Hanging out with Neil Flambé writer/illustrator Kevin Sylvester

For more info about Kevin Sylvester:

http://kevinsylvesterbooks.com

NAKED! Process: Overall Narrative, Thinking vs Drawing & more on Pixel Shavings

I posted about working on NAKED! over on Pixel Shavings today:

Overall Narrative, Thinking Vs Drawing and NAKED! Sketching: What I'm Learning About The Picture Book Creative Process - by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Happy "Take Your Child To A Bookstore" Day!

Take  Your Child To A Bookstore Day was founded by children's book author Jenny Milchman, whose debut novel COVER OF SNOW comes out from Ballantine in January. More info about Take Your Child To A Bookstore Day:

Take Your Child To A Bookstore website

Publishers Weekly article (December 1, 2012)

PiBoIdMo: Picture Book Idea Month

Tara Lazar's Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) starts today!

The goal: to come up with 30 picture book ideas in 30 days.

Even if you're not ready to join the challenge but are still interested in reading the daily guest posts about writing, illustrating and publishing picture books (hey, I'm one of the guest bloggers), you should follow Tara Lazar's blog.

Interview with Rob Sanders (Picture This!) about COWBOY CHRISTMAS

Rob Sanders does not work as a telephone sales rep, loading dock worker, trophy engraver, photo stylist, or editor. But he used to. Rob Sanders is not a cowboy, ballerina, chicken, twin, or rockabilly star. But he writes about them. Rob Sanders is a picture book author, a writing teacher, a blogger, a great uncle, a dog owner. And he loves it all.

I'm a big fan of Rob's Picture This! blog, a wonderful resource for picture book writers, and I'm thrilled to be illustrating his new RUBY ROSE series, which is coming out from HarperCollins in 2014. Rob's COWBOY CHRISTMAS picture book (written by Rob, illustrated by John Manders) came out from Golden Books in September.

Rob was kind enough to answer a few questions about his recently released book:

How did Cowboy Christmas begin?

The idea that became Cowboy Christmas came to me when I was driving home from a picture book boot camp with Lisa Wheeler. As I drove along I-75, random thoughts flooded my mind, including memories of the GALA Choruses Festival I’d attended a couple of months earlier. (NOTE: Let your mind wander. Some of the best story ideas come when you’re not trying to think of story ideas.) In particular, I remembered a song entitled “Hannukah Hoedown” which was performed by an ensemble of “Orthodox cowboys.” I thought, “I’ll write a story called Hanakkuah Hoedown!” Of course, I don’t know much at all about Hannukah, so the story quickly morphed into Cowboy Christmas.

I worked drafts through my critique groups and, truthfully, it stunk. But after a few critique group cycles (and a couple of paid critiques), the plot firmed up and the story got better.

Diane Muldrow, Golden Books

I sent the manuscript for a consultation at SCBWI, LA, and I was assigned to Diane Muldrow, of Golden Books/Random House. Diane began our consultation by saying, “My dad and granddad were cowboys.” What a serendipitous connection! Diane gave her critique. I listened, learned, and asked questions. Then I hauled out my latest revision of the piece which we went over it. Diane gave me pointers about making the story more “cinematic” and said, “Send it to me after you’ve revised—no promises.”

Two weeks later, I mailed off the revised manuscript, and two months later we had a signed contract!

What was the editorial process like? How did the manuscript change from when you first submitted it?

Most of the revisions Diane wanted were already in my “second” manuscript (the one I whipped out during our consultation). The Golden Books/Random House team wanted me to “up the cowboy” even more with lingo, expressions, and dialogue. I also revised the verbs over and over.

Diane and I had a couple of phone-call editing/revision sessions. One of them came after she had finished sketches in hand. At that point, we were able to tweak some lines, simplify a passage or two, and we even cut out one whole block of text because the illustration on the two-page spread showed what the words said, so the words were no longer necessary.

When Diane snail-mailed or emailed me the latest version of Cowboy Christmas, I poured over every word, every line, every scene. I charted out words (especially my verbs and dialogue tags) to make sure I wasn’t being redundant and that I had the just-right word every time. Then I collected up my ideas and saved them for the next time Diane asked for input, or we had a scheduled conversation. There are many times to revise during the process leading up to publishing and a wise writer seizes every opportunity.

Working with Diane was a blast. She’s funny, talented, and knowledgeable. She not only valued my input, but went out of her way to ask my opinions.

Have you met the illustrator, John Manders, in person yet?

A family photo from Christmas 1959. I'm the little one on the end. From left is my older brother, Butch; sister Pat; and my cousin Kem. Could these cowboy outfits planted the seed for Cowboy Christmas?I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting John Manders in person. When Diane Muldrow told me John would be the illustrator, my first response was, “The spine will say Sanders/Manders! I love the rhyme!” Diane replied, “It rhymes? We hadn’t even thought of that.” LOL!

When I received Diane’s email about John I had just used a book he had illustrated with some of my student writers. I sent him a fan email immediately, and told him how excited I was that he was going to illustrate Cowboy Christmas. We also passed emails back and forth a few times at the end of the process and after the book was published.

Some people ask if the illustrations look as I had imagined them. That is so-o-o-o difficult to answer. Diane likes her writers to give lots of art notes. (It’s like art directing a movie.) And John did follow the intent of most of the notes—HOWEVER, I could never have imagined the characters and settings and hilarious scenes he created. The book really is a collaboration between story and art, and the illustrations definitely tell the other half of the story.

Picture This! is such a wonderful resource for picture book writers. When did you create it? How did it begin?

Debbie Ohi, you are precious to mention my blog! Picture This! (http:// www.robsanderswrites.blogspot.com/) is my blog for picture book writers. The blog launched January 2011. The whole reason I started the blog was to make myself study and learn more about picture books and Picture This! gave me structure and a schedule to do that. I blogged daily for a year and a half and nearly wiped myself out. (I tend to overindulge in things I love.)

Now I post less frequently, and only when I really have something important to share or say. I’m trying to work smarter, not harder these days, so I’ve created an archive (or directory) for Picture This! so folks can easily find writing craft topics, interviews, inspiration, creative challenges, and so on. I’ll update the directory every six months or so. You can find the directory for Picture This! at: http://robsanderswrites.com/Writers_files/ PICTURE%20THIS%20DIRECTORY.pdf.

Do you have any advice for those who are considering attending their very first children's book writer/illustrator conference?

Stop considering it, and do it! I suggest going to a conference in your SCBWI Region first—that will be more manageable and not quite as overwhelming. Take full advantage of everything—every session, breakout, informal critique time, cocktail hour, paid critiques, etc. After you have a regional event under your belt, go to LA or NYC for a national conference. There is one word for one of those events—AMAZING!

Some folks say they can’t afford to go to conferences. Believe me, I understand. I work as a teacher for my full-time job. I know all about money constraints. But if you’re serious about writing and/or illustrating, you simply cannot not go to conferences. Start saving your money. Find roommates. Share a ride. Ask if there are scholarships or reduced rates in your region. As my Granny always said, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way!”

Rob with friends at the SCBWI Summer Conference in LA 2012

What advice do you have for writers when it comes to handling rejection?

Develop tough skin. Rejection is part of the process (and part of life). In our fantasy worlds editors open our manuscripts and fall in love with us and print our books without a single alteration. But in the real world, there are thousands of rejections for every one published book.

Can I tell you the truth about what I do when one of my writing projects is rejected? I revert to seven-year-old Rob and I say to myself, “I’ll show them. They’ll be sorry. When I sell a million books they’ll wish they’d bought this one from me.”

Then I set out to prove them wrong.

Some of my best writing has been I’ll-show-them writing. Turn your rejections into motivation. Learn from your mistakes. Listen to what people are telling you. And try, try, try not to take rejection too personally. Remember, they rejected a particular manuscript . . . they didn’t reject your writing as a whole, and they certainly didn’t reject you as a person!

What's next for you? What are you working on now?

I have two picture books coming from HarperCollins in 2014. The books are based on my character, Ruby Rose, who dances her way through life and in and out of trouble. (By the way, Ruby Rose grew out of a big-time rejection.)

The first book is entitled Ruby Rose on Her Toes. The other Ruby Rose book is still in the works. Oh, guess who the illustrator is? None other than the world-famous Debbie Ohi!

(Note from Debbie: WOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!)

I have several picture book projects out with my agent right now and he’s shopping those around. I’m working to promote Cowboy Christmas and have book signings, readings, and other appearances coming up in the next few months. I’m beginning to be asked to speak at conferences in various locales. And (believe it or not) I am working on an edgy middle grade novel—a real departure for me—but very, exciting, too. What can I say? I just can’t stop writing!

Any advice for aspiring picture book writers?

Advice-R-Us! I always have advice, ask anyone who knows me. Let me give you a quick list.

1. Write more than one story. As you write more and more, and experiment and learn, the practice of doing so will make you a better writer. It takes many stories to find one that is publishable.

2. Join a critique group AND participate by submitting your work for critique and by critiquing others.

3. Join SCBWI and attend regional and national meetings. Almost every book is sold through a personal contact, a link, a connection.

4. Pay for professional critiques from other authors and professionals. Choose the people you use for critiques from those you meet at conferences, or people whose work you respect and admire.

5. Learn your craft. Good writing doesn’t just happen.

6. Don’t try to find short cuts or take the easy way out.

7. Don’t give up! I know many writers who have stopped because they received some rejections, or life got too busy, or they thought another genre might be easier. Keep at it! Success will come!

8. Visit my web site and have some fun looking around.

9. Buy a copy of Cowboy Christmas and support my retirement fund!

10.Look me up on Facebook, through my blog or website, Twitter, via email, or at conferences. I’d love to meet you!

Rob’s Events and Appearances

October 19-21, 2012

Florida Writers Association

Orlando, FL

Speaker and Critiquing

November 3, 2012

2:00-4:00 p.m.

Inkwood Books

Tampa, FL

Book Launch Party and Signing

November 4, 2012

Horn Museum of Art

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

Reading and Book Signing

November 9, 2012

6:00-8:00 p.m.

Mintz Elementary Night at Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble, Brandon, FL

Reading and Book Signing

November 17, 2012

10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Parnassus Books

Nashville, TN 

Reading and Book Signing

December 1, 2012

1:00-3:00 p.m.

Barnes & Noble, Dale Mabry

Tampa, FL (Near Kennedy Blvd.)

Book Signing

December 15, 2012

1:00-3:00 p.m.

Barnes & Noble

Springfield, MO

Reading and Book Signing

January 18-20, 2013

Florida SCBWI Winter Meeting

Miami, FL

First Books Panel and Critiquing

David LaRochelle: Children's Book Author/Illustrator AND Pro Pumpkin Carver

Wow, check out the amazing kidlit-focused pumpkin carved by children's book author/illustrator David LaRochelle:

From David:

"Chronicle Books held a promotion in conjuncture with my new book "It's a Tiger!" The winning bookstore won a custom designed pumpkin carved by me. Here is the pumpkin I carved today for Riverwalk Books in Chelan, Washington."

See a video of David carving pumpkins:

Pro-Pumpkiner from Ben Garvin on Vimeo.

I'M BORED journal updated: early sketches, pacing and advice for aspiring picture book writers

I've updated the I'M BORED blog with early sketches, pacing and advice for aspiring picture book writers.

Writing & Illustrating A Picture Book For Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (Part 2: Brainstorming, Story Pitch, Thumbnail Assignment)

Continuing my series on working with Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers on two new books...

POSTS SO FAR: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

(Summary: After I finished illustrations for I'M BORED, Simon & Schuster BFYR offered me two blank contracts. This series is about my own experience working with S&S BFYR on my two new books; if you're interested in the process for I'M BORED, please see How I'M BORED Was Created: A Guide For Young Readers. Neither of these series are meant to The Definitive Guide of how a picture book is created. Your own publishing experience may differ, depending on your situation and people involved. Thanks for following along! -- Debbie)

And here is what has happened so far:

I brainstormed picture book ideas.

I've been compiling picture book ideas for a while now, inspired by Paula Yoo's NaPiBoWriWee, Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo and #KidLitArt's Picture Book Dummy Challenge. I've turned some of these into picture book manuscripts.

What I discovered: it's easy to come up with ideas for picture books. The challenge: to come up with picture book ideas that are different from anything else already out there.

This is one of the common misconceptions held by newbie picture book writers, I find: that their story is unique. I still consider myself a newbie picture book writer, by the way, so I speak from experience.

Child nervous about their first day at school but then finds out another child feels the same / makes new friends / discovers it's not so bad after all? Done.

Child has trouble making new friends because they are too shy / insecure / mean / stubborn / family just moved? Done.

Child loses a beloved object / pet / toy and is totally distraught but then formulates plan / enlists help / searches everywhere? Done.

Child having a horrible day where nothing goes right but then takes action & everything turns out ok? Done.

Child resents the fact that he is always overlooked / ignored and decides to do something about it? Done.

Child hates doing something that parents always want her to do so finds a way around it but then discovers why it was a good idea? Done.

Child resents older or younger sibling so decides to run away / get rid of sibling somehow but starts missing the sibling despite himself and reunites? Done.

Child...well, you get the idea.

The bottom line: It's very tough to come up with a story that is totally unique.

But still:

I tried to figure out how to make my story stand out in the marketplace.

At this point, I can already imagine some of you shaking your fingers at me and saying, "Just focus on making a good story. Worry about the marketing/publishing part later."

However, I'm already assuming that having a good story is an essential. My end goal, however, is to not only get the book published but to have the book sell well. If the story is too much like others already out there, a publisher is less likely to want to take a risk on it. And if the book doesn't sell well, then the publisher is less likely to offer me more contracts.

So yes, there needs to be a good story BUT  I also want to help an editor convince their sales team that the book should be published.

An aside: I've already gone through this several times with my novels for young people, in which various editors liked my story enough to take to the next step, but then the projects were nixed by sales/marketing. It's one reason I spent way more time in the plotting/outlining process for my current YA mss before starting to actually write it (and it got nominated for an SCBWI Sue Alexander "Most Promising For Publication Award"! It didn't win...but still! Now I just need to finish it).

So yes, I was discouraged. But then I thought, hold on. Surely I can't be the only one despairing about finding a unique story idea. And there are new picture books coming out all the time! 

And that brings to me to another essential part of my "newbie picture book writer/illustrator" self-education:

I read many, many picture books.

Since the career-changing events of 2010, I've been immersing myself in the world of picture books. I have no children and hadn't really read many picture books since my nephews and nieces grew past that stage.

Once Simon & Schuster BFYR offered me my first picture book illustration contract, that all changed. I started going to the library and local bookstores every week to read as many picture books as I could. I read everything I could get my hands on -- old and new.

I looked at both the text and the illustrations, and how they enhanced each other. I didn't always like the picture books I read, but tried to analyze exactly WHY I didn't like them. And when I really enjoyed a picture book, then I'd reread it and ask myself similar questions: WHY did I like it?

I needed to figure out a unique spin for my stories.

 I looked especially closely at new releases. Obviously these publishers had faith in these books, so what was it about the stories that made the publishers willing to invest money into these projects? The answer: a unique spin. In almost every case, the basic story was enhanced with a framework made unique in either the setting, characters, voice, format or other aspect.

Once I realized this, I went over my list of picture book stories and started working on expanding some of them into full manuscripts with the whole "unique spin" aspect in mind.

But still, I wasn't completely happy with any of them yet. 

I realized that I needed to get my head into "pitch" mode.

When I last visited Simon & Schuster BFYR in NYC to talk about I'M BORED promotion, Justin asked me if I had any picture book stories to show him. I hesitated, saying that I had written about 25 picture book manuscripts but wasn't yet happy with any of them.

Justin interrupted my babbling excuses and suggested that I needed to change my mindset. Having worked with S&S BFYR on I'm Bored, I already had my foot in the door. Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers was my publisher. He was my editor. So how about I pick out 4-5 of what I considered my best stories and send them to him, even if I didn't think they were perfect yet?

Whoa. Really?!?

Ok, I admit I was pretty clueless. I had figured that even though I had illustrated a book for S&S BFYR, that I was still starting from scratch when it came to submitting my own stories. And that if they said no, that was it.

I was wrong.

Anyway, I promised Justin I'd send something very soon. Of course I was STILL paranoid about sending stories that I considered early drafts, so I enlisted the help of my MiG Writers critique group for some feedback and suggestions for tweaks.

Then...I took a deep breath and send my stories to Justin.

He picked one he thought had the most potential. I'm very happy he picked the idea that he did; of all the stories I sent him, this is going to be the most fun to draw!

We had a phone meeting about my story, with editorial assistant Dani Young sitting in. It was a TRULY EXCELLENT phone meeting. I was all "omigod, you're absolutely RIGHT" and "YES! I love that!!" and Justin was all "it's all right there in your story" (I just hadn't seen it).

What Justin was able to do, which I hadn't, was to identify the essence of my picture book as well as see the potential of what it could be. AND he was able to communicate that to me.

By the end of the phone call, I was incredibly inspired and eager to get started.

THE NEXT STEP: I need to show my story visually, in thumbnails.

 Justin asked me to forget about working on the text but just to focus on figuring out how to tell my story visually in very rough thumbnail sketches -- knowing that will help determine my text. I'm not going to worry about character sketches or detailed illustrations yet.

To do this, I've created a template which fits on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. In case any of you would like to use it for your own picture book planning, I've provided a print-ready PDF version (click thumbnail below):

 

There seem to be many different templates for book dummies out there, but I wanted to make sure I was using one that Justin approved since I'll be printing out quite a few copies for me to scribble on. Justin said the endpapers are separate for a 32-page book, so I'm not going to worry about those for now.

I've filled up nearly a dozen of these sheets with my scribbled thumbnails already. Working out a story this way is GREAT for exposing bad pacing and other storytelling problems; I've already discovered that the mss I sent Justin just doesn't work. I'm working non-digitally for these sketches using just a pile of printed sheets, a mechanical pencil and a big eraser. The eraser is getting a LOT of use. :-)

Even if you don't draw but are just writing a picture book story, I still recommend you try this method. Just use stick figures or a scribbled phrase (e.g. "Sam throws marmite at Emma" etc.).

Other resources you might find helpful:

Bob Staake's Picture Book Templates (though reader Michael Johnson had issues with that template and proposed a revision)

Tara Lazaar's Picture Book Layout Dummy

Sarah McIntyre's Book Dummy

How To Mock Up A Picture Book, by Darcy Pattison

FAQ: Making A Picture Book Dummy, by Tina Burke

How To Make A Storyboard, by Uri Shulevitz

If you know any other resources that could help picture book writer/illustrators in the early creation stages, feel free to post below!

There is no set schedule to this blog post series. I'll only post in the series if I have something useful or interesting to say. To make it easier to follow this particular thread, I'll tag related posts with "pbcreation."

Writing & Illustrating A Picture Book For Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (Part 1: Intro)

I'm pleased to announce the launch of a new series of blog posts:

POSTS SO FAR: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

As some of you may already know, I'm writing and illustrating my very first picture book for Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers: I'm going to call this Picture Book X until I have an official title. I'm going to be blogging about the process of creating Picture Book X, from start to finish, in Inkygirl. An aside: if you're curious about my blog posts about the creation of I'M BORED, new picture book by Michael Ian Black that I was asked to illustrate, I recommend you follow my I'M BORED Scrapbook. That blog also details how I started working with Simon & Schuster BFYR.

Because my book is still in its early stages, I won't be talking about its content at all -- not even its title, which has yet to be finalized.

Instead, I'm going to be talking about the process with a perspective that I hope will help aspiring picture book writer/illustrators. I also figure this blog post series may be of interest to those curious about what it's like to work with Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers.

I'll be posting about the process, what I'm learning, what happens at various steps and what they mean, the people I interact with at S&S and what they do. I'll be sharing some of the templates I create for myself to help with workflow, plus give you a peek of what goes on inside Simon & Schuster BFYR later on in the process, after I've handed in my finals.

Keep in mind that this is going to be based on just one particular project and from one perspective (mine). Your book project may have been -- or could be -- very different, depending on the circumstances and the people involved.

My editor, Justin Chanda, has given me the go-ahead to blog about the process (thanks, Justin!). I worked with Justin on I'M BORED illustration discussions, but this will be the first time I've worked with him on story text. 

I haven't yet been assigned an art director; the project is still in its very early stages.

There is no set schedule to this blog post series. I'll only post in the series if I have something useful or interesting to say. To make it easier to follow this particular thread, I'll tag related posts with "pbcreation." Whenever possible, I'll also be including related resources to help you find additional info on the topic, and will also be encouraging you all to share your own experiences.

I hope you'll join me! :-)

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Header photo credits: My photo - Beckett Gladney, Justin's photo - Sonya Sones

New Blog: SUSAN SAYS - by children's book literary agent, Susan Hawk

I enjoyed meeting Susan Hawk at the SCBWI annual conference in NYC, and I just found out she has a new blog!

Susan worked in children's book marketing for over 15 years, most recently as the Marketing Director at Henry Holt Books For Young Readers. Before that: Library Marketing Director at Penguin Young Readers Group. While at Penguin, she also helped acquired projects for Dutton Editorial.

From her About page:

I handle books for children exclusively: picture books, chapter books, middle grade and YA, fiction and non-fiction. In middle-grade and YA, I’m looking for something that makes me laugh out loud, I’m a sucker for bittersweet, and I can’t resist a character that comes to understand how perfectly imperfect the world is. I want a book to stay with me long after I finish reading, and I’m looking for powerful, original writing. I’m open to mystery, scifi, humor, boy books, historical, contemporary (really any genre). My favorite projects live at the intersection of literary and commercial. In non-fiction I’m looking for books that relate to kid’s daily lives and their concerns with the world. In picture books, I’m looking particularly for author-illustrators, succinct but expressive texts, and characters as indelible as my childhood favorites Ferdinand, Madeline, George and Martha.

Where you can find more info about Susan:

Her Susan Says blog: http://susanhawk.blogspot.com

On Twitter: @susanhawk

Also, Heather Ayris Burnell recently interviewed Susan Hawk about picture books: why she represents picture books, what she looks for, common submission mistakes, and preferred word count.

I'M BORED Scrapbook Blog Launched: how a picture book was created

****Update February 14, 2013: Please note that the Scrapbook and other bonus material have been moved to the I'M BORED Bonus Page.

I recently launched the I'M BORED Scrapbook, a place where I'll be pulling in everything I've been posting related to I'M BORED. Until the picture book launches this September, I'm mainly going to be focusing on a series of blog posts about how this picture book was creating, from start to finish.

Editor Justin Chanda, art director Laurent Linn and author Michael Ian Black have all been kind enough to answer some questions about the process for me.

The most recent post gave me a chance to ask Justin questions I've been wondering about, like whether he attended that 2010 SCBWI-LA conference with the goal of finding an illustrator for Michael's book, what exactly appealed to him about my portfolio, and what Michael's reaction was to my art.

Next up on the Scrapbook: Michael shares what inspired him to write I'M BORED.

Google+ Hangout with my SCBWI Illustration Mentee Pals

Just had a great Google+ Hangout with my fellow SCBWI Illustration Mentee pals (Class of 2010): Kimberly Gee, Eliza Wheeler and John Deininger. Andrea Offermann tried to join us, but unfortunately had browser issues. :-(

It was great to be able to catch up with what we're each doing in our children's book illustration and writing projects, plus Eliza and I filled in Kimberly and John about our kidlit-focused Lost Weekend With David Diaz.

I'm looking forward to seeing Eliza (second from the left in the bottom row of screens) at the SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC next week! As I posted in the KidLitArtists.com blog back in the summer, we were super proud when John won an Honor Award and Eliza won the Grand Prize in the Illustration Portfolio Showcase at the SCBWI conference in LA.

As part of her prize, Eliza is going to be meeting with children's book publishers while she's in NYC. You can see a fantastic interview (with tons of photos and drawings) that Kathy Temean did with Eliza about her work on Kathy's blog.

For more info about the SCBWI Illustration Mentees (not just the class of 2010), see http://kidlitartists.blogspot.com/.

If you're curious about Google+, feel free to check out my list of Google+ Guides For Newbies directory.

It's Easy To Write A Picture Book. Writing a GOOD Picture Book, On The Other Hand...

I have too many picture book ideas (I partly blame Tara Lazar & her PiBoIdMo 2011 month :-) and have been working on half a dozen picture book story texts over the past year: rewriting a zillion times & dumping ideas that just don't work. Anyone who thinks picture book stories are easy to write is NUTS. Or rather...it's easy to write a picture book. It's very difficult to write a GOOD picture book. It makes me appreciate Michael Ian Black's wonderful I'M BORED story all that much more.

Anyway, I've stayed sane by plowing ahead and doing drawings for picture books that don't exist yet. Less pressure, helps me improve my craft, and who knows? I may turn some of these into full-blown projects someday. I've also been reading Ann Whitford Paul's Writing Picture Books, Harold Underdown's Complete Idiot's Guide To Publishing Children's Books, and Cheryl B. Klein's Second Sight: An Editor's Talks On Writing, Revising & Publishing Books For Children And Young Adults for inspiration.

Anyway, I decided to do the drawing at the top of this post because I liked the pig character in one of my recent Daily Drawings (see http://DebbieOhi.com for more of my Daily Drawings):

I'm participating in KidLitArt.com's Picture Book Dummy challenge for inspiration as I continue to work on my own picture book stories AND continuing to read as many good picture books as I can. Any recommendations for well-written picture books?

THE F&Gs FOR "I'M BORED" JUST ARRIVED!!!!

MY F&Gs for I'M BORED JUST ARRIVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apologies for all the exclamation marks BUT I CAN'T HELP IT!!!!!

Good thing the delivery guy had walked away by the time I ripped open the package, else he would have heard me screaming (or seen me jumping up and down).

Laurent added embossing and some special lamination effects to the cover and IT LOOKS JUST FRIGGIN' AWESOME.

I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THIS BOOK IS ON THE SHELVES! AAAAAAaaaAAAAAAAaaAAAA!!!

The note from Justin says that this is where it starts getting -really- exciting. Whaaa....? Dear lord. If it gets any more exciting, my brain is going to explode. I'm serious.

I'll be posting a new I'M BORED comic as well as making other posts soon, so please do follow/Like the I'M BORED Facebook Page for updates.

Going back to fondle my F&Gs now...

GUEST POST: Hazel Mitchell on the creation of her picture book ebook with UTales

Hazel Mitchell is the illustrator of several books for children, including ‘How to Talk to an Autistic Kid’ (Books for a Better Life Finalist 2012),‘Hidden New Jersey’ from Charlesbridge/Mackinac Island Press 2012, and the ‘All Star Cheerleader’ series by Anastasia Suen from Kane Miller.

She is originally from England, but now lives and works in Maine USA along with a menagerie of animals and a couple of snow shovels.

Find out more about Hazel at http://hazelmitchell.com/

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As a children’s illustrator and writer, the opportunity to get an ebook online can seem both mind boggling and frustrating. Only six months ago, getting a book online was a big and expensive deal, out of reach of most individuals. If you were well published there was a chance your book might be made into an app. The rest of us were just spectators. But just lately the world of kid’s books in apps and ebooks has exploded!

New start-ups are making it possible for children’s book creators to produce their own books and get them out for ipad/iphone/android with little, if any, cost. With the rise and rise of the ipad, and now Kindle Fire, several companies have jumped on board and launched software which enables the easy self-publishing of ebooks.

Each company is doing it in a different way. Some are owned by regular print publishers marrying up with software designers. Others spring from the entertainment industry and gaming companies. Right now, it’s a wide open field.

I was interested to dip a toe into the ‘ipond’ and see what it was all about. I chose to give Utales.com a go. There are several reasons why I was attracted to this app company and one reason was they have an editing team watching over the quality of all books published, headed up by Emma Dryden of Drydenbks.com. She is an industry professional with a lifetime’s experience in editing and producing children’s literature. To me this was vitally important. In a market that is truly self published having no QC is asking for trouble. After all, we want these books to be a great product.

Utales is based in Stockholm, Sweden and is the brainchild of entrepreneur and social media expert Nils von Heijne. Anyone can submit a book for review by the uTales panel. The software created by the company is very easy to use and requires very little expertise. For illustrators who already use a computer, it’s a breeze. The software comes with the ability to create simple animations and sound effects. Those looking for more extensive animations and control might find the software lacking. But it’s about creating great stories for kids, and although there are some bells and whistles, it’s not the main focus of Utales.

Utales works on a co-operative system. (Something very different to other ebook platforms out there). Utales encourages collaboration between authors and illustrators, some working at great distances from each other around the world (over 1,000 to date). Join the Utales page on Facebook to meet other creators, it's a lot of fun! The % earned by a book is 60% of the cost (and you can set your own price). If you are working with a collaborator the % is split 50/50. Books may be purchased singly or the purchaser can choose to subscribe monthly to the service and read all the books they wish. The cost of subscribing is $9.99 a month and with over 150 to choose from, that’s great value! Each Utales contributor is then paid a % of the total subscriptions in that month, dependent on the number of times their book is read.

Another cool feature of Utales is their support of the charity Pencils of Promise, a nonprofit founded in 2008 that has since built 30 schools in villages around the world. Contributors can choose their level of donation from each book.

SO how did I create the book?

First I had to decide what to create. That was pretty easy as Utales was running a competition to retell a classic tale and I chose ‘The Ugly Duckling’ by Hans Christian Andersen.

The page size is always a square format. First I worked the way I would usually for any book - by creating thumbnails and roughs to get the flow of the story. I was aiming for about 30 pages, so about the same as a standard picture book.

I hand drew each page in pencil. (Again this is how I usually work).

I scanned them in and using Photoshop, coloured them. Then I added the text. There is a facility to place the text in Utales, but frankly it was just as easy to add in Photoshop. (Later I wish I had used the online text facility as I had to them go back and forth to make edits and reload which was aggravating.)

Next, I thought about the areas I would like to animate. These areas have to be uploaded as transparent gifs/png’s to the software on Utales and overlaid on the background. I separated the egg out in Photoshop (which moves and makes a ‘cracking’ sound) and also added a couple of dragonflies that ‘chime and wiggle’ when touched. Go to http://utales.com/books/the-ugly-duckling to see the finished page.

I uploaded the background (with the text) to Utales. To do this you need to join the Utales community. Starting a book is easy ... You simply create a new book and the software opens on your computer. No downloads etc. You work totally online with each page in a book format and can preview at every stage. It works on MAC or PC.

The software did have some issues ... occasionally it would lose the animations and sounds and if I had to change the background then the overlays sometimes had to be repositioned (you can change the sizes and positioning with handles, very easy!)

You add cover pages and title pages just as you would with a printed book. Here are a couple of other images. On some of the pages I made things move that you normally wouldn’t expect - like the rain and snow and stones in the barn yard. It created more movement with limited options. I also created some double spreads for interest as well as spot illustrations.

When you have completed the book (and you can rearrange pages and make changes as much as you wish) then you submit it (or ‘publish’) to Utales. At this point the book is reviewed by the QC panel. If they have changes (mine were mainly with punctuation - NO surprise there!) They will get back to you. You can resubmit the book twice more for review. After that if it is still not up to quality - then no deal. And they mean it!

After a couple of back and forths ‘The Ugly Duckling’ made it to the ebook list in time for the launch in early November. And what was even better I won the Utales Classic Tale Competition and got myself an ipad2!! Yippee!

The app is available to download on ipad and iphone right now. You DO need to register first at Utales.com to get a password and user name. This has proved somewhat frustrating because Apple will not allow a redirect to a website OR instructions on the front page (well, they will, but for a BIG %). It’s aggravating as it feels as if Utales is being penalized for it’s community approach. We are assured this won’t be so on the Android, and hopefully, Kindle rollout. We shall see.

So far I have had over 550 hits on the book and am hoping to produce another classic fairytale soon. It was a lot of fun to produce the book. I guess I did it in about a week, a very small amount of time from conception to public release!

Utales are planning on adding more animation and sound features in the New Year. Right now all books are in English, but other languages are planned, as well as more educational books. I really hope that there is a ‘read back’ feature at some point.

Things to bear in mind: These Ebooks are great for younger viewers - if you want to do a graphic novel or similar, not so much. Larger text is best because of iphone in particular. Bright simple pics work well, but with the quality of the ipad detailed drawings do just as well these days. The emphasis is on reading and not games.

To see a preview of ‘The Ugly Duckling’ go to http://utales.com/books/the-ugly-duckling

Find more of my work at www.hazelmitchell.com

or my blog at www.hazelmitchell.blogspot.com. I’m a proud member of the GLOG Pixel Shavings and a PAL member of SCBWI. Contact me by e-mail.

HarperKids video: Meet Author/Illustrator Kevin Kenkes

Wow, I love watching this man draw. The video includes fascinating info about how Kevin Henkes draws and writes. He says that before starts a picture book, he works on the character first. He wants to have a clear image of the character before anything else.

One of my favourite quotes from the video: "If we expose our kids to books and art, nothing but good can come of it."

More info about Kevin Henkes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Henkes

Unfortunately his official website seems to be hacked right now. :-(

November 2011 is Picture Book Month

Picture Book Month is an international initiative to designate November as Picture Book Month, encouraging everyone to celebrate literacy with picture books. Founder, Dianne de Las Casas (author & storyteller) storyconnection.net, and Co-Founders, Katie Davis (author/illustrator) katiedavis.com, Elizabeth O. Dulemba (author/illustrator) www.dulemba.com, Tara Lazar (author) taralazar.wordpress.com, and Wendy Martin (author/illustrator) wendymartinillustration.com, are putting together their worldwide connections to make this happen.

Every day in November, there will be a new post from a picture book champion explaining why he/she thinks picture books are important.

"We are doing this because in this digital age where people are predicting the coming death of print books, picture books (the print kind) need love. And the world needs picture books. There’s nothing like the physical page turn of a beautifully crafted picture book.

Join the celebration and party with a picture book!"

On Twitter, you can follow Picture Book Month tweets with the #PictureBookMonth hashtag.

Yay! I'm allowed to post the cover for I'M BORED!

Cover design: the amazingly talented Laurent Linn (my art director at Simon & Schuster BFYR). Author and illustrator credits will be on the back cover. I LOVE the cover design! So clean and simple, and (fingers crossed) bound to catch the attention of bookstore browsers.

I'll be gradually posting some more art, sketches and photos from my whole I'M BORED adventure, plus info for kidlit writers and illustrators based on what I've learned from the whole experience.

If you're on Facebook, please do "Like" our I'M BORED page....thanks!

PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Ideal Month) sign-up starts today

Yay! Official sign-up for PiBoIdMo starts today! Check out the cool event badge created by my illustrator friend Bonnie Adamson.

The challenge:

Create 30 new picture book ideas in 30 days.

You can find out more info in Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo sign-up post.