Publishing Monday: Advice for illustrators only

I’m back from vacation, and am chock-full of news and photos to share. But an old repetitive stress injury has reemerged, limiting my ability to type. Short version: Thea is getting too heavy for me to lift. That, combined with overwork—well, you get the idea!

So for today’s Publishing Monday, here’s a follow up from last week’s post about getting started as a children’s book creator. I originally published it four years ago, so it’s well overdue for new exposure.

As for myself, I’ll be using my time away from the keyboard to catch up on some overdue reading and viewing. In mid-May, I’ll be interviewing Sandra Gulland about her captivating novel, Mistress of the Sun. and hosting a giveaway for her book blog tour. Plus Mama Donna Henes has gifted me with a copy of her book, The Queen of Myself. Look for a review of it soon! Plus I’ll be writing a blog post or two for Pop Tudors about (what else?) the current season of The Tudors. Fun!

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Whenever new illustrators ask me for advice on how to make a living making art, I always say that the most important thing is persistance, persistance, and more persistance. I know this sounds simplistic, but it’s really the truth. Most illustrators don’t make it because they give up too soon, or become discouraged by how hard it is.

Here’s the reality: It can take a long time to get a toegrip into this field, which is incredibly competitive, and then years to make a decent living. And it’s gotten worse in the two decades I’ve been working professionally. Digital art has made it easier for art directors to Photoshop a stock photo or illustration to meet their needs. So why would they go to the trouble of commissioning an illustrator? What will you bring to the table that they can’t find elsewhere?

Here’s basic beginner’s advice:

1. Have an easily accessible website that looks professional — don’t rely on your Myspace page, Flickr, or an advertising-supported freebie webhost to sell your work. Most art directors check out work online. First impressions count.

2. Put together a good mailing list. To find appropriate publishing markets, you can check out magazines, publishers, etc. at any library or Barnes & Noble; you can call them and ask for the art director’s name and any submission guidelines. Sometimes this information is listed in the Literary Marketplace. There’s also an Artists Market (similar to Writers Market) published too, which lists much of this information. I always doublecheck it before sending out any mailers, since sometimes the information is incorrect or out of date.

3. Put together an illustration mailer that you send out to appropriate markets. Follow up on a regular basis with new mailers. Make sure your website url is prominently listed on them. For cheap mailers and postcards, I use Vistaprint.com. They’re obnoxious with their follow up e-mails, but they’re the cheapest kids on the block — sometimes you can get postcards for free, if you time your printing for one of their ubiquitous promotions. And their printing quality is very good.

4. If you’re targeting the children’s book world — ie: you want to illustrate a picture book — I encourage you to put together a book dummy to show. This offers an art director information about how you would handle sequential illustrations in a book. For content, I encourage you to use your own story. Frankly, this is the way to go: You have something to show as well as something to submit to a publisher for publication. And from a financial point of view, this is a better deal: author-illustrators make double the royalties. Plus you’re not dependent on a publisher to match you with an author.

But not to despair if you’re not a writer. Instead, you can use a story that’s in the public domain for your book dummy. For example, Grimms Fairy Tales are in the public domain, meaning they are not constrained by copyright since the authors have been dead for more than 75 years.

(I’m giving you the Cliff Notes version. To learn more about copyright, visit the Library of Congress website at www.loc.gov.)

5. If you’re looking to place already-completed illustrations with a publisher, you’re looking to conquer the world of licensing or merchandising. This is often a good fit for illustrators who have a clear niche or branding identity. Do you paint only faeries? Or wildlife? Or have a sassy way with a phrase, a la Mary Englebreit? Again, market research is the way to go — spend an afternoon at a book store or stationary store checking out who’s publishing what.

6. When it comes to researching markets, Amazon.com is your friend. So is the internet. Many publishers also have websites which list what their submission policies are; you can also get a sense of their taste in art too. Amazon.com is a virtual Books in Print. Have an idea for a book? Check out Amazon to see if someone’s published something similar. They also often list books that are out of print (or OP, as they say in the trade).

7. How much do illustrators make? Well, that all depends on the market and the publisher. The Graphic Artists Guild and the Authors Guild offer guidelines for what should be included in a publishing contract as well as some financial information. Unless you’re a very clever entrepeneur or win a Caldecott or have a bestselling book or are able to sell your originals for a lot o’ dough, most likely you’re not going to get rich. (Sorry!) But you may be able to make a living — if you work hard enough.

Have any questions about illustrating for a living? Post them in the comments, and I’ll try to answer them in an upcoming blog.

• Filed under publishing, publishing 101, the art world | 3 Responses

Friday bonus: Sacred World Oracle video….

Was just posted on YouTube! But you can watch it here:

For best results, watch it in HQ. Many thanks to my studio assistant, Ekta Daryanani, who worked on the animation and design for the video. She did a great job, I think! The background music is by AlmaNova.

BTW, if you haven’t check it out yet, you can get a free reading with the Sacred World Oracle here. Though the deck is currently under development, it’s fun to share it now in this nascent form.

• Filed under be-mused, new projects, publications, tarot and oracles | One Response

Creativity Friday: starting rituals

I’ve just gotten back from vacation, after sending off my new book proposal to my agent. In some ways, it was perfect timing: I finished one cycle of work, had my break (more about that in a future post). Now I need to start anew.

While I was mulling this over, I came across this blog post from two years ago. It seems appropriate for today. So I’m reposting it—enjoy!

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It’s strange to be starting a new cycle. Now that I’m beginning a new book, I’m in the midst of preparing the creative field for it. This involves straightening up my studio, clearing the clutter off my computer desktop and household tasks. These activities help me start a big project without feeling that there’s something that I’ve forgotten that needs to be done. In a not-so-subliminal fashion, these are rituals to ready my spirit for the task at hand.

Appropriately enough, this week’s Alyson Stanfield’s Art Marketing Action newsletter is all about starting rituals. She and Eric Maisel, author of Creativity For Life, A Writer’s Paris, A Writer’s San Francisco, suggest using starting rituals as a way to begin creative work each day — a little different yet not-so-different from what I’m doing here, with my big clearing and preparing.

Eric writes, “One of the best ways to help yourself create every day is to craft a starting ritual that you begin to use regularly and routinely. When your ritual becomes habitual you will find yourself moving effortlessly from not creating to creating.”

Here are a few of his suggestions:

~ Do something physical like yoga, tai chi, or stretching. After five minutes of exercise move directly to your creative work.

~ Meditate for five minutes. Once you’ve calmed your mind, mentally bring forth your creative project and hold it gently until you feel ready to proceed with it.

~ On a sheet of paper, write down one goal for your upcoming work period. The goal might be “finish my current painting,” “go deep,” or “have some real fun exploring.”

~ Choose a small object like a pebble or coin to serve as your talisman and lovingly squeeze it several times before beginning to work.~ Set a clock radio to go off as your signal to start. Pick a station whose music energizes you or soothes you. When the music comes on, enjoy it for a few minutes and then move decisively to your work area.*

Eric also mentions an important point: “If the ritual you choose doesn’t take hold, craft or choose another one until you find the perfect starting ritual for you.” In other words, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

After I thought about it, I realized I have my own daily starting rituals in the studio. Basically, anything can serve as a starting ritual. The important thing is that you perform it with intention. Here are a few of mine:

~ Light some incense to focus my thoughts.

~ Make myself a cup of tea. The automatic action of boiling the water, chosing the “right” cup, the “right” type of tea helps me transition into creativity.

~ I have a singing bowl that I sometimes use to mark the start of my work day — a different kind of starting bell than the Stock Exchange, but a bell nonetheless!

~ I check my e-mail and voicemail before I dive in. A distraction perhaps, but helps me to feel that I’m on top of everything so I can work in peace.

~ And, most importantly, I write a list of what I intend to accomplish during my work session. This really works — nothing like writing your intentions to get results!

Another suggestion: As you finish your day creating, try to leave a clear place to start your next work session. It really make it less daunting to begin work — sort of like lying out your school clothes for the next day. I often resolve to edit what I’ve written that day, organize reference, or stretch watercolor paper — something that doesn’t feel like a big leap into the creative morass but makes me feel that I’ve gotten something accomplished. Then, once I get my feet wet, I can venture into deeper waters.

And what about you? What are your starting rituals?

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*Excerpted from the Art Marketing Action newsletter © Alyson B. Stanfield. Her mission: Alyson takes the mystery out of marketing your art and making more money as an artist. To sign up for her newsletter, visit http://www.ArtBizCoach.com. My very creative friend Karen Zuegner recommended this newsletter to me, and I really find it inspiring.

• Filed under be-mused, blogs we read, creativity | 2 Responses

Reminder: Tarot Salon on Friday, April 24, 6:30 – 9 pm

If you live in the New York City area, I hope you’ll join us for our monthly Tarot Salon at my studio-gallery! Here’s the info:

As featured in Time Out New York, CNN.com, Yelp’s “On the Radar”, Brooklyn Based’s “Tip Sheet”, and internationally in La Libération. Several talented tarotists including Mama Donna Henes, Rene Collins, and Kris Waldherr will be on hand to give readings on the question of your choice at various prices. Plus Fran Dunston of Fusion Therapy Spa will be giving chair massages at $1 a minute.

Refreshments will be served. Free admission.

KRIS WALDHERR ART AND WORDS
1501 Newkirk Avenue
(entrance on Marlborough Road, around the corner from subway station)
Brooklyn, NY 11226
347-406-5811
subway: Q or B train to Newkirk Avenue
street parking is available

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the magic of place names

I’m returning from vacation today! Before I left, I set up some old favorites to be reposted on this blog. Since I’ve been traveling, it seemed appropriate to post something about one of my previous jaunts. This is about a bit of sympathetic magic I noticed in place names.

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When I was a child, I loved to study maps. And I still do. Tom, my anthropologist husband, shares this fascination and has collected a wide variety of them. For years, we had a map of the moon and a map of the Vienna metro thrown in the back of our car, just in case. I mean, what if you needed to locate the Sea of Tranquility? Or wanted to navigate your way around the Ringstrausse?

Growing up in (to my mind) boring, suburban New Jersey, maps offered a glimpse of an alternate world that I might visit one day, if I got lucky. Whenever I looked at a map, I would imagine what each place might be like, what their names signified. Even local place names held magic within them: Would Spring Valley be filled with flowers? What about Bellemar — how beautiful would the ocean look there?

In particular interest to me were places that shared the same names. Vienna, Virginia and Vienna, Austria. Paris, France and Paris, Texas. Jamaica, New York and . . . well, you get the idea. My favorite fantasy was that there was a sympathetic field between each of these same-named places. Words are magic, after all. If you located this power field, you would be instantly swept in a vortex of energy from one place to the next. You’d close your eyes in Venice, California and next find yourself chasing pigeons in the Piazza San Marco.

Name travel instead of time travel, as it were.

All of this is a long preamble to describe my visit last week to Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania.

Chadd’s Ford, as some of you might know, was home to the noted book illustrator N. C. Wyeth. N. C. Wyeth may now be eclipsed in fame by his son, Andrew Wyeth, but during the early part of the twentieth century, he was quite the celebrity among artists.

N. C. Wyeth was the student of Howard Pyle and inspired generations of illustrators, including myself. He was also well-paid: N. C. Wyeth used the payment he received for Treasure Island — the modern-day equivalent of $200,000 — to purchase land at Chadd’s Ford, where he built his home and studio. When you consider that most children’s book illustrators make under $10,000 for a picture book, this is an astonishing symbol of the power Wyeth’s art wielded in the marketplace.

N. C. Wyeth’s studio is only available for visits during warm weather. Though I’ve visited the Brandywine River Museum previously, it was in the winter. This time, I got lucky. The photo to the left shows the interior of his main work area. The window looks out onto his commute to work—a bucolic garden path leading up from his home, about 100 yards or so.

In my twenties, I lived for a year in a village in England named Chagford. Chagford was home to several well-known book illustrators. (I do not include myself in their illustrious company, though I hope to one day!) These artists included Alan Lee and Brian Froud. Terri Windling of the Endicott Studio for the Mythic Arts has a cottage there. In other words, Chagford is a nexus attracting book artists of all sorts — illustrators, writers, and so on. Including myself.

When I left Chagford to return to the United States after my visa expired, I felt like Eve expelled from the garden. I still dream about Chagford regularly, walking its winding streets toward the moors beyond.

Chagford, England and Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania. Both homes to noted illustrators. Both attracting artists and writers.

Coincidence? Or a bit of sympathetic place name magic?

• Filed under be-mused, the art world, the world around me, travels | One Response