that you’re starting a group is to contact the SCBWI critique group coordinator listed on your regional chapter’s website and/or newsletter. This chapter volunteer collects names of ‘critique seekers’, and sorts them according to geographic location.  If there is not a group in your area open to new members, he or she shares your contact information with interested writers who live and work in the same area so you can network on your own.  Another route is to contact local community education programs and universities offering ‘writing for children’ courses, and ask the instructors to make an announcement to students about your intention to start a critique group.

GATHER ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT POTENTIAL MEMBERS.

Start a file with everyone’s email, phone number, address, websites. Ask basic questions: what genres and for which readerships do you write? When can you meet—mornings, afternoons, or evenings—and which days of the week?  How often do you want to have meetings:  once a month, twice a month or weekly?  Where are you located and how far are you willing to travel for the meetings?  Do you want to read/critique manuscripts at the meetings or outside of the meetings?  Do you want to share marketing information at the meetings or focus only on the craft inside of the critique group?  Answers to these questions will assist you in structuring the group for maximum mutual benefit, and get things off to a strong start.

FIND YOUR MEETING SPACE. 

This is a matter of choice and luck.  The first place to look for free meeting space is your local library.  Most have a community room for small groups, and if there is room, you may be able to schedule the space up to a year at a time.  Other options include bookstores, coffee houses, and members’ homes.  As long as the venue is comfortable, relatively quiet and convenient to all members, your location will work well.

SET YOUR FIRST MEETING.

Set the date, gather members and get going.  The agenda for a first meeting should be to discuss and set ground rules, and to simply get to know one another a bit.  Sample work might be read to the group so others can get an idea of your writing ‘personality’, but no real critiques should be done at this first gathering.  You might hand out tips on critiquing the work of others, and a checklist of literary elements to look for in a manuscript.  There’s a lot of information about the critique process on various websites, as well as entire books on the subject. Two excellent books are: HOW TO START AND RUN A WRITERS’ CRITIQUE GROUP by Carol J. Amato; and THE WRITING GROUP BOOK:  CREATING AND SUSTAINING A SUCCESSFUL WRITING GROUP by Lisa Rosenthal.

KEEP IT GOING.  Encourage each writer to take their work up a notch with upbeat yet honest comments. Listen with patience and respect.  Motivate one another.  Commiserate and celebrate together.  Keep up the good work.

Submitted by

Dianne Ochiltree, www.ochiltreebooks.com

Author of MOLLY, BY GOLLY! The Legend of Molly Williams, America’s First Female Firefighter, 2012 Bronze Medal winner, Children’s Literature, Florida Book Awards

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

This is by no means the only things you can use to format and convert your manuscript to an e-book, it is just to give you an idea of the some of the things out in the market you can use. The Kindle, the Nook and the iTunes Bookstore (which services both the iPhone and iPad) now stand out as the most common targets for e-books. This has helped the e-book boom has helped consolidate formats a bit, but there still isn’t a single gold-standard editing product that guides users through the whole workflow and helps them check their results.

You probably will want to format your e-book for a varity of readers –  it helps to support as many of devices as possible. The Kindle, for instance, is notorious for not supporting ePub format files.

So here is a little information about the most common e-book formats and their drawbacks, so you can decide what to use to format your manuscript and create an ebook.

HTML:

If you are looking for only one fromat, HTML is more or less it. For one, it’s ubiquitous; almost every text-processing program can generate or read HTML. It also supports many features e-books will use: hyperlinks, font control, section headings, images, etc. Downside not everyone knows HTML.

But if you’re starting with a Microsoft Word or Open Document Format document, your best bet is to export it directly from the source application into HTML. Word users should do a “Save as…” using the “Web Page, Filtered” option, which strips out most of Word’s generated left over junk (cruft).

Exporting to HTML from your source program helps preserve the most crucial formatting and usually preserves sections and chapters: outline headers are turned into h1/h2/h3 tags, which most conversion programs correctly recognize. Some are even able to auto-generate tables of contents from those tags. Word typically does a good job generating TOCs without problems.

Microsoft Word (DOC or DOCX)

If you’re dealing with an original manuscript, odds are it’s probably going to be in Microsoft Word format. Almost every device on the face of the Earth can read or write Word documents. And the format has native support for most everything you could think of: formulas, chaptering, footnotes, indexes — anything that might show up in an e-book.

Word documents are best as a starting point for an intermediate conversion format, most likely HTML, rather than a format that can be converted directly into an e-book. In fact, most e-book conversion programs don’t accept Word natively as a source document type. They may accept Word’s sibling format, RTF, but that is already at least one stage of conversion away from the original and increases the chance that certain features might not make it through the conversion process. For example, RTF does support features like sections and footnotes, but the Calibre e-book creation suite, for one, doesn’t process them correctly.

OpenDocument (ODF)

OpenDocument is the format used by OpenOffice.org. Microsoft Word also supports ODF as one of it’s formats. it reads and writes.) Third-party OpenOffice offers extensions that let you export directly to e-pub formats. There are also a number of standalone applications, such as ODFToEPub. If you’re already used to creating your documents in ODF, your path to creating a finished e-book may be  shortened, slightly.

ePub:

An open, non-proprietary format. Uses XHTML as the basis for its document format. ePub is widely supported as an output format by various e-book production applications. iTunes only accepts ePub as a source format, so it couldn’t hurt to render a copy of your product as ePub no matter what other formats you use.  Books that require PDF-style page fidelity won’t work well in ePub.

Mobi and Kindle:

After Amazon bought Mobit, it made it into the basis for the Kindle reader’s own e-book format. Mobi supports digital rights management, but unencrypted Mobi documents can be read on the Kindle without issues.

PDF

PDFs can be read as-is in the majority of e-book readers, including the Kindle. It is best used when you want to maintain absolute fidelity to page layout — images, typefaces, etc. But this is the very feature that makes PDFs a problem in some scenarios. Other e-book formats are designed to work independently of any particular device resolution, so pages reflow automatically for each device. This is one of the reasons the Kindle didn’t make use of page numbers at first, since the page numbering for a particular book depends on what device or screen size you are using.

PDFs reproduce the formatting of the original page, no matter what the size of the destination device, so a PDF formatted at a certain size may be readable on a large display, but look cramped on a Kindle or Nook. If you plan to use PDFs, you may want to consider exporting your document with different page sizes for people using e-readers with small screens.

Calibre:

http://calibre-ebook.com/  Calibre is a free and open-source application marketed as a personal e-book management solution. It can be used as an e-book conversion utility.  It is powerful and may be the best place to start, especially if you want to distill output for multiple e-book formats. The program can accept ODF, RTF, ePub, Mobi, PDF and HTML. Calibre can also reformat documents unwrapping plain text that has too many line breaks or insert chapter breaks by looking for certain text structures (such as a line break, the word “Chapter” and then a number).

It doesn’t support DOC or DOCX documents, so anything coming from Word, so you will have to save it in another format first.  Serdar Yegulalp, a computer techology author says, ”Saving in either ODF or HTML from Word seemed to do the best job of preserving formatting and features, including things like monospaced formatting for code examples. Doesn’t process footnotes correctly.”

Sigil:

http://code.google.com/p/sigil/ Sigil is a multi-platform EPUB ebook editor – free open source. It’s an editor that exports to e-books (has a built-in document editor) it includes various tools for collating and assembling a finished e-book (such as a table-of-contents editor). Sigil’s main drawback is how it handles importing – only accepts HTML, plain text or existing ePub files as input documents.

Jutoh:

http://www.jutoh.com/ Accepts OPL files and has slightly more robust editing options. The cost is $39.

Adobes In Design is a full blown publishing solution, but it requires a lot more work and knowledge to generate a finished product than a simple conversion utility. Second is the price tag: It starts at $699.

TIP: Include a Table of Contents

An e-book that isn’t properly chaptered is difficult to navigate. Going to an arbitrary point in a book is not as easy as it should be. The Kindle, for instance, has no touch screen, so jumping around in a book without a table of contents is a chore.

If you have gone through the process of formatting and converting your own ebook, we loved to hear what you chose.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Each Month I try to give Writers and Illustrator a chance to be noticed and further their craft.

If you are one of the writers who liked the First Page Picture Prompt, you can use the illustration below by Versper Stamper to inspire a new first page. www.vespersongs.com/

1. If you are writing a book, you have the chance for editor Kate Sullivan from Little, Brown, & Company to read and critique your first page.

2. If you are a published author, you have a chance to be the Featured Author of the Month – be interview and get your book or book seen.

3. Illustrator’s have a chance to be featured on Illustrator Saturday.

4. Illustrators who have already been featured on Illustrator Saturday, Illustrators who want t be considered for Illustrator Saturday, or Illustrators just starting out and do not have enough artwork to be featured, can still get their artwork or new illustrations seen by professionals in the industry by participating.

In order to narrow the submissions down, I have come up with the following:

1. If you choose to follow me or are already following me, you will get your name put into the basket.

2. If you put a link up on your blog or website, you will get your name put in the basket. If you have both, you can choose to put a link on both and get your name in twice.

3. Do two Tweets about a post on my blog and get your name in the basket. This can be repeated three additional times for a total of four times in the basket. Tweets must be done on separate dates.

4. Post something on Facebook and get your name in the basket.

5. Do it all and you will have your name in the basket eight times. On November 24th I will put all the names in the basket and I will pull out ten names and read the first pages that go with the name. Out of those ten, I will pick 4 to send to our quest critiquer for November.

Here is what you need to do:

WRITERS: Please attach your double spaced, 12 point font, 23 line first page to an e-mail and send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com. Also cut and paste it into the body of the e-mail. Put “December First Page Critique” or “December First Page Picture Prompt Critique” in the subject line. Make sure you have your name on the submission, a title, and indicate the genre. Also let me know which steps you took, so I will know how many times to put your name in the basket. If you end up doing more things to get additional entries, then e-mail me by December 19th (This is a few days earlier, because of the holidays) with the updated number you have completed. Please let me know what you have done and when, so I can check it out.

Published Children’s Book Writers: You can also participate by doing one or more of the five above steps to get your name in the “Book Feature” hat. If your name is drawn, I will do a post featuring your book, an interview, bio, and pictures of the cover and interior art (if that applies). Author Susan Hood was the winner for October. Ann Rinaldi was the winner in November.

Please put “December Children’s Book Promo” in the subject area and let me know the steps you took, so I can put the correct amount of slips in the basket. Please send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com. Deadline November 24th.

ILLUSTRATORS: If you are an illustrator, you can participate and choose to get featured on Illustrator Saturday or get your new book featured by following the five steps for the writers. Please put “December Illustrator Feature” in the subject area. I will need to know what steps you completed to get into the basket and I will need a few illustrations or if you want to promote your book, then send the name and cover along. Also include a promotional blurb. Please send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com.

Call for illustrations for December (You do not have to be narrowed down to send in a piece of art for December). I’m looking for Christmas, Chanukah, New Years, and or a winter scene illustrations. You do not have to wait, I will post the illustrations as they come in. I would like to have them no later than November 25th, since it is hard to find the right place for your work, instead of squeezing it in at the end of the month. I would love to have something to go with the election on Tuesday. Please make sure the illustration is at least 500 pixels wide and include a blurb about yourself and a link to see more of your work. Please send it to kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com and put “December Illustration” in the subject box.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Juana Martinez-Neal was born in Lima, Peru and has been illustrating since she was 16 years old. Juana was awarded the Illustrator Mentorship in 2011 by the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators (SCWBWI).

In summer 2012, she was awarded the prestigious SCBWI Portfolio Award Grand Prize. Juana has illustrated for educational publishers including McGraw-Hill and Capstone Publishers, as well as Cricket Magazine Group and Nestle, Inc. Juana attended the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru – School of Fine Arts.

In 1995, she moved to the United States and now lives with her young family in Scottsdale, Arizona.

While I’m working on my books, I always keep books open on a lay out area that I have next to my table. I have books illustrated by Ana Juan, Rebecca Dautremer and Yuyi Morales this time.

 I hand completed pieces in front of my. My bookshelves get covered with artwork, too. I need to be able to look at the work while I’m painting. I’ll always find something that I need to tweak after a couple of days of completing a piece.

Final Sketch for “Three Little Pigs” included in the 2013 Storybook Brushes Wall Calendar.

 I always do my tweaks the old-fashioned way: tracing paper over sketches.

Detail of “Three Little Pigs” while still in process of finishing the piece.

 Final Illustration “Three Little Pigs” included in the 2013 Storybook Brushes Wall Calendar.

I have transferred my sketch to the paper and laid paper on top to create texture. I start painting with acrylics.

I continue painting. I paint with layers and keep adding details as I’m getting areas done.

I refer to my final sketch and keep other pieces from the books close so I keep colors and features consistent throughout the book.

You attended Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru – School of Fine Arts, before moving to the United States. Could you tell us a little bit about the school and some of the classes you took?

Back when I attended the School of Arts at PUCP in the early 90’s, it was a 6-year art school. The first 2 years were core art classes. You had to take composition, life drawing, sculpture, intaglio, serigraphy, woodcut, perspective, and more. You also took classes like Art History, Anatomy, Mathematics, Psycology, etc. Years 3 and 4 were Specialty years. You chose between the 5 specialties: Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking, Graphic Design or Industrial Design. Classes focused on your specialty. The last 2 years were Studio years, mainly focused on developing your work and style.

Interior art from “Dana’s Trip” published by Kalimat November 7, 2012.

Do you feel your experience at the college helped develop your style?

Attending art school gave me the art concepts that I used until today. I think attending art school is invaluable.

Have you taken any art classes, since you moved to the US?

Yes, I have taken classes at various colleges, institutes and art centers. I’ve taken from linoleum printmaking, mixed-media techniques and dark room photography; to more software oriented classes like Photoshop and Illustrator at UCLA extension back when I lived in LA.

My goal is to take at least 1 workshop a year. More if time and deadlines allow me. I believe that every class gives me tools that I can apply to my illustration, mixed media work. Plus it takes my mind away from my regular work.

What was your first book?

My first book was a “The Wall”.

How did you get that contract?

“The Wall” was a collaborative book written by several authors from the Phoenix’s Writers Club. “The Wall” was a chapter book and they needed black and white interior illustration plus a cover. This was back in January of 2006, I was just getting back to children’s illustration.

The Wall was published by Neelie Publishing Who is Neelie Publishing? I see they are in Arizona. Is that how you connected with them?

Neelie Publishing is a small publishing house in Arizona. Eileen Birin is the author that runs it and she uses Neelie to publish her books. Eileen was one of the authors from “The Wall”.

Juana Illustrated The Messy One which came out in January 2012.

How did this opportunity come to you?

One of the Art Directors from Capstone made a call to illustrators. I emailed some samples and a couple of days later I got the offer for “The Messy One”.

Is Picture Window Books an umbrella name that many small publishers use? 

No. Picture Window Books is the Picture book division of Capstone Publishers in Minnesota – http://www.capstonepub.com/category/LIB_PUBLISHER_PWB

Have you seen your work change since you got out of art school?

Immensely. When I attended art school, I was a painting major. Although my work was a lot more whimsical and representational than the rest of people in my class, I wanted to force a more artistic approach to how I viewed the world. Back then, I didn’t know I could be and make a living as a children’s illustrator. Ten years had to go by and I had to move to the US to realize that I could be a children’s illustrator. Thinking back, the clues were there all along but I just wasn’t ready to see them.

Book Cover Art for The Night Before My Birthday above and three interior illustrations below.

Do you have a favorite illustrator?

Yes, Rebecca Dautremer.

Ellie the Different Elephant cover art above – Interior Art Below.

How did the author of Lellie the Different Elephant find you?

She saw my work at www.childrensillustrators.com.

I notice that Wasteland Press is a self-publishing book company.  What did you think of the quality of the Lellie the Different Elephant put out by them?

They did a good job. I have no complaints.

What was the first piece of art you did and got paid for?

A black and white illustration that was published in the SCBWI Bulletin. I still have the check. Never cashed it and never will.

This was done for a workshop Juana took in September 2011 with Joann Hill, Art Director from Disney Hyperion. The assignment wasto illustrate “The Gingerbread Man” story.

How have you found that experience of working with authors wanting to self-publish their book?  Do you feel they give you the freedom you want?

My 10 years working with graphic and web design clients taught me how to listen to clients and how to hear to those subtle red flags. To me it was pretty simple: if during the first meetings I heard anything that made me feel uneasy, I would say no to the project.

Overall, I feel fortunate to have worked with some great authors. They have all believed in my work and vision. They gave me their ideas and told me what they wanted to see but always believed in my work and experience and gave me freedom.

Can you make enough money illustrating books for self published writers?

I was and I’m sure you still can. I have stopped taking self-published projects for some time now. I’m focusing on something else at this moment.

What goes into the decision to work with a specific author?

I needed to like the story. I have to see the illustrations in my head the very first time I read the manuscript. I also had to believe in the author’s mission, motivations and ideas.

Do you have a contract written up to use?

I never start working on a project until I have a signed contract and the deposit with me. The Graphic Artist Guild has the “Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines” that includes sample contracts. I would recommend buying it: https://www.graphicartistsguild.org/handbook/

Do you have a favorite medium you use?

I’m a mixed media artist. I love using acrylic mediums, papers, acrylic paint and colored pencils.

Do you take research pictures before you start a project?

I do research for every project. I occasionally take pictures if I need to figure out light or a body posture. Most of the time, I use Google images. I save, rename files and place them in an Inspiration Images folder for each project. Then as I’m sketching or painting, I go through my folder for reference.

Of all the books that you illustrated, which one is your favorite?

This is a hard question. I have things that I love in all of the books. I really can’t pick only one.

Do you use Photoshop with any of your work?

Only while I’m tweaking sketches. Photoshop allows me to move things and characters around until the composition looks just right to me. I’m extremely anal and my sketches include everything that I will include in the final art.

Do you have and use a graphic tablet?

Yes, I own one and have used one in the past but never for my illustration work. I’m a traditional artist. I find a strange pleasure looking at my artwork and knowing that everything that will be reproduced is right there in front of me. No tweaks, no fixes.

This piece was a 1 of the 5 Juana did for the Phoenix Zoo in 2011. It’s called “Tiger Teeth”. She donated the pieces to raise funds to benefit the Phoenix Zoo.

From Poppy’s First Day of School

“Poppy Learns Something Special”  Nestlé 2012

Cover and interior illustrations from Poppy’s Best Day Ever

Poppy The Best Day Ever and Poppy’s First Day of School: Are these both published books or are they books that you are working on?

Both published. “Poppy’s Best Day Ever” was published on August 2011. “Poppy’s First Day of School” on July 2012. Both were done for Nestle “El Mejor Nido” which is the Hispanic division of Nestle. The books are part of the company’s Summer reading program. They are not sold but handed out in Hispanic areas throughout the country. In 2011, 150,000 copies were handed out. 2012 they were more copies but I don’t know exactly how many.

Do You still work with writer’s who want to self-publish their book and need an illustrator?

I no longer take on these kinds of projects.  

Do you work with ECKO House Publishing for them as a freelance artist or where you hired by the author?

I was also hired by the author to do the illustrations for the chapter book.

How did you and Stefanie Von Borstel at Full Circle Literary connect?  Has that happened recently?

Stefanie and I met at SCBWI Los Angeles Conference this August. She saw my work at the Portfolio Showcase. We talked and had been talking for the last 3 months. We officially signed a couple of weeks ago.

Have you ever thought of writing and illustrating your own books?

Yes, I have some stories I’m working on at the moment.

Do you have a studio in your house?

After working for years in spare bedrooms and dining room tables, we built my studio in 2005. Everything just as I wanted and dreamed it. From flat files in the walk-in closet to glass doors and skylights. It’ll be hard to move in a year.

Do you follow any type of routine to attain your career goals?

I’m a simple person. I write them down in a piece of paper and look at them as often as I can. When I attain one, I remove it and add a new one to the list.

Are there any painting tips (materials, etc) you can share that work well for you? Technique tips?

If you use acrylics, try using gesso instead of white. It will make your colors more matte and chalky, more like gouache. I prefer that to the plastic, shiny look that you get as you add more layers of paint with acrylics.

Another tip, love your sketches but don’t let the sketch tell you how to paint. I transfer my sketches to paper and then I cover them with a base color, whichever I need. The sketch is there but looks really light. I don’t worry about covering it. I find that if I do it this way, I paint without worrying about details. Details will come in the next layer and I can always go over any area and tweak it until the painting is just right.

“Gee-Up, Neddy” Babybug Magazine July-August 2012

What kinds of things do you do to promote yourself?

I hand postcards at conferences and carry portfolios in both my iPad and my iPhone. I  try to blog regularly and keep a FB page and a twitter account. I do try to do at least 1 series of blog posts a year of some sort. The last 2 years 3 children’s illustrators and I have had the November of Mini-Interviews (http://juanamartinezneal.com/blog/2012/10/03/the-november-mini-interviews-2012/ ). Just now, we have a new project: A collaborative 2013 wall calendar. We are 4 children’s illustrators from different parts of the world and are mailing those calendars to publishers. You can read about our group “Storybook Brushes” here: http://storybookbrushes.com. If you are interested in purchasing a copy, you can do so here: http://juana.bigcartel.com/product/2013-storybook-brushes-wall-calendar

Above and below from the Ant and the Grasshopper

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a chapter book, a new Nestle Nido book, some magazine work and my personal projects.

Above and below from The Ant and the Grasshopper

Are you the only artist in the family?

Nope. My father is a watercolor artist, my father’s father was an artist, my grandfather’s father was a violinist, my brother is an artist, my uncles were writers and painters. All on my dad’s side. My mom is a craft woman. She enrolled me in ceramics and painting classes since I can remember.

Did you always know that you wanted to be a Children’s Illustrator?

No. Everything just happened. My father was an AD for many advertising companies in Lima. Once when I was 16 he got an account for a toy company. My father is an incredible realistic artist but doesn’t know how to illustrate so he asked me to sit and draw some children for him. More to keep me busy, to tell you the truth. So I drew. I remember my dad’s eyes getting round and big when he saw what I did. He knew I was a children’s illustrator but I didn’t. At least, not yet.

With the market changing so rapidly. Many people are thinking about using e-books to publish their picture books. Do you have anything to share in this area?

Yes, remember you still have to consider that even if your book is digital, you will still have to pay the illustrator, the company that formats your ebook and the developers of your app. You then have to sell and promote it. And simply put, how many copies would you need to sell in order to get your investment back? I encourage you to search online for other people who have done e-books and apps and listen/read their stories. You must know in order to make an informed decision.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a chapter book, a new Nestle Nido book, some magazine work and my personal projects.

Can you share your thoughts about self-publish your story?

I would not recommend it. Self-publishing a book is expensive – $20,000+. You will have to wear many hats, way too many in my opinion. You’ll be the writer, editor, art director, distributor, marketer and the venture capitalist. And being honest, each of those jobs are better done by someone who works full time doing only the job they excel at. That’s why I feel you should want to submit your manuscript the traditional way, first.

Do you have any words of wisdom to share with other illustrators?

I don’t consider myself a wise person but I can share one thing: Always say yes. You never know what opportunities will come from that initial project.

Juana, thank you so much for sharing your talented illustrations and process with us.  If you would like to see more of Juana’s artwork or follow her, you can find her using:  Website+Blog http://juanamartinezneal.com
Twitter http://twitter.com/juanamartinez
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/juanamartinezneal.illustrator

Please take a minute to leave Juana a comment.  I appreciate it.  Thanks!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Some of you might remember David Harrison from the New Jersey Annual Summer Conference.  He was the keynote speaker in 2010 and also did an Intensive and a number of workshops to help our members. 

Well, David is conducting a Poetry workshop this coming year for the Highlights Foundation.  I am letting you know this early, because the space is limited and you might not get a spot if you wait.

If you decide to attend, I can let you know that David is extremely helpful in giving his time and expertise to other writers and he is very saavy about social media and new technology.

You can visit his website at: www.davidlharrison.com or his blog dedicated to poetry: www.davidlharrison.wordpress.com

Here is the information about how the workshop 5 -day layout and what you will learn.

Highlights Foundation

Poetry for the Delight of It 

Workshop Description 

Date: September 28 – October 3, 2013

Arrive Saturday, September 28, at 3:P.M. for a tour of HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN and Boyds Mills Press. Ends Thursday, October 3, after lunch. 

Designed For: From budding poet to published veteran, we learn and teach at every stage. If you like to think, talk, write, and share poetry, this one’s for you. 

Limited participants 

Group activities:

• Four key workshops:
  • Conceiving ideas for poems
  • Rough drafting
  • Revising & Rewriting
  • Tips on marketing
• Discuss and practice poetic techniques  
• Verse and free verse: pros and cons
• Become better readers of our work
• Learn what to look for in good/bad poetry
• Become better critics of our work
• Meet and hear special guests 

Individual activities will include time to:

• Practice writing what you’re learning
• Be still with your thoughts
• Start something new
• Meet one-on-one with your workshop leader
• Have your work critiqued by your workshop leader
• Fun, impromptu gatherings to share poems
• Chance to learn from others 

What you will accomplish:

• Write poems
• Practice fundamental elements of poetry
• Return home excited about the new poems you will write 

What we will accomplish:

• Make you a better poet
• Create a community of poets 

IT IS TIME TO NOMINATE WRITING AND ILLUSTRATING www.kathytemean.wordpress.com for the WRITER’S DIGEST’S 101 BEST WEBSITES FOR WRITERS!

If you have enjoyed the articles and information you received everyday this year, please help by dominating my blog. Submit an email to writersdigest@fwmedia.com to nominate my blog www.kathytemean.wordpress.com

I would greatly appreciate your help.

Thanks!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Bitterblue was named a New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Book of 2012. 

The New York Times in their review said,
“Some authors can tell a good story; some can write well. Cashore is one of the rare novelists who do both. Thrillingly imagined and beautifully executed, “Bitterblue” stands as a splendid contribution in long literary tradition.”

To celebrate Karen Cashore has posted the story of the journey of writing her novel BITTERBLUE, complete with examples of written pages. 

She writes all her books longhand. That alone is quite a feat to me. I’d be lost without my computer.

Below are some of the things she showed and talked about:

What you see above is fairly typical: I write, I scratch out a word here and there, I scratch out a line, I change things; then I put it away for the day, come back the next day, realize the entire thing is crap, and cross the whole page out with a big X.

Once I’ve written 40 or 50 pages — or, essentially, get to a point  where I’m starting to worry about the house burning down (though I do  keep my notebook in a fireproof, waterproof safe) — I transcribe my  handwriting into my Word document using voice recognition software (because I can’t type much at all without pain). The transcription, like every other moment when I’m looking at my work, is an opportunity for crossing more things out (symbolically) and changing things.

That’s my essential process for every book. But, of course, there’s more to it. For example, while I write, I scribble cheery, encouraging notes to myself.

I am skipping a lot of info that Karen shared, but after three years and 800 pages, she finished the first draft and sent it off to her editor, Kathy Dawson.  When Kathy got back to her after reading the manuscript, this is how the  conversation:

Kathy Dawson: “This is going to sound like a crazy idea, but now, at the beginning of the revision process, is the time to voice crazy ideas. Would you consider starting again from scratch?”

Karen:  !!!!!!!!
*insert nervous breakdown*
*insert perspective*
*insert reconsideration*
*insert realization that she is 100% right*

Here’s the reason this ended up being the best thing my editor could have said. Within that 800-page mess, the final story was all there. If you were to read Bitterblue‘s first draft, you would come away with essentially the same story a person reading the final book comes away with. But there was a lot of extra, unnecessary stuff in there, too; I’d spent a lot of space working things out for myself that didn’t really need to be worked out for the reader.

There were extra characters who could be consolidated into fewer people to simplify things. There were plot complications that didn’t need to be so complicated. The themes were buried in crap; they weren’t shining. There was an earthquake! (Literally. One plot point was an earthquake.) The story I was trying to tell didn’t need an earthquake.

Now, normally when revising, I sit down with the printout of the draft I have and start crossing things out, working with what I’ve got, molding, trying to change the shape of an existing thing into something new. But here was my editor suggesting I start again from scratch.

I put the draft to the side, where I could reach it, but where it wasn’t right in front of me. I pulled a blank sheet of paper toward me. And I played what was essentially a mental trick on myself: instead of determining to decide what to get rid of, what to change the shape of, what to mold, I said to myself, “I’m writing a book. La la la, here I am, writing a brand new book. Hmm. What, from this pile to my side, might I add?“

Cutting a lot more out of Karen’s journey; the second draft of Bitterblue took Karen about five months, “if I recall correctly. Five and a half? Easily the longest revision of my life so far.”

And what happened after she finished Draft 2?

Her editor continued to send her amazing, helpful letters; friends read and gave feedback; and she revised it several more times. In total it took her four years to finish. 

Here is the Link: http://kristincashore.blogspot.com/2012/12/pictures-of-book-being-made.html. It is a good read.

IT IS TIME TO NOMINATE WRITING AND ILLUSTRATING www.kathytemean.wordpress.com for the WRITER’S DIGEST’S 101 BEST WEBSITES FOR WRITERS!

If you have enjoyed the articles and information you received everyday this year, please help by dominating my blog. Submit an email to writersdigest@fwmedia.com to nominate my blog www.kathytemean.wordpress.com

I would greatly appreciate your help.

Thanks!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

"What happens to your characters isn't what drives the story. It's how your characters respond to those events that makes up the plot."

The goal of query letter is to elicit an invitation from an agent (or editor) to send in sample chapters or the whole manuscript.

A query letter is a ONE PAGE letter with three concise paragraphs: the hook, the mini-synopsis, and your writer’s biography. Don’t stray, if you want to be taken seriously as a professional writer. Keep it simple. Stick to three paragraphs.

Paragraph One—The Hook: A hook is a concise, one-sentence tagline for your book. It’s meant to hook your reader’s interest, and reel them in.

Example:  Bridges of Madison County

When Robert Kincaid drives through the heat and dust of an Iowa summer and turns into Francesca Johnson’s farm lane looking for directions, the world-class photographer and the Iowa farm wife are joined in an experience that will haunt them forever.

Agent Query suggests using the when formula: “When such and such event happens, your main character—a descriptive adjective, age, professional occupation—must confront further conflict and triumph in his or her own special way. Sure, it’s a formula, but it’s a formula that works.”

Note: Many writers use the “when” formula, so use it as a starting point. Write your basic hook and then spice it up.

Example: Non-”formulatic” fiction hook:

The Da Vinci Code
A murder in the silent after-hour halls of the Louvre museum reveals a sinister plot to uncover a secret that has been protected by a clandestine society since the days of Christ.

Paragraph Two—Mini-synopsis: This is where boil down your entire novel into one paragraph and expand your hook. Put in the hard work of practicing and revising, until you get that paragraph to sing the same tune as your whole book. Read the back flap of books you like to get a feel for how to create a juicy paragraph.

Paragraph Three—Writer’s bio: Keep it short and related to writing. If your book revolves around a hospital and you are a nurse, then say that. If you have a published book, been published in some magazines, etc,, or won a writing contest or award, then let the agent know. if you’ve never been published, never won any awards, hold no writing degrees, and have no credentials to write your book, then don’t say it. This just gives you more space for Paragraph Two.

The Closing: Thank the agent for their time and consideration. Let the agent know you have the full manuscript available upon request. Note: Never query an agent unless you have written, revised, and finished your full manuscript.

TIPS:

1. Always address your query to a specific person.

2. Make sure you mention the title of your book.

3. Mention the word count and genre of your book.    

Note: Novels should be 80,000 to 100,000 words. Young adult novels can be significantly less: 40,000-60,000 words. Insert word count and genre at the end of your first “hook” paragraph.

If your novel is 200,000 words – Cut before you query.  No one wants an overweight manuscript. AgentQuery reports unless your manuscript is a historical family saga or an epic science fiction battle, agents hit DELETE on proposed first-time novel over 110,000-120,000 words.

4. Share the reason why you are querying this particular agent. Let the agent know that you have researched them and have a reason for choosing them for representation.

5.  Have someone you know check for typos and grammar mistakes. It is very easy when e-mailing a query letter to click the send button before throughly checking your text.  Writers seem to be in the mode to triple check everything when they snail mail their queries, but since we send so many personal e-mails without closely checking every word, that “Send” button can be easily clicked.  The mistake snail mailing query writers make is forgetting to include their contact information – something you don’t need to include with an e-mail. I know that sounds crazy, but I have seen it when writers have sent me submissions for editors and agents.

Need to see an ACTUAL query letter before you’ll know how to write one? Here is the query letter Author (at the time agent) Nathan Bransford:

Dear Ms. Drayton,

As a young literary agent with Curtis Brown Ltd. I have long admired Inkwell, as well as your strong track record. To paraphrase Douglas Adams, if you searched for a book that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike THE BOOK THIEF (which I absolutely loved), you might just have JACOB WONDERBAR AND THE COSMIC SPACE KAPOW, a middle-grade-and-up science fiction novel that I just completed. Still fun! But no one dies – Mr. Death would be lonely.

Jacob Wonderbar has been the bane of every substitute teacher at Magellan Middle School ever since his dad moved away from home. He never would have survived without his best friend Dexter, even if he is a little timid, and his cute-but-tough friend Sarah Daisy, who is chronically overscheduled. But when the trio meets a mysterious man in silver one night they trade a corn dog for his sassy spaceship and blast off into the great unknown. That is, until they break the universe in a giant space kapow and a nefarious space buccaneer named Mick Cracken maroons Jacob and Dexter on a tiny planet that smells like burp breath. The friends have to work together to make it back to their little street where the houses look the same, even as Earth seems farther and farther away.

JACOB WONDERBAR AND THE COSMIC SPACE KAPOW is 50,000 words and stands alone, but I have ideas for a series, including titles such as JACOB WONDERBAR FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSE and JACOB WONDERBAR AND THE VACATIONING ALIENS FROM ANOTHER PLANET. I’m the author of an eponymous agenting and writing blog.

I’d be thrilled if you would consider WONDERBAR for representation, and a few other agents are considering simultaneously. Thanks very much, and hope to talk to you soon.

Nathan Bransford

Here are a few other places to look:

Nathan Bransford dissects a really good query letter and extoll its virtues.

Click Here to Visit Galleycat. They have 23 Agent Query Letters That Actually Worked.

Nonfiction writers don’t need to have a completed fiction manuscript.  They only need a proposal before seeking representation from an agent. Here’s are books and places to help with writing a proposal:

• “How to Write a Non-Fiction Proposal” Former literary agent, Nathan Bransford.
• Agent Sharlene Martin’s book, Publish Your Nonfiction Book: Strategies for Learning the Industry, Selling Your Book, and Building a Successful Career By Sharlene Martin and Anthony Flacco
• How to Write a Book Proposal, 4th Edition By Michael Larsen

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Yesterday we talked about writing a successful query letter.  Today we are going to discuss how to find the right agent for those query letters.  I know you might be saying, “Just give me an agent, any agent and I’ll be happy.”  Well, be careful what you wish for, you might get it and it might not be pretty.

It is important to do your homework and learn everything you can about the agents you are considering.  What good is sending an agent a query if they would never be interested in the type of book or writing you do? What good would it do you to have an agent who makes you feel uncomfortable? Make list of agents and  narrow it down.

Here are my homework suggestions for finding the right Agent:

1. When you read a novel you like and you can see similarity to what you are writing, look in the back of the book to see if the author thanked their agent or editor. Write down the names.

2. Visit Literary Agency’s websites and look at the bios of the agents. They list the genres each agent is looking for and their likes and dislikes.  Add the names of the ones that fit what you are writing to your list.  Cross off the ones that don’t fit.

3. Many agents are on Twitter – Follow them.  You can find out little things about them to clue you in on their personality and things they like.  Occasionally, they will say something about what they would like to receive.  Here is the link to Galleycat. They have a list of agents on Twitter. Just understand that the information was posted in April of 2011, so some of the information has changed. Example: Mary Kole is no longer at Andrea Brown and John Cusick is no longer at Scott Treimel NY. They both are still on Twitter.

4. Look for agent and editor blogs and follow the ones on your list.

5. Keep your eyes open for blogs that write about the publishing industry.  Check out your favorite author blogs, too. Keep your list on your desk and write down important information as you find it.

6. Check out conferences and workshops, even the ones that you do not expect to attend. They list the agents attending and give you information about each one.  So what if  you don’t attend, you have increased you knowledge of the movers and the shakers in the industry. Sign-up for a few each year, where the agents on your list are on the faculty.

Why is it important to attend a few conferences or workshop each year? ANSWER: It lets you see the agent in person and get a feel for what they are like.  Are they snarky, soft spoken, friendly, not friendly, sound like they know the industry or not? An agent may look good on paper, but meeting them in person will give you a better chance to know if you would get along with them.

NOTE: Not all conferences are equal.  Do you homework in this area, too.  Find out which ones actually help you mingle with the agents and editors. At the June New Jersey SCBWI conference, we encourage the faculty to mingle with the members. The editors have even helped introduce members to agents with a recommendation for the agent to take them on as a client.

7. Network. Talk to other writers and  illustrators and pick their brains.  Ask others about the agents on your list. Meet an editor at a conference? Work an agent question into the conversation. This will help you narrow your list down and you never know where the networking will end up.

8. Read Publisher’s Lunch it’s free, but if you are interested in sales and contracts, pay for access to the full version of Publisher’s Marketplace. If you are part of a Writer’s Group, you could share the costs. Lots of valuable information about how successful the agent you are considering is with books deals.  Of course, don’t stick your nose up at a new agent.  You might have a better chance getting your foot in the door with them and they could be the next big agent in the industry.

Of course, it is always a leap of faith when choosing someone to work with, but if you do the above you will increase you chances of success. If you have any other good ideas to add, please send so we can all benefit.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Platform is essential for non-fiction. Platform means "how do people know who you are NOW" which means  it's not "I will build a website" or "I will go on TV" cause those are things you'll do in the future. Platform is about NOW, before the book proposal.

One good way to build platform is to have articles or opinion pieces published in major media. If you don't know how to do that, there's a way to learn. It's called The OpEd Project and they offer seminars on how to pitch yourself and your topic to editors, as well as other things that help you build platform.

I attended the Core Seminar  here in NYC yesterday.  I think it's well worth the investment to attend.  Seminars are held across the country.  Their website gives details on the project itself, and the upcoming seminar schedule.

1. Computer software or book design
2. Starting your publishing business (Not all printers will work with anyone who isn't a publishing company.)
3. Coming up with a budget
4. Coming up with the money
5. Buy your own ISBN numbers
6. Decide if you will do POD (Print on Demand) or do offset printing
7. Find a printer. (For picture books that may be overseas for 4-color printing and lower cost though you will have to order maybe one or two thousand copies and find a warehouser or a place you can store the books away from too much heat and humidity. There are also POD printers in the USA that do 4-color printing AND the cost is low.)
8. Book consultants and packagers
9. Galleys
10. Returned books (You will need to know about this early on.)
11. Marketing help and/or plan
12. Website and SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
13. Writing letters
14. Business cards

“Get Rid of Passive Voice” by Joan Y. Edwards

“A style that consists of passive constructions will sap the reader’s energy. The difference between an active-verb style and a passive-verb style–in clarity and vigor–is the difference between life and death for a writer.” -William Zinsser On Writing Well.

The detective waited. He said to the police officer. “I saw it with my own eyes. This author used passive voice in a manuscript.”

The policeman took off his cap, scratched his head and said to the author, “Get rid of it.”

The author put both hands out palms up. “But, Officer, I don’t know how.”

The detective and officer threw up their hands in disgust. They pointed at the author and said, “Learn about passive voice in 24 hours or we’ll book you.”

I hope you enjoyed my humor. I certainly hope you don’t get in a situation like that. However, if you do, I’m here to help you.

Active voice helps insure clarity of meaning. Every word in your manuscript should have a reason for being there. You want each word to carry a clear message in your manuscript. If your manuscript has too many words, eliminating sentences that use passive voice will trim your word count and add to your clarity at the same time. Rambling on and on in passive voice loses readers. Active voice ropes them in and keeps them reading your manuscript from beginning to the very end.

Here is an explanation with examples to help you understand about voice. There are two voices: Active Voice and Passive Voice. Active voice has the noun subject (doer) verb order.  The verb to be used as a linking verb shows the condition or existence of the subject. Passive Voice usually uses a form of the verb to be and a past participle of a verb: is, are, was, were, being, had been. The subject is not named before the verb in a sentence using passive voice.

In active voice, the subject does the action. The order is simple – subject followed by verb.

David threw the ball. Who threw the ball? David threw the ball. Examples of sentences using active voice:

1. Stephanie lost the money.
2. Mother bought jewelry.
3. James had sung the songs.
4. Nellie was writing letters.
5. Phillip was building the dams.
6. The hurricane had damaged the houses.

In passive voice, the subject (doer) is not before the verb. The subject is absent or it may come in another part of the sentence.

The ball was thrown. The ball did what? Nothing. It was the receiver of the action. On its own, a ball can’t do anything.

The sentences that follow are in the passive voice. No one knows who did the losing, the buying, or the building. It is not mentioned in the sentence before the verb. The subject is missing. The doer of the action is missing. In passive voice, the direct object of a sentence is written before the verb where the subject usually is.  #6 is still a passive voice sentence because hurricane is not before the verb damaged.

Examples of sentences using passive voice where the subject – the doer is missing.

1. Money was lost.
2. Jewelry was bought.
3. The songs had been sung.
4. The letters were being written.
5. The dams were being built.
6. Houses had been damaged by the hurricane.

Think about it.  It’s harder for people to read and figure out what’s really going on when authors use the passive voice. Therefore, editors and readers like to read books written in active voice. Search for the passive voice in your manuscript. If you use Microsoft Word, it has a review tool to check spelling and grammar. If a sentence is in the passive voice, it will tell you and suggest that you revise the sentence. Remember when you change the passive voice to the active voice, put the subject (the doer) before the verb.

Click this link to take Joan’s Active-Passive Voice Quiz

Joan is giving three workshops online with the Muse Online Writers Conference in October 7-13, 2013.

http://themuseonlinewritersconference.com/ In August or September, they will open for registration.  

Here are the 3 workshops:

How to Write a Pitch That Sells

A Five Day Workshop to help you formulate an enticing, magnetic pitch that no editor, agent, or reader could turn down.  Attendees will study the pros, the pitches for the best sellers in your genre and do exercises to build your pitch  skills, create and improve a pitch.

30 Ways to Correct, Trim, and Enhance Your Manuscript

Writer will learn how to enhance you manuscript by correcting grammar/punctuation, using vivid showing words with emotional impact and cutting the words that don’t carry the plot, character, and emotional theme forward. Plus a whole lot more.

Become a PubSubber

This workshop provides a way to encourage and empower writers and artists to submit their work for publication
often. Each time you submit a quality work, you increase your chance to be published. This workshop has detailed steps and resources to build the necessary skills to get your submission in the mailbox or sent through email on your personal submission day.

Joan Y. Edwards is an author/illustrator of the delightful picture book, Flip Flap Floodle. She is a consultant, motivational speaker, and teacher. She offers goal-setting, positive thinking, and writing workshops for adults and children. She is a member of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and Catholic Writers Guild. Her articles have been published in SCBWI-Carolinas Pen & Palette and SCBWI Bulletin. Her website, http://www.joanyedwards.com

I’ll remind you of these when registration begins, so you don’t miss signing up if you are interested.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy