How to use this Page

One of the things that keep a person engaged is finding new locales to explore.

A person doesn’t have to take a plane, train, bus, or even a car. All that’s required is physical mobility. Some use feet, others use personal wheels. Sometimes when the weather is bad, a leisurely finger walk through the yellow pages can give a person an entirely new look at their hometown.

When Sister Jo and I go into a new town where we’re going to spend a few days, I look at the yellow pages as soon as I can. From those pale tissue leaves I discover the range of amenities available to locals and visitors alike. The demographics of the community are contained with that phone book section.

If you don’t believe me, go to the restaurant section of the pages. See what’s available for your dining pleasure. How many Mexican restaurants are there? Chinese, Thai, or Japanese? What about Mid-Eastern fare? Any Russian, French, or American Steak Houses? These numbers often reflect the population of an area.

What about churches? What denominations are there and how many of each can one choose from?

Is there a dealership where you can take your car if something goes wrong or you need an oil change? What if you need a new tire? Can you find a reputable local tire dealer that won’t cost you the contents of your bank account?

Sheer volume of entries in the yellow pages, their sizes, and the boldness of print tell the explorer much about where they are and what they can expect while in the area. This kind of information is overlooked many times in favor of asking available locals specific need-to-know questions. That’s fine, too, but laborious in nature. The phone book holding the yellow pages also gives you a map of the town so that you can find your way around without having to use the trial and error method.

Much entertainment can be reaped by locals from tourists asking those “Can you tell me…?” questions. Ask any farmer outside any small town how much fun it is to give directions to newbies.

Of course, if you ask the right questions and pay attention in the right locales, you can find your way around easily. Oklahoma is one of those places. The state’s smaller road system is set up on a one-mile grid and named accordingly. That holds true everywhere with one exception. Those areas in former logging areas along the eastern edge of the state and where rivers and lakes don’t allow for straight roads.

Local signage also clues the traveler as to the demographics of an area. There are clues everywhere. It’s up to the visitor to look for the gems.

Here’s an example from yesterday. We took in a local fresh-air farmer’s market in Templeton, CA. There was almost a carnival air to the occasion. Kids ran and played while parents selected the best of the locally grown produce.

We saw artichokes twice the size of softballs. I’ve never seen anything like them. Beside them were egg-sized purple artichokes. I’d never seen their like before either. Vine-ripened tomatoes that filled the hand snugged up against green onions that could feed three. It was marvelous.

The local historical society building was open for visiting where we found fodder for many future investigations. Watching the shoppers told another story. Old or young, they enjoyed the sunshine and produce presentations. Conversation was lively and relaxed

After receiving a few emails from illustrators and friends asking what kind of things I did to get my recent assignments I've decided to make a blog post on the subject. I still find it very useful to read how other illustrators promote themselves or what steps they took to go from unknown to getting their foot in the door, so just thought I'd add my own story here from start to finish.

In the beginning I was terrible, and I knew it. I had been trained as a fine art painter and knew how to paint what was in front of me. Painting from the imagination is a whole different ball game. I also knew next to nothing about composition. It was just....ghastly.

So...I practiced---a lot! I have painted probably hundreds (thousands?) of paintings, many of which were done over and over to 'get it right' (and will never see the light of day). Looking back over my work, I have improved greatly - I just didn't have the chops at all when I started. And I was not a natural.

I went to the library constantly, checking out tons of books by my favorite illustrators for both inspiration and to learn from them. I accumulated some serious late fees (oops).

When I started sending my own stuff out, I got lots of rejections and only a couple notes saying they kept my work on file. This continued for a couple years more - --I didn't know that this is the norm and that I just had to hang in there and be patient. It's hard not to take rejection personally!

Finally, my illustrations started to improve. A kind illustrator friend of mine took me under her wing and told me about Cornell and McCarthy and how great an agent they were. I held my breath and sent my best pieces to them, all presented in a folder with matching cover letter etc. Weeks later, they accepted me! Hoorah! I was over the moon.

Almost another year went by and I still didn't get a whole lot of work, but this was expected. I was a new artist and there was also a slump for just about every illustrator I knew.

Finally, I began receiving a steady stream of educational work. It was an excellent way to get my foot in the door and get a feel for how the publishing world worked--and it was fun! Almost 90 percent of the projects I illustrated never got back to me in print which surprised me. I guess since edu publishers are working with so many artists at a time they would lose a lot of money sending everyone copies of their printed work. I often bought my own books if I was able to find them.

I started to set my sights on being a trade book illustrator and eventually, an author as well--but I put all my energy in the former trusting that the other would possibly follow if I was successful.

Many more years passed (for the most part, documented in this blog) of struggling to improve my art and find my style. Since I wanted trade books, I started adjusting my art to look more like trade book art and found that I was more comfortable with that direction and enjoyed it immensely. But I still needed to put in more practice. And I did--I was hard on myself, doing scenes over and over again and probably being overly critical. I kept posting to my blog on a regular basis and found the community of other blogging children's illustrators to be extremely supportive and encouraging. I would post something, see the responses, and it was sort of a ping-pong effect of bouncing ideas back and forth. I commented on other artist's work as well. We had all found a little nook away from the mostly solitary atmosphere of being an illustrator.

As my art started improving and reaching a level that I felt was 'ready' I started chomping at the bit to get my first trade book assignment. I began doing anything and everything that would get my art out there. Sure, I have an agent promoting me, and I can't begin to express how much Cornell and McCarthy have impacted my career, but you also have to do your part (I believe) and I started sending out extra postcards, updating my website often, and advertising on childrensillustrators.com (I have received many assignments through them, they are absolutely the best out there).

Still....nothing tradebook-like.

Argh! What was I to do? Then one day my agent offered to send out a Christmas card to everyone on their client list with my illustration on the front. This is something they do every year and each time, they pick an artist from their group for the job. I jumped at the chance! Coming up with a design was difficult - I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and you know how that goes. I couldn't come up with anything I liked - I filled a sketch book with ideas. Finally, with the suggestion from my very smart agents, I went back to my favorite subject--PIGS! The ideas finally flowed and I came up with the two designs in this post. The image of these two pigs was finally chosen.



After the card was sent out, it was a quiet holiday season, then boom! January/Feb hit. I started seeing some big publishing companies on my website stats, and .......they were googling my name to find me! Wowee! Even if I had not received any assignments, this in itself was something to celebrate! They had shown interest.

A few months following this initial reaction, I received three trade books in a row and most if not all said they had seen and liked the Christmas card. It just goes to show a couple things--draw what you enjoy drawing the most and your best work will no doubt come out, and two, you never know which sample will get the attention of art directors so keep sending them out.

In the end, you have to love what you do. It was a long road of five or six years before I came to this point in my career, and had I been wishy-washy about being an illustrator, and not put everything I had into this dream, I wouldn't have made it this far. The love for your craft gets you through the hard times and the rejection letters, and the months without work. Then one day, unexpectedly, things begin to finally fall in place (and they will if your heart is in it) and it's really quite a feeling when that happens. I still have lot of hard work, learning and practice ahead of me of course - and always will, because the art of the picture book is a complicated and beautiful thing.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :0)

Let's think about this. How do you make a pickle? The easy answer is that you soak it in vinegar and other seasonings. They are by far my favorite food, followed closely by concord grapes, but that is neither here, nor there. And FYI, the connection with the picture and a pickle is Tink's outfit is green like a pickle.

What in the name of garlic do pickles have to do with promoting? That's easy as well.

To make a pickle, you begin with a cucumber: a simple vegetable that can be used in a variety of ways. Much like a promotional tool. You can start with something basic, say your cover art. This is your most effective tool, but it is basic and alone it may not be as useful as you'd like. Most people don't pay attention to plain cucumbers.

Take your cover art and soak it in something spicy (use your imagination here on my analogies) and you could have an exciting post card. Add a little more seasoning; your blurb, an award you might have won, or an excellent review you earned and it it's just like one of those awesome dills you get at a fair or carnival. Everyone is clamoring to get one, heck that and polish sausage are why some folks go to fairs.

Dill chips, small, easy to pile on a sandwich. Same cover art on a business card, you take a handful (cause no one eats just a few dill chips) and spread them around a room full of readers and savor the tangy taste of success from the sales that will pour in.

Fried pickles (goodness I'm having a craving) are a personal favorite of mine. They are a little more work because you have to consider the breading and the time it takes to deep fry them, but worth every bit of work. Very much like a good e-mail campaign. Now, not everyone likes fried pickles, so you have to find those who are truly interested.

You run a special on your web site, perhaps offer a short story for free to anyone who signs up for your newsletter or e-mail list. You make sure your batter is spiced just right. Prime the pump by making sure your story or whatever you are giving away reminds those registering about you and your story/book. Once you have a good little list going you dip those chips into the batter (tease your readers with snippets, incentives, discounts, whatever.

By now you have the best recipe for success!

I'd like to thank Jonathan E. Quist and Bobbi Hinman for helping me decide what to Blog about today. Didn't think I could do it, eh?

©Karen L. Syed