Read the latest article and check the list to the left for more
marketing, branding, illustration & design topics.

____________________________________________________

New prints and T-shirts make excellent gifts

Elizabeth Whelan's latest prints are available at the studio at Five Corners in Vineyard Haven, or you can order online at her Etsy store.

She also has T-shirts featuring her wave logo on khaki and white cotton T's - an affordable gift for your holiday list! Order from this site or come by the studio 9-5 Monday - Friday.

____________________________________________________

Online Software Training Videos

If you're struggling with software such as Photoshop, Excel, and Dreamweaver, even Facebook, Twitter and Google docs, you might want to give a website called lynda.com a try. It's a huge online library of software training videos that is easy to use and affordable. I can't even begin to list all the programs it covers!

I use the site all the time for learning new software and most often, for figuring out how to do one specific task in a program. So much easier than reading a hefty manual!

When you visit the site, check out the list of available subject matter by clicking the Software drop-down menu at the top of the page. As you navigate the site you can try out some of the videos for free (they are underlined.)

 

____________________________________________________

Hiring an illustrator for a children's book

I am often asked about illustrating children's books. Many people, especially those with small children or grandchildren, spend a lot of time reading from picture books and think, "I could do that!"

There are many types of children's books in print these days: picture books, young readers, young adult, graphic novels, the list goes on. And every day new stories are being written and new writers admitted to the ranks of published authors.

If you've ever taken the time to write a story for children, you will know that in your mind, the characters look a certain way, the scenery looks a certain way, and so on. You might feel that you need illustrations to accompany your manuscript when you send it to a publisher in order to help sell your story.

For those of you new to book publishing, it can be surprising to find out that manuscripts are usually submitted without any illustrations at all! In fact, most publishers would much rather you did not send any illustrations or ideas for illustrations, just the story itself in proper format.

Publishers would much rather select an illustrator themselves. They are in the business of selling books, and the editors are aware of what current market trends are, what will sell well and they have many illustrators to choose from. Often the writer and the chosen illustrator only communicate via the editor! But these creative match-ups produce some remarkable results.

So although it seems to many new writers that their manuscript looks rather lonely without images, to an editor you will seem far more professional if you send in your manuscript unadorned.

Following are some excellent books with information about writing and submitting manuscripts for children's books:

2010 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market (Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market)

The Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children (Write for kids library)

Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide from Story Creation to Publication

Writing Children's Books for Dummies

And you may want to consider joining the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) to learn from experienced authors and get support in general.

Another option is self-publishing, or vanity publishing. In this case an editor would not review your manuscript; you would hire an illustrator and a book designer, and make all the decisions about printing and distribution yourself.

If you decide to go this route, I would advise talking to a printer about the cost of printing and binding the books first. You will get a better price break per book the more books you have printed, but then you also will have more books to store. Questions to ask are the cost of softback versus hardback, about the type of cover you will have, if certain sizes of books will cost more or less than others, paper types, and shipping costs.

Next investigage how to market the books to bookstores. There is a LOT of work involved in trying to get a self-published book on the bookshelves, and self-published authors can end up with stacks of books which don't sell and even lose money on the venture. You will be responsible for the marketing materials and making the sales calls, so make sure you have time and money set aside for the sales and promotional end of the job as well.

If you feel you are ready to dive in, then it's time to hire an illustrator and a book designer! The illustrator will create the images, and the book designer will put the whole book together for the printer, picking appropriate fonts, arranging the layout of the pages, and making sure the job will print properly.

Look for illustrators and designers who already work in a style you like. There are plenty to choose from, and most professionals have an online portfolio. They may ask to see your manuscript, and will want to know your marketing plan. It can take 6 months to a year to complete the illustrations for a 32 page picture book, and they will want to know that there's a good chance the book will sell well. Be ready to submit a complete manuscript for them to work with, already edited and proofed. Changes to the text late in the game can mean changes to artwork and layout.

A professional illustrator will want a substantial deposit and to be paid for the illustrations when they are complete, regardless of the printing and marketing of the book. Although an inexperienced illustrator or designer may take on the job for royalties only, or agree to get paid as the book sells, most of the time you can plan on paying an advance for the work, and the balance upon completion.

During the course of this work you will also want to obtain a UPC code and an ISBN code, which will need to given to the book designer to include in the layout.

It's a lot of work, which is why it's good to investigate the business end of the issue first, then decide whether or not you are willing to undertake the risk of self-publishing.

I suggest reading up on publishing in general and trying your hand at submitting your manuscript to the mainstream market first. Not only can the feedback you get from editors make your book even better, but if you get accepted, then they take care of all the expense of hiring an illustrator, printing and selling the books, etc.!

You may have to do book tours, school appearances and appear at signings, and help as much as you can with promoting the book via a website and blog, but these can be a lot of fun. After all, your book will be in print at that point! This gives you a chance to keep on writing, and in the end that is what most authors really want to do.

If you're a hopeful children's book author, I hope this information helps in your quest!

____________________________________________________

Wave Stickers!!

Stop by the studio in Vineyard Haven and receive a free wave sticker. They look like the square logo to the upper left, and measure 2.75" x 2.75". They will stick to most smooth surfaces including car bumpers. Come on in and catch a wave!

____________________________________________________