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.

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.