Along with everything else I've got planned, this year I also intend to write and illustrate a children's book.
Just wondered if anyone else had done or maybe intends on doing any such writing work?
Write and illustrate a children's book.
Written three novels. Apart from scripts.
Yes! Not that exciting but I have written a biography of elizabeth 1 for the 9-13 age group.
I was shocked at my daughters lack of knowledge of history.
She thought Gandhi was the wizzard in Lord of the Rings!!!
I wrote the text for a picture book which my brother illustrated, we were (and still are) pleased with it, but despite some interest we ultimately had no joy finding a publisher. It is an incredibly difficult field to break into. One thing we found was that publishers are not particularly looking for a complete package. You might find you have more joy placing a text which they can farm out to an established illustrator. Or if you do decide to illustrate it yourself, rather than wasting a lot of work, it might be better to sketch it out and only do a couple of finished illustrations; that way you can take on board any advice without scrapping something you have put a lot of work into. At any rate do your homework, find out about the market and what publishers are looking for. One mistake we made was to do a Christmas book; it turns out publishers are reluctant to touch Christmas books because the sales window is so small. Hey ho!
I worked in a kids book library for quite a while and ended up writing a few picture books for my own pleasure. I might one day tidy them up so they're not completely awful and send them out.
Quote: Timbo @ January 26 2009, 8:22 PM GMTOne thing we found was that publishers are not particularly looking for a complete package. You might find you have more joy placing a text which they can farm out to an established illustrator.
This is very true; send text or portfolios of your artwork, you're much more likely to get some interest. I don't know why that is, but it's one thing I learned from working around kids books.
Quote: Timbo @ January 26 2009, 8:22 PM GMTI wrote the text for a picture book which my brother illustrated, we were (and still are) pleased with it, but despite some interest we ultimately had no joy finding a publisher. It is an incredibly difficult field to break into. One thing we found was that publishers are not particularly looking for a complete package. You might find you have more joy placing a text which they can farm out to an established illustrator. Or if you do decide to illustrate it yourself, rather than wasting a lot of work, it might be better to sketch it out and only do a couple of finished illustrations; that way you can take on board any advice without scrapping something you have put a lot of work into. At any rate do your homework, find out about the market and what publishers are looking for. One mistake we made was to do a Christmas book; it turns out publishers are reluctant to touch Christmas books because the sales window is so small. Hey ho!
Yeah, my intentions are more towards a story/picture book.
Would love to see your work, anything online?
Quote: Matthew Stott @ January 26 2009, 8:31 PM GMTI worked in a kids book library for quite a while and ended up writing a few picture books for my own pleasure. I might one day tidy them up so they're not completely awful and send them out.
This is very true; send text or portfolios of your artwork, you're much more likely to get some interest. I don't know why that is, but it's one thing I learned from working around kids books.
If you ever fancy sending 'em over, I'd love to av' a wee read... who knows!
Quote: random @ January 26 2009, 8:34 PM GMTWould love to see your work, anything online?
No, but here's the title page:
Very nice mate... do like 
I can see me speaking with you sometime this year, trust that'll be ok?
Cheers, but I can't claim credit for the artwork, that was my bro!
I had to rewrite a loosely-based Nativity play for my sister (primary school teacher) because it was shockingly tedious and would've been a labour of love to sit through.
I (with the help of a mate) turned it into a rip-roaring Shrek-esque humour farce (appealing to adults and kids) and apparently it went down really well with the audience and the kids loved doing it.
It nearly killed me doing that, by the way. If it wasn't for getting one of the sheep to say 'I'm here all week -- try the lamb', I don't think I could have finished it...
Dan
Apparently there's no money in children's books and they're not as easy as you'd think. But if I had the time I'd have a go.
I entered a competition years ago and got a "mention".
If a little dark...
Dan
I fancy having a go at one someday. Probably pitched at an older age though, so not illustrated as such. Although I have recently made the acquaintance of someone who does do excellent drawings.
I did an MA in Illustration and Design a couple of years ago and my mate there was doing a children's book which did the rounds with various publishers. What he learned:
- Send them an outline and some hard copy sample illustrations rather than a mock-up of the book. As others have already stated, they prefer a hint of the book to come rather than the whole thing completed in front of them. That way they feel like they'll have control over the end product.
- They like online portfolios better initially than a real one. If they like what they see they'll invite you down for a meeting and you can take any portfolios and mock-ups down with you then.
- Try sending your work to literary agents who represent children's book authors/illustrators. They'll often be more responsive than the publishers themselves and can be a lot of help along the way.
Hope that's some help. Good luck, mate!
Quote: glaikit @ January 27 2009, 10:35 AM GMTI did an MA in Illustration and Design a couple of years ago and my mate there was doing a children's book which did the rounds with various publishers. What he learned:
- Send them an outline and some hard copy sample illustrations rather than a mock-up of the book. As others have already stated, they prefer a hint of the book to come rather than the whole thing completed in front of them. That way they feel like they'll have control over the end product.
- They like online portfolios better initially than a real one. If they like what they see they'll invite you down for a meeting and you can take any portfolios and mock-ups down with you then.
- Try sending your work to literary agents who represent children's book authors/illustrators. They'll often be more responsive than the publishers themselves and can be a lot of help along the way.
Hope that's some help. Good luck, mate!
Cheers mate, thx for the advice