Children's publishing information by Scott E Franson

Getting your break in children’s publishing is a dream come true, at least it was for me. One day at the BYU Writing and Illustration for Young Readers Conference, the illustration teacher, Eric Rohmann (My Friend Rabbit) said, “I like your book. Send it to me and I will show it to my publisher when I see him at the American Library Association Meeting next week.”

I was so excited and it is always nice to get a complement from someone you respect. I sent the book to him, he took it to ALA, showed it to his publisher Simon Boughton, Simon liked it and I had a signed contract in about 6 weeks. I should write a book called Getting Published in 2 Months.

It is a fun story to tell and is a happy place in my memories but, there is more to the story. In my basement I have a set of framed prints from a book called Cowbird. It was finished in 1998 as part of my MFA exhibit at Utah State University. The frames are covered with a sheet and every 3 to 5 years I look at them when my wife wants me to move them deeper into the basement. The images are OK, the story is a bit preachy, the words rhyme, and I have a hand full of rejection letters that you can barely read because they have been photocopied so many times. But it was a break through for me. Just finishing a 32 page picture book is a difficult challenge.

Now let’s go back to 1989 when I was attending Art Center College of Design as a graphic designer. I enjoy graphic design but I really wanted to make images, I wanted to be an illustrator. Then to make it worse, I doodled all the time and my doodles were cute. Cute and art school don’t mix well, at least that was my impression. Cute was not a compliment during critique. So I kept drawing because I liked it but I kept the drawings to myself. It was a challenge but I have come to terms with the “cuteness” of my work.

In 1971 Mrs. Spencer, my Kindergarten teacher, complimented my coloring of brown spots on a giraffe. I wasn’t talented with numbers and letters, but I could color and it felt good.

Many people have dreams of writing and/or illustration books for children and many of them become an overnight success just like me. It just took me 40 years + two months.

A series of illustrations is not a book nor is a series of spreads. A picture book needs connections between individual illustrations as much as it needs the illustrations to connect with the words. Each illustration should set the stage for the next.

The text should also be considered as part of the visual flow because it is a visual texture. The eye of the reader should effortlessly move from one element to the next without confusion.

fig 1 | The colored line shows the visual flow

A colored line has been drawn over the original storyboard from Un-Brella (fig 1) to show the intended path for the reader’s eye to follow. Drawing the visual flow can be done on a storyboard and it may translate to book form or it may not. Seeing the whole story at once is different than revealing the story a spread at a time with a page turn. To check the visual flow of a book there is no substitute for a book dummy.

A storyboard is a series of small images representing a spread (2 pages side by side) that show a visual overview of the whole story.

They can be done many ways but I usually draw them on one piece of paper. This allows me to see at a glance the visual narrative. Draw them in the proportion of the book. Weather it is square, tall, or wide, the format of the book is part of the story telling and should be considered from the beginning of the process.

One of the main function of the story board is to help the author or illustrator evaluate their use of resources. An example of a resource is the number of pages. The printing process requires that the number of pages be multiples of 8. Common sizes are 24, 32, or 40 pages. By far 32 pages is the most common and is where you should begin.

What happens in the allotted space? How long is the beginning? How long is the middle? How does it end? Plan each scene and put them together in a logical narrative sequence. Plan transition from place to place or time to time. It soon becomes apparent if you have too much content or too little.

This is a 32 page, tall storyboard

Download pdf storyboard templates | 32 page square | 32 page tall | 32 page wide

Why is this illustrator’s technique useful for writers?

A story in your head may seem clear and length appropriate. Putting the story into the format of a storyboard gives visual form to an idea in a simple and easy way. “But I can’t draw.” Get over it! There is no need for you to worry about the quality of the drawing because the storyboards are for you to tell your story and no one else needs to see them. The process helps to you to clarify the sequence and pacing of your story. In addition, seeing your story will help you develop it more.

How do you use it to plan out your picture book?

In my book Un-Brella I had originally planed to show the little girl using the “un-brella” to create the opposites of all kinds of weather; changing summer green leaves to colorful fall leaves, wind on a still day so that she could fly a kite, splashing in rain puddles on a sunny day. It seemed great until I started to storyboard. I soon discovered that these different weather event were “events” that didn’t help the story move forward. Telling the story became more important than showing all of the capabilities of the un-brella. It is surprising how short 32 pages is.

I was forced to edit and tighten the narrative and I think that it made the story much better.

The Original Storyboard for Un-Brella. As you can see I had a little bit of trouble counting to 32. The book ended up being 40 pages with printed endpapers instead of the more common 32 pages with colored paper for endpapers.

Specifically, how does it allow you to plan out scenes? Illustration possibilities? Setting? Action?

Focal point (the first thing the reader looks at) | I like to move the focal point around from page to page. It can move up or down, left or right, and near or far.

The reader’s point of view | Changing the point of view adds interest. It helps to transport your reader from the chair, floor, or bed, into the world of your story. Move them up into the sky looking looking down, take them underground, or look through a keyhole.

Visual pace | Do you want the reader to quickly move through the spread or spend some time.

A word of caution | Radical changes in point of view can jar a reader out of the story. Make sure that it is enhancing the readers experience.

What are the benefits of story boarding vs dummying?

They are different processes. Storyboards are the big picture while the dummy simulates the reader’s experience. Turning pages adds to the experience. Looking at a book one spread at a time is different than looking at it all at once.

Do you use both story boards and dummies? If so, please describe how the two can be used together.

I use both processes and frequently go back and forth between the two. Storyboards are faster while a dummy gives a more accurate representation of the finished book.

When looking at a dummy here are some questions that I ask.

• Does this spread add to and move the story forward?
• Has this element of the story already been told?
• Does the story need this spread?
• Is there enough visual interest?
• Is the amount of text age and story appropriate?
• Is it a good delivery?
• Is there a beginning, middle, and end?

Workshops and Conferences are a great place to meet published and aspiring authors and illustrators. It doesn’t take long to learn the lingo and to get an idea of how the publishing world works. You will make many good friends.

BYU Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers | This is my favorite Workshop/Conference. I have attended this conference for the last three years. The basic format is small group workshops in the morning with award winning authors and illustrators, and conference in the afternoon with editors, agents, and the faculty members. The faculty is always amazing.

SCBWI National Conferences (NY and LA) | Great for networking. The information is basic and seems geared toward beginning authors and illustrators. The exception to this is the Illustration Master Class that Tomie dePaola taught in LA 2006. The group was limited in size and home work was given and required in order to attend the class. There were 20 very dedicated and talented illustrators that attended.

If you are interested in illustrating children’s books this is what the art director is looking for. This form is a good tool to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your portfolio.

Review your own portfolio

A portfolio is a communication tool that lets an art director know that you have the ability to get the job done.

Thank you Cecilia Yung, art director extraordinaire, for this information. She presented it to the illustration master class at the 2006 SCBWI Conference in LA.

In order to design a book it is important to know the parts of a book and how to use them to tell a sequential story.

Basic book anatomy

Gutter | This is the fold in the middle of the book. It is an element that needs to be a major consideration when designing images for a book. Avoid placing important elements in or near the gutter. Elements placed too close to the gutter may disappear after the book is bound.

End paper | The paper at the beginning and end of a book. It is frequently a different color. The end paper has 2 functions. The first is to attach the cover to the pages. The end paper is glued to the hard board of the cover and the edge of page 1 to hold the pages in the book. The second it is use aesthetically as a transition into the story. The end paper may be illustrated.

Spine | The spine is on the outside of the book and lists the author, title and publisher. For most books the spine is all that is showing. Don’t overlook its importance.

Case cover | The case cover is the artwork that is glued to the outside of the book. It is usually the same artwork as the dust jacket.

Dust jacket | Wraps around the book with flaps that have a synopsis of the book and an author biography.