ADVICE FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN PURSUING CHILDREN’S PUBLISHING…
This is my best advice in terms of what you should know about the children’s publishing industry. Please keep in mind the information below is very honest as this is an incredibly difficult industry to break into. I don’t believe it’s helpful to sugar-coat what it takes to work as an author and illustator. I would argue that it’s actually detrimental. When I was in college, I had a professor who stated, on the first day of Illustration 101, that most likely none of us would make it as an illustrator. He proceeded to tell us how competitive the market was and the likelihood of getting published (it’s a 1-2% chance, by the way). At the end of the speech he concluded with: well, we may as well give it a shot seeing as you’re all here. That was it. There was no silver lining he offered. Nothing. Just convenience of being in the same place at the same time every week. Then I spent the rest of college not giving up so that I could graduate and be so accustomed to not giving up that I wouldn’t even notice I was doing it in the real world. Now, I wonder if he was actually a genius. It was probably the most depressing speech I’ve ever been given, and yet somehow his reverse psychology worked. All thirty of my classmates and I are currently working as illustrators or designers in some capacity. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
Now, you could say that telling aspiring authors and illustrators the truth could potentially immediately talk them out of it. And your right. It will for some people. But that’s the point. Because if you’re not willing to ignore all the things I’m going to tell you, then you aren’t cut out for this anyway. If you don’t have perseverance, patience, and tenacity, then you may as well give up now. Because that’s what it is going to take. I’m of the belief that if you know it’s supposed to be hard, then the knocks won’t feel as hard. You can pick yourself up easier. Those of us that do this do it because we have to. We can’t not write. We can’t not draw. It’s like breathing. If you don’t feel that way about it, then don’t do it.
I’ve collected and curated the advice below over the past fifteen years in the industry from my own experiences and fellow authors and illustrators. I hope you’ll read it, consider it, remember it when times are hard, and then block it out and keep going.
- The basics of publishing are patience and perseverance. It takes a long time to break in for most people and when you are in, it takes a lot of perseverance to keep putting out work consistently. You will always need to keep working.
- There are gatekeepers. They are the agents and the editors. Most authors and illustrators use an agent to sell their work. Agents take in hundreds of thousands of manuscripts a year while, editors take in thousands of manuscripts a year. Think needle in a haystack. That's not to say it's impossible, there are exceptions to every rule.
- There are numerous dues to pay. Most people work another job while they try to break into publishing. And even then, they usually keep said job for financial stability/health insurance/etc. That being said, I do this full-time, however I worked as a bookstore manager and wedding invitation designer in the early years of my career (I've been doing this over 15 years now). And even then, there are still slow periods during the year. I also write and illustrate my books which makes a huge difference financially as opposed to just writing only. Not only do I get the entirety of the advance, but I don’t have to split my royalties. There is a reason that you hear people say that the ideal is to both write and illustrate. If you plan to write only, you need to get creative. Write different genres, stay productive, and be active with school visits.
- Remember the industry is a business at the end of the day. You have to learn to separate how you feel about your work from the realities of it’s place in the market from a business perspective. Just like any other business, publishers are always looking to buy as cheap as possible, unless you have something they really want.
- Self-publishing is growing. This avoids the gatekeeping, however, you’ll need to constantly be releasing work. You can’t publish one picture book on Amazon and expect it to take off. You’ll need to publish ten. Think of an influencer on social media with regards to how you would need to produce and release work. You will also be entirely responsible for all marketing and publicity for your book.
- Start with reading. Read a lot and read often. Especially in the genre you are interested in writing. Then start writing, write a lot and write often. 10,000 hours makes someone a master of their work. Think more like 50,000 for this. Don't expect to write a novel or picture book without knowing the current market exceedingly well. You need to know how your book will fit in the market because those comparisons are going to lead your pitch. I highly recommend working in a bookstore or regularly visiting the library to learn what's new and popular in the market.
- There are plenty of authors and advisors on social media. Some have information that helps, but most of the time they are trying to sell you something. Myself included. Keep that in mind. That being said, the majority of children’s book authors and illustrators are genuinely helpful and will offer advice if they can.
- Don’t publish with anyone who makes you pay for the publishing. It's a scam.
- After you start writing a good idea, you will need to polish it and edit it and polish it and edit it again until it is near perfect. Then you can start sending out to agents. There are endless agencies but positions are few. And make sure you do your research. There is no credential or requirement to become a literary agent. Anyone can do it, so look for reputable agencies or pay attention to author's you like and see who they list as their agents. There are definitely people out there who will prey on authors and their work so be conscious of that. Send as many queries as possible and be patient.
- Develop a strong support group. This can be family or friends. Or your critique group. But you are going to need people who support you during the highs and lows of this. If it’s a critique group, make sure there is at least one writer/illustrator who is better than you so you have someone to critique your work that will push you to become a better writer/illustrator.
- This is a marathon not a sprint, at least for most. Hang on tight and be prepared for a lot of turn downs. At the end of the day all it takes is one person to back you, but that one person can be hard to find.
- Join your local SCBWI chapter: www.scbwi.org. There are chapters all over the country. They do critiques, group readings, and conferences with published authors, agents and editors. This is a great place to start if you know nothing about the industry.