Authors Panel: Emma Otheguy

Emma Otheguy is an award-winning author of several books for children, including the I Can Read series Reina Ramos, the picture books A Sled for Gabo and Martina Has Too Many Tías, the bilingual picture book Martí’s Song for Freedom, and the middle-grade novels Sofía Acosta Makes a Scene and Silver Meadows Summer. She is the author of the Carmen Sandiego novel Secrets of the Silver Lion and co-author, with Adam Gidwitz, of The Unicorn Rescue Society: The Madre de Aguas of Cuba.

Screenshot of Emma Otheguy presenting in the panel,
with a slide showing four covers of her Reina Ramos early readers.

As part of the Authentic Voices in Early Readers Authors Panel, Emma Otheguy introduces her Early Readers series, Reina Ramos in this way: 

"Reina is a child who loves to dance, and is full of energy. She wants to be good - she loves her mom and her abuela - but whose headlong energy gets her in trouble... But [it's] always resolved with a lot of heart!

Emma shares that good early readers stack the deck in favor of the child who is starting to read on their own, and like Frog and Toad, "they sacrifice nothing in terms of literary product." 

Great takeaway insight: 

"A great early reader is one where on every single page of the book you can see the main character's emotions changing based on the action of the story." 

Emma explains that you need to link narrative (the action plot) with the character's internal emotional experience.

The short version of Emma's journey to getting the Reina Ramos series published: Emma wrote a proposal and manuscript, but the timing wasn't right. But a year later, when an editor was looking for an early reader series and asked Emma's agent if they had someone who could do that, the timing was right, and Emma had already put in the hard work—and so got the opportunity!

One of the reasons Emma was so passionate to write an early reader with a Latina character was having Spanish right there along with the English.

"Multi-lingualism is not inherently stranger or other or harder... it's something that is so normal, and so a part of childhood everywhere, that it should be in this part of literature for children that is accessible, that is widely available." 

Reinforcing that, Emma shares that 16% of kids in the United States speak Spanish at home, and one-quarter of kids in the US today are Latino. 

There's much more conversation, with great tips(!), stories about breaking into the business, insights, and an engaging Q&A. 

An inspiring and helpful panel!

Authors Panel: Authentic Voices In Early Readers with Valerie Bolling

Valerie Bolling is passionate about creating stories in which all children can see themselves and feel seen and heard, valued and validated. She is the author of six picture books -- LET’S DANCE! (SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner), TOGETHER WE RIDE, TOGETHER WE SWIM (2023 Kirkus Prize Finalist), RIDE, ROLL, RUN: TIME FOR FUN!, BING, BOP, BAM: TIME TO JAM!, and I SEE COLOR (Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection) -- as well as a Scholastic Acorn early reader series, RAINBOW DAYS.

A graduate of Tufts University and Teachers College, Columbia University, Valerie was an educator for 30 years and is active in the kidlit community, teaching picture book classes (independently and for the Highlights Foundation), presenting at conferences, and participating in book festivals.

You can find out more about Valerie at valeriebolling.com/index.html. Valerie is represented by James McGowan. Here's the story about how Valerie and her agent found each other.

Valerie wrote her early reader Rainbow Days  series for Scholastic Acorn because she wanted to create inclusive stories for children. The series features a girl named Zoya and her dog, Coco, who love to make art.

After successfully publishing picture books like Let's Dance and because of her engagement with the kidlit community, Valerie became interested in Scholastic's call for books featuring BIPOC characters. Kate Corella, editorial director at Scholastic, recognized Valerie's talent and potential, and encouraged her to read as many early readers as she could. 

Valerie said that Kelly Starling Lyons was an early mentor, providing invaluable guidance and support. 

It's exciting to be providing books who are just becoming independent readers, says Valerie. She loves working on books that helps children see themselves.

Valerie's tips on writing early readers:

You need to read many books in the genre.

You need an engaging story.

Create a character that you really love and that you can live with. What makes your character special? For example in Valerie's Rainbow Days series, Zoya is a character associated with glitter. When she figures something out, she always says, "oh, oh, I know!" This makes it more fun for the creator and the reader.

Early reader series is not necessarily the genre you should lead with when you're querying, says Valerie.

Bonus info:

In terms of scheduling, all three of the books in Rainbow Days came out within a year. 

Valerie says in her experience, picture books pay more. She points out that this might differ, depending on the context (individual author, illustrator, publisher). She also said that for her early reader series, she received payment after the third/final book came out.

Welcome and Keynote with Felicita Sala

Welcome and Keynote with Felicita Sala

Happy Day Two of the 2024 SCBWI Summer Conference!

The morning began with the most exciting presentation by Felicita Sala! Though she wasn't able to join us for a live session, the pre-recorded keynote was absolutely fabulous! 

Felicita Sala began with a bit of her background but spent most of her time diving into her influences, why she makes picture books, and how they shaped her work.

Felicita wasn't always a picture bookmaker. In fact, it wasn't necessarily her dream. She just happened into it. But as a kid who loved to read and to escape to fantasy worlds with imaginary friends. From a very young age, Felicita had a love and fascination with fairytales that she would listen to on audio cassettes and read along. Some of her earliest influences were Italian illustrators and authors from the 60s and 70s. She would pour over them, and attribute them to her sense of aesthetic. 

Felicita thought that these books just existed. She didn't realize that an artist- made the pictures, even though she grew up in Italy looking at brilliant artwork. 

So she began to ask herself:

"What it means to be a child, and what is her service to them?"

When Felicita creates, she doesn't think of the audience when she begins a story but rather, thinks more about the personal need of what the story needs.

As a teenager, Felicita read Sophie's World which led her to study philosophy.

That is when she became interested in the word "WONDER," which she feels means to "leave space for something mysterious."

What attracted her to "wonder" was the connection between child and philosopher. This connection to the artist.

" I don't believe we can make children's books if we have lost the faculty of wonder."

Disillusioned by modern and post-modern art, Felicita went on to explore other things. She didn't think illustration could be a career path until she returned to Europe where she discovered picture books were an art form. 

Picture books lives outside the conventional art world. It bridges the world of adults and children and called back to the fairytales of her childhood. 

"Children have the key to understanding them (on picture books), that most adults have lost."

So Felicita began her work in the publishing world. She mostly works with Australian and UK publishing which she believes has a different sensibility than US publishing, and this has been a great environment for her experimental and playful aesthetic and storytelling.

Felicita loved books that "help children climb through the window, not the door."

Here are some of her INFLUENCES:

Gianni Rodari 

A creator of picture book from 60s through the 80s who played with words  annd surrealism. 

Felicita loved the experimental aspects of his writing and own "The Grammar of Fantasy" by Gianni Rodari, which dives into the storytelling she admires and loves. 

Emanuele Luzzati 

Illustrator that was influenced by folk art from Eastern Europe. 

The decorative, flat style influenced Felicita's aesthetic. 

Loves surreal, nonsense, over-the-top things, entertaining- Feeds her inner child

Scandinavian Literature: 

Felicita loved the way these artists drew children and this influenced several of her books and how she drew children.

"When you work on something that appeals to your inner child, it will appeal to children as well"

Russian Influences: 

Leo Lionni "Swimmy" 

It is textural, and experimental, where the artist is free from creative constraints.

This influenced Felicita's book "When You Find the Right Rock." 

In this book, she allowed herself to play with paint, brushes/brushstrokes, and collage which she usually doesn't do. It felt very freeing and this is one of her favorite works which releases in September 2024.

FELICITA'S PROCESS

Starts with a light sketch to map out the piece.

Using masking fluid to keep some spaces white, and light washes of color

More washes of color and added color detail.

Deepening color, defining shapes, and adding more details.

Color pencil to add features, minute details.

Then she scans and adds/cleans up digitally.

At the very end, Felicita showed some pages from SKETCHBOOK:

 Sketchbooks allow you to work on fundamental skills (linework, texture, etc) and allow you to learn to play.

Check out her STUNNING work!

https://www.felicitasala.com/

Felicita Sala
Illustrator

About
Felicita was born in Rome but grew up in Perth. She graduated with Honours in Philosophy form the University of Western Australia. She moved back to Italy in 2007 where she taught herself illustration and very slowly started making picture books. Over the years she collaborated on various papercut animations with husband and animator Gianluca Maruotti. She now works as a full time illustrator. One of her books 'She Made a Monster' was selected among the 10 best picture books of 2018 by the New York Times, and her self authored book 'Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street' has been translated in over 10 languages. In 2020 she won the Premio Andersen as best illustrator in Italy. She lives in Rome with her family.

Art Directors Panel: Carol Ly

As an illustrator, I can't think of anything more exciting than a room full of acquiring art directors and art agents ready to answer questions! Well, that's what this panel offered. Moderated by the incomparable TeMika Grooms, a lot of valuable information was shared. 

Panelist Carol Ly, from her website: Carol Ly is a book designer based in New York. After graduating from the Tyler School of Art with a BFA in Graphic and Interactive Design, she left Philadelphia to work in children’s publishing. She’s been making fun stuff ever since. Currently an Associate Art Director at Random House Children’s Books, she has previously worked at Scholastic and Macmillan. Carol has also designed books for clients such as Zando and Levine Querido. Her experience covers everything from jackets to interiors, board books to young adult, and more. Accolades include art direction recognition by the Society of Illustrators and the Book Industry Guild of New York as well as a feature in Spine Magazine. Carol’s work has also been showcased by Applied Arts, Graphis, and Creative Quarterly.

How do you discover the artists you work with? Following admired artists on social media and personal websites. Loves discovering fine artists on random blogs, or editorial illustrators who haven't dabbled in trade publishing. "Art is everywhere."

What do you look for in portfolios? Ly looks at how artists stylize people. Characters should not look cookie-cutter. Looks for a diversity of body types, and artists who know how to work with type, color contrast, and settings.

How to send submissions, Re: Random House: Send postcards, yes, but digital submissions through Query Tracker are best. Digital submissions get passed around the art department.

What do you look for in working with an illustrator beyond art? Loves working with illustrators who are great communicators. Some artist do not respond at all when their work will be late. Be a good collaborator, and respect the knowledge of the art staff. 

What other things can illustrators do while waiting to get published in the trade? Figure out multiple income streams. Keep developing your skills.

Round-Up Of Posts from #scbwiSummer24

Wow, what an amazing conference! Don't forget that even if you missed some of the events, you can always watch the video replays. Replays will be available in approximately 5-7 days, and will remain accessible for 30 days.

For easier browsing, here's an index of SCBWI Team Blog posts. Note that not all sessions are covered in the Conference Blog. There are only six of us, after all! Team members are assigned to cover particular sessions or volunteer to cover sessions.

SCBWI Team Blog: LW (Lee Wind), JS (Jolie Stekly), JT (Jaime Temairik), DT (Don Tate), JC (Justin Campbell), DRO (Debbie Ridpath Ohi).

--------------

PRE-CONFERENCE:

SCBWI Summer Conference Portfolio Showcase - DRO

Interview With Frances Mahaney, Conference Artist - DRO
Team Blog Intros:
Lee Wind, Justin Campbell, Debbie Ridpath Ohi

--------------

THURSDAY:

UnBanning Books Panel:
    Arthur Levine - JC
    Maggie Tokua-Hall and Lee Rowland - LW
    Kyle Zimmer and Betsy Gomez - JT

Newcomer Orientation with Jolie Stekly - DRO

--------------

FRIDAY:

Welcome and Intro with Sarah Baker - DRO

Success Story Panel:

    Pamela N. Harris - JS
    Amy Kumph - JT

Editors & Agents Panel, moderated by Laurent Linn:
    Josh Adams - DT

    Sonali Fry - DRO
    Saba Sulaiman - LW
    Tiff Liao - JC

Breakout Session One:
    Make It A System with Emma Otheguy - JS
    Technique & Style with Rashin Kheiryeh - JT
    Curate Your Porfolio With Aliza R. Hoover - DRO
    Capturing Your Life: Memoir in Picture Books with Andrea Wang - LW
    Six Marks To Hit Before You Submit With Dan Richards - JC
    Publicity & Marketing With Tracy Van Straaten - DT

Art Directors Panel, moderated by TeMika Grooms:
    Karen Li - JT
    Adriana Dominguez - DRO
    Mela Bolinao - JC
    Carol Ly - DT

Breakout Session Two:
    Keeping It Together When It Feels Like Your Publishing Career Is Falling Apart with Alison Weiss - DT
    Breaking Down Picture Book Pagination with Kait Feldman - JS
    Finding The Kid Viewpoint In Picture Book Biographies with Alyza Liu - JT

    Exploring 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Person Voice with Cheryl Klein - DRO
    From Pages To Panels with Whitney Leopard - JC

SCBWI Illustrators Committee: Ask Us Anything! - DT

Translators Social with Jan Mitsuko Cash - LW

--------------

SATURDAY:

Welcome and Keynote with Felicita Sala - JC

Authors Panel: Authentic Voices In Early Readers

    Melissa Iwai - JS

    Kelly Starling Lyons - DT

    Emma Otherguy - LW
    Valerie Bolling - DRO

Breakout Session Three
    Writing Rhythm and Rhyme with Tameka Fryer Brown - LW
    Writing For Illustrators: Memory As A Dreamscape with Zahra Marwan - DT

    Beyond Scrivener: Using Tech To Tame Your Nonfiction Research with Colleen Paeff - DRO

    How To Make Your Author Website Your Best Marketing Tool With Ayanna Coleman - JS

    Building The YA Universe With Abigail Hing Wen - by JC

Breakout Session Four

    Writing For The Educational Market with Nikki Shannon Smith - JT
    A Graphic Novel Workshop For Illustrators With Sharee Miller - DT

    Illustrating Stories Digitally With Juanita Londoño - JC

    Strategically Craft Reels To Promote Your Book With Erin Lee - DRO

    Plot Paradigms For Pantsers With Janet Fox - JS

    Book Fairs 101 With Lionel Bender - LW

Check out the Portfolio Showcase:
    Lee's Highlights
    Jaime's Highlights

    Debbie's Highlights

    Don's Highlights
    Justin's Highlights

    Index to SCBWI Team Blog Portfolio Showcase Highlights

Illustrated Notes from the Conference - DRO

Closing Keynote: Kate DiCamillo - JT

Awards and Wrap-Up

    Stephen Mooser Member Of The Year Award, Scholarship Winners - DRO
    Portfolio Showcase Awards & Wrap-Up - DRO

    

Social: Translators Social with Jan Mitsuko Cash

 

screenshot of some of the attendees at the Translators Social

Hosted by SCBWI Global Translator Coordinator Avery Fischer Udagawa, the friendly group included translation coordinators Susan Jones (SCBWI Japan) and Kelly Zhang (SCBWI Canada East).

The community meeting started with Avery sharing opportunities for translators through SCBWI, including the new grant, Pitch Perfect - a grant to help translators propose projects. Keep an eye out for World KidLit Month (coming up in September.)

Jan Mitsuko Cash won the 2024 Batchelder Award (the equivalent of the Newbery award for translating children's books) for translating Houses with a Story by Seiji Yoshida, and Jan is a special guest at the social! 

Avery and Jan talk about the translation work Jan is doing - mostly manga, a little bit of novels, and also some middle grade -- mostly commissioned works.

Jan's advice for those who want to translate books for children:

Cold emails - that's how Jan got her start!

Jan's advice for published translators:

Be careful about scheduling - "I've had to learn how to say 'no' to things." Think about what you want to prioritize and what you really want to pursue.

We get to see more of Jan's translation projects, Jan talks about puns (translating puns), and there's a whole discussion about the spread about toilets in Houses with a Story. "It's just a really great spread... and all these fun facts... he makes everything look beautiful." That translation job was also unique in that the original 200 page book was hand-written by the author/illustrator in the original edition in Japanese.

The social transitioned to introduction and conversation among the group.

A lovely community of translators!

PS: If you're a translator, and you're interested in being a guest blogger for SCBWI (a paid opportunity) please see this post here.

SCBWI Illustrators Committee: Ask Us Anything!

 

Introducing our esteemed Illustrator Committee panel, from top left to right: Paul Zelinsky, Pricilla Burris, Dana Carey, Cecilia Yung, Laurent Linn, Jerry Bennett, Pat Cummings. 

This Q&A made for a lively discussion. It included information about SCBWI's Policy on AI, The Essential Guide to Publishing for Children, Awards and Grants, and the Illustrator Gallery. 

Art director Cecilia Yung began by reminding attendees that publishing is full of conflicting opinions! Learn the rules so you can figure out what you can break. 

Here are a few questions asked and answered.

Q. Many of my favorite books are old. But a lot of the advice offered here focuses on modern books. How do you feel about the oldies?

A. Pat Cummings: It's good to know the history. Who illustrated what in the past? Artists build upon each other. Seeing artwork from the past is how we can learn. We focus on recent books in order to find the editors and art directors behind them. Classics are classics for a reason. These books are long-lasting because they offer something emotional.

A. Cecilia: The classics have already been done. You'll need to do contemporary versions of the classics that speak to today's children. What are today's kids attracted to and what concerns them? In retelling these stories, do not leave the kid behind no matter what. 

Q. I have a different style for fairy tales. Is it okay to have different styles in my portfolio? 

A. Paul: There is no rule; there are plusses and minuses. If you have two distinct styles, they both need to be good. If one style is better, they won't work together in a single portfolio. Exposing your weaknesses won't work to your benefit. Do what you love and what excites you.

Q. Finding the right agent. How do you know if you have a good match.

A. Priscilla: You need to have a good connection and communication with your agent. Check with other illustrators, information gets passed along. Honesty and transparency are important. Also, you must be able to take the critique and revisions that will come. This is still a business. A good agent will knock on doors you don't know exist. Ask a lot of questions.

Q. Social media. Generative AI. What's the what? 

A. Laurent: See the SCBWI's Policy on AI. Keep in mind that nothing can be done better than what's created by the hand of a human being. The heart and soul are in the hands of illustrators.

Q. How can you balance a day job and still get started in children's book illustration?

A. Dana: Try an accountability partner. It's a great way to get to know a person, gain trust, and offer critical feedback. Join a critique group. Participate in challenges such as SCBWI's Artober. Be sure to use the hashtag. Keep in mind, that some art challenges last one week, a month, or one-hundred days. Find one that works for you. Sign up to show up while navigating a day job.

Q. Concerning graphic novels: Are agents looking for author-illustrators only?

A. Jerry: A lot of agents prefer author-illustrators for graphic novels. It makes negotiating the contract easier for the publisher. 

Q. How can you reach an editor or art director?

A. Pat: If you find a book with illustrations you love, you've probably found an editor and an art director, too. 

Q. What elements of an illustration capture an art director's eye? 

A. Cecilia: A lot of artwork today looks alike. That's because artists think what is already being published is what art directors want. Create good characters with great craftsmanship. Create something different than what's already out there. Study picture books. Develop an original voice. What can you bring to the table that can't be done or stolen? Don't do things like someone else. What makes you you? What are your ideas? How do you feel about a piece of art you create. AI does not feel. 

Q. How do I get started?

A. Dana: Research. Read blogs. Read the Essential guide (link above). Keep looking for answers. 

Breakout Session: Finding the Kid Viewpoint in Picture Book Biographies with Alyza Liu

Alyza Liu is an editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers who loves a good picture book biography and shares many great examples in her session. She walks us through the spreads of CAN YOU IMAGINE? (out early 2025!!), the forthcoming Yoko Ono picturebook biography by Lisa Tolin and Yas Imamura. 

When creating engaging and relatable picture book biographies it is of the utmost importance to respect young readers' preferences—they do not want to read treacly, stodgy, preachy life lessons—they want connections to their subjects and it's the author's job to find those themes and emotions that resonate. Alyza outlines for attendees why this is important, and provides a list of questions to ask oneself when writing a biography as well as a list of what she looks for when acquiring one.

Alyza sharing what sorts of elements make a good picturebook biography 

Crafting a compelling narrative that can fit and work within the format and age range of picture books is the key to successful biographies for kids. As a test case: Alyza introduced us to Yoko Ono's life and art through Lisa and Yas's book page spreads. We saw how the book remained age appropriate even when covering violent or triggering topics. And how, as a book for young children, the strongest themes running through it needed to be able to emphasize the positive, which it did: Yoko's imagination, creativity, and commitment to peace all serve as beacons of hope to young readers.

On the topic of working and fitting within the picture book format, Alyza mentioned repeatedly how great Debbie Ohi's resources are for working out book dummies and pagination (Debbie is basically the most wonderful everything, everyone at SCBWI Team Blog agrees). 

Other great, example titles mentioned by Alyza:

THE GREAT STINK by Colleen Paeff and Nancy Carpenter

and

I DISSENT by Debbie Levy and Elizabeth Baddeley

Breakout Session: From Pages to Panels with Whitney Leopard

From Pages to Panels: A Graphic Novel Writing Workshop for Authors

with Whitney Leopard

About this Breakout Session:

Understanding visual literacy and how words translate into art is extremely important for any author writing a graphic novel. This session will focus on writing graphic novels and things all authors need to consider whether they are illustrating it themselves or are working with an artist.

 

This Breakout Session was absolutely fantastic! It was full of so much information that it was impossible to put it all here, so I highly recommend a watch/rewatch!

Here are some highlights from the beginning of the session:

Comic vs Graphic Novel

What's the difference?

The major difference between the two is that graphic novels can be bound like a novel though they are essentially comics. Graphic novels can range from 160 pages (middle grade) to the higher end of 224 pages but it depends on the story you are telling and how much you need to cover it. 

On Comic Script:

"Important to know what you're putting on the page"'

"Focused more on page count, not word count."

"Writer's Notes are definitely welcomed but are not required. You want to trust your artist but notes can only help."

On Submitting:

-A full outline of 3 pages MAX

-A short summary paragraph 

-Sample pages of 10-15 pages of one scene, 

-Sample Script 10-15 pages

(Extra: characters, world-building, comp titles, etc)

"Use thumbnails and words to help you get an idea of how your graphic novel may look."

"A page should have about 5 panels but more panels equals slower pace, less equals faster."

Once again, I HIGHLY recommend giving this a repeat watch! Whitney answered so many questions and I'm excited to apply all of these tips to my own personal work.

Whitney Leopard
Author, Editor

About
Whitney Leopard, Executive Editor at Random House Graphic, graduated from Savannah College of Art in Design with a degree in sequential art. She used to work for BOOM! Studios where she ran the KaBOOM! imprint and worked on New York Times bestselling series like Lumberjanes. At Penguin Random House, Whitney helped launch Random House Children’s Books graphic novel imprint, RH Graphic. Since launching in 2020, she has worked on a variety of titles for children and teens such as: Trung Le Nguyen’s The Magic Fish, Sophie Escabasse’s Witches of Brooklyn series, and K. O’Neill’s The Moth Keeper. From translations to adaptations, Whitney has had the joy of bringing fan-favorite stories to life in graphic novel form, like Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley Twins.

whitneyleopard.com

Breakout Session: Creating Memorable Characters with Shamar Knight-Justice

Shamar's bio: Hi! I'm an author/illustrator based in Atlanta, Georgia. My artwork focuses on mixed media, and unique textures. I've illustrated Ari J.'s Kinky, Curly Crown, which was written by Ain Heath Drew, Big Tune: Rise of the Dancehall Prince written by Alliah Agostini, Repeat After Me written by Jazmyn Simon and Dule Hill, Ari J.'s Firefly Adventure written by Ain Heath Drew, Forever and Always written by Brittany Thurman, and Dante Plays His Blues written by Allen Wells. I work full time as the principal of Ethos Classical, and am entering year 15 in education. In my spare time, I hoard collage materials and take long walks with my wife, dog, and three year old. You can see more of my work on Instagram at @shamarknightjustice, or my website www.shamarknightjustice.com.

Shamar's intro slide:

We start with character study: 

Essential Questions:

1) Who and what does this character represent?

2) How is that reinforced by the artist's character design?

3) What does this character say about the artist as a person? What do they value?

Shamar walks us through some examples of characters in picture books--and what makes them memorable, including Peter from A Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and Big by Vashti Harrison.

Then Shamar walks us through the process of his developing the character Shane from Big Tune, written by Alliah Agostini. We get to see reference photos, notes, the original manuscript with art notes, research materials, and early sketches of both setting and character.

Shamar explains that he appreciates art notes and actually likes to talk to the author before starting the illustration process! (Note: this is pretty unusual for traditional publishing. Often publishers and editors don't want authors talking to illustrators, because, as it has been explained to me, they want the illustrators to be working in service of the story, not in service to the author.)

There was much more, as well as an engaging Q&A session.

Super interesting data point: One of the questions asked about how amazingly productive Shamar is, with the illustration work and a full-time job as an educator, and Shamar told us that it takes him about 300 hours to illustrate each picture book!

Even as an author (and not an illustrator), this session gave me lots to think about regarding my picture book manuscripts and characters!

Breakout Session: Keeping it Together When it Feels Like Your publishing Career is Falling Apart with Alison Weiss

 

Author and consultant Alison Weiss has suffered the publishing blues. She began her talk by lamenting one setback after another. After a while, I began to feel bad for her. Oh, my!—I'm not supposed to feel sad at an SCBWI conference! This is supposed to be a happy space. I continued to listen, however. Soon, I began to recognize her story within my own. The publishing road is not paved smoothly. You should expect bumps, potholes, and setbacks along the way. 

In this session, Alison lays out many of the setbacks you may encounter and offers suggestions on how to propel yourself to your next great thing!

Here are a few setbacks with advice on how to pivot:

Setback: your agent drops you?

Pivot: Get a sub list. Where has your work been submitted? Put on your business hat and get your house in order. Get that next project ready, and work your contacts!

Setback: Your editor leaves

Pivot: Talk to your agent. Ask who will be handling your book. Advocate for yourself. Speak up!

Setback: Your publisher is closing

Pivot: Pull your contract. Talk to your list mates, and build a posse. You can support each other. Think about your next big thing to get back in the game.

Setback: You get a bad review

Pivot: Shake it off. Move on, you have other things to create.

Setback: Your publisher declines your next project

Pivot: There are other fish in the sea. Look for a nibble somewhere else. Write something new book. Reinvent yourself.

Setback: You and your agent aren't seeing eye to eye

Pivot: Take a step back, then have a conversation. Do your research, and know when to step away. Starting over his hard. But use what you've learned along your path to propel yourself forward.

Set new, realistic goals!

Don't set goals out of your control or you'll set yourself up for disappointment. 

Celebrate the small wins!

Breakout: Page by Page: Breaking Down Picture Book Pagination with Kait Feldman

Kait Lee Feldmann is a children’s book agent at kt literary representing illustrators. She was previously an editor at HarperCollins and Scholastic. You can review her wishlist at her website: kaitfeldmann.com/mswl

Kait plans to take a different approach in talking about picture books. She plans to show us how the picture book is produced so we can work backwards which can help us know how to better work on our manuscripts. 

Kait is building a book right before our eyes so we can see how all the parts work: cover, endpapers, self-ended pages, pages, etc. 

The printing process dictates how much space you have to tell your story. 

Kait found some of the best lessons she learned about picture book pacing came from understanding how the physical book is put together. 

This is very much a visual presentation, that’s incredibly helpful to see and understand. Those in attendance, I recommend watching the replay to see for yourself. Those not attending, you can still register. The replays will be available for 30 days. scbwi.org

Tips: 

-Type out an already published picture book to see how it looks in standard manuscript format. 

-Paginate your own picture book as your working on it, but then when you are ready to submit remove the pagination.