Marketing Intensive for Illustrators - Opening Remarks

Cecilia Yung says howdydo and shares with us all a new way to think about the work we do and how we might benefit from thinking of ourselves as a corporation*. She likes Dan Santat's self-proclaimed CEO status.

Cecilia says—

The reality is: published books jostle one another for space on a children's bookstore bookshelf.

Being a brilliant illustrator is just the beginning,
Being visible is another important step,
Being smart is the most important step to success in children's book illustration.

Since most of you have one pair of hands, 24 hours in your day, and let's face it, limited funds, being smart is making sure that you are the CEO of your company, and that every single one of your books will contribute to your success by thinking of each of your books as an employee. And marketing is what you do as a CEO to make sure your books work around the clock to bring you success.

*I would like to talk to my corporation about how some people always forget to clean the coffee pot thoroughly.