Hello Supporters, Welcome to week five of Blogging Through The Alphabet with Marcy @ BenandMe.com. Needless to say, it is getting a little tough, I was tempted to delay the next step because “E” for editing is so obvious. For now, I am sticking to the steps I use and decided to get a little creative with the title. So the next step in creating a picture book is "Exploring Illustrators." Over the course of publishing four different books, I have explored different illustrators and different ways of finding an illustrator. I find the process fun and fascinating. It is also a wonderful way to get to know people. What follows is how I found my illustrator for each of my books. I found the illustrator for my first book, Why We Give Gifts at Christmas Time, through Craigslist. I posted several ads on Craigslist under the gig section (if you post it under the job section, there is a fee associated with the ad in most cities) detailing what I was looking for. To my amazement, several hundred applied. After asking for work samples, discussing fees, and timelines, I picked an illustrator who met my needs in California. I feel Julie Bryant was sent from God. She walked me through the process and helped problemsolve when I ran into several issues with my printing company. You can learn more about Julie by visiting her website: www.sweetartdesign.com For my second book, My Journey with Jesus Christ, I turned to Linkedin. Linkedin has several groups dedicated to author and illustrators. For this book, I only needed a cover design because I realized the stock cover from Createspace was one of the reasons the book was not selling. Unlike my first book, I did not post an ad. Instead, I was impressed by someone’s book cover and asked for a recommendation. Since changing the cover for this book, sales have increased by over 300%. My third book, Why I Give – An Activity Book, I turned to my family. One of my nieces loves to draw. However, I was not aware of how talented she was until she began to post her drawings on Facebook. I decided to talk to her about this book, and after getting permission from her mom (she is only 13) she agreed to illustrate it. I could not be happier with the results. The illustrator for my latest book, What is Love, was found via Fiverr (I am pretty sure I am using him again, but will explore a few more illustrators before I make a final decision). In case you don’t know what Fiverr is, it is a unique site where people offer different services, including illustrations for five dollars. However, the catch to this site is that most illustrators charge per illustration and charge more for extras like coloring or the right to the image. Even with all the extras I was charged on Fiverr, the illustrations were still a great deal. Other places you may want to look for illustrators are: Sites that specialize in providing a directory of illustrators
Freelancer sites Finding the correct illustrator can take time. Therefore, next week’s post will not be about building a picture book. Instead, I will share a book that is really speaking to my heart. For a sneak peak at the book, click here. Once you find an illustrator you want to work with, you should have them sign a contact. Click here to download an example of the contract I use (not, I am not a lawyer, nor do I pretend to be one in the internet. So please be sure to seek legal advice). That is all for now. Please continue to pray for me as I pray for you, Corine
3 Comments
Hello Supporters, Welcome to week four of Blogging Through The Alphabet with Marcy @ BenandMe.com. I am praying that you are enjoying the process of learning how I create each of my picture books. This week we are on letter “D.” So “D” is for Developing A Scene List. If you remember from last week, the 2nd step was to decide where to break the text on each page. Now it is time to determine which pictures will go best with each page, this is also called Scene Development. Yes, picture books have scenes too. Taking the time to create development a scene list ensures that the illustrator you hire can create the best possible illustrations for your book. The scene development list can be as simple or as detailed as you like but try to allow your illustrator some creative freedom.
As seen in both list, it is important to include who is in each scene, what they are doing, and any other specific details that are mentioned in the text (i.e. brown paper and vinegar). Also, remember your illustrator will have to draw every detail you specify. So if your story is about a rodent family with 20 children, ask yourself does having 20 children really enhances the story. (Note: when I first started writing picture books, I did not realize that as a writer I needed to do a scene development list. Thankfully, God blessed me to find an illustration, Julie Bryant, who was able to take the words on each page and bring my vision to life. So if you are struggling with your list, contact Julie. She may be able to help.) Feel free to ask me any questions about developing a scene list or my next book Jaden Goes to Foster Care in the comment section. Until next time, please pray for me as I pray for you, Corine Hello supporters, welcome to week three of developing a picture book together. I hope you had fun building on your idea last week and had a chance to get a draft of your story together. The next step in the process is to choose the right layout. There are two big decisions to make regarding layout: 1) landscape or portrait and 2) page breaks. Landscape or portrait In terms of portrait verse landscape, I believe it is a matter of personal preference. However, if you choice landscape layout it is a little more complicated to get your book to display correctly as an eBook. For this reason alone, I usually pick portrait. Page Breaks Page breaks can make or break a picture book. Most picture books traditionally have 32 pages but can be any count of 8 (i.e., 16, 24, 32). For my first book, Why We Give Gifts at Christmas Time, I stuck to this rule. However, for my second book What is Love, I decided to break this rule. No matter how many pages, page 1 is not part of a two-page spread, and neither is page 32 (16 or 24). The pages in the book look like this: In a 32-page picture book, you don’t actually have 32 pages for your story. You only have 24 pages since 8 are used for the book ends, copyright and title. And 24 pages translate to 12 spreads (an illustration that spans the two opened pages in a book). As you review your manuscript, it is important to think about how the text will look in print next to pictures. Try to decide where it would be appropriate to break the text amidst a two page spread (I always consider a two page spread because all physical books will be displayed as such). Make sure that you craft your book in such a way that the lines/scenes can be split evenly to ensure easier, more child-friendly reading. The way I do this is by using a simple word document with two columns. You can download the template I use here. Until next time, please pray for me as I pray for you, Corine Hey Supporters, thanks for stopping by. As you may recall from last week, I will be spending the next few weeks discussing the process I use when writing my books as a part of Blogging Through The Alphabet with Marcy @ BenandMe.com.. Specifically, I will be using my book Jaden Goes to Foster Care as an example. So "B" is for Building on an Idea. My initial idea for this book was to describe/illustrate the idea relationship between the child, foster parent and birth parent. So the first step in the process of writing a book/picture book is to build on your idea. For me, this involves the following steps. As I am working through each of these steps, I am taking notes on my idea, things I want to be sure to include in the story and any other points I want to remember. 1. Seeking Wise Counsel – as a Christian, for me the first step in my process is praying. I pray about each book I write and ask God to show me how He would have me write the story. For some of my books, I have literally spent years (Why We Give Gifts at Christmas Time) on this step. For other books, I prayed about them, sort of forgot about them until God woke me up one morning. The latter is the process I went through with Jaden Goes to Foster Care. Part of seeking wise counsel, for me, also involves discussing my ideas with my accountability partners. I only share the idea with a select few people. In the case of Jaden Goes to Foster Care, I spoke with a few of my therapist friends, fellow foster parents, and foster children. So ask yourself whom you need to seek counsel from about your book and schedule a time to talk to them. 2. Reviewing the Literature – Once I have settled in an idea, I also review the literature (i.e., the Bible), other books that may be similar to mine and any professional information that could help. Jaden Goes to Foster Care is the first non-Christian book that I am writing, so I did not review relevant Bible verse for it. However, all of my other books contain several Bible verses to help illustrate the story. For Jaden Goes to Foster Care, I specifically reread several other foster care books (i.e., Maybe Days: A Book for Children in Foster Care; Murphy's Three Homes: A Story for Children in Foster Care; Kids Need to Be Safe: A Book for Children in Foster Care ). Since I worked with children who are in foster care for close to ten years and was a foster parent for a number of years, I also have read a ton of other books on this topic. Note: As you are looking at other books in a similar category as yours, it is also helpful to check their Amazon rank. You can do that by scrolling down on the book’s page and looking for the number that shows after the “Amazon Best Sellers Rank.” The lower the number is, the more books this title sells. For example, #1 sells more books than #1,000. 3. Organize Your Ideas and Notes - If you would like to see my working notes for Jaden Goes to Foster Care click here. Now that you have built on your idea, go write. Try to write a draft of your story between now and next week when I will discuss choosing your layout. Until next time, please pray for me as I pray for you, Corine Happy Friday Supporters, Several exciting things have been going on in my life. I am working on several new workbooks and picture books; learning a lot as I review other people’s books and learning more and more about blogging. One thing that I have learned about blogging is the importance of being consistent. One way bloggers are attempting to be consistent is by Blogging Through The Alphabet from Marcy @ BenandMe.com. Since, I don’t have enough on my plate, I decided to join in. So for the next 26 weeks, I will be blogging through the ABCs once a week starting with the letter “A” and going through to “Z.” Encase you are wondering about a theme, I decided to blog about publishing a book. I am planning on taking you through the steps I take to publish each of my books starting next week. So if you are interested in publishing a book, start thinking about ideas and lets publish a book together in the next 26 weeks or less. My current Amazon Reviewer Ranking is 56,120 (down about 10,000 points since last month). In addition, I have reviewed six books in April for a total of 30 books. If you have a book or a product that you are interested in me reviewing please check my reviewer guidelines. As you may recall from last month, I decided to spotlight one book a month. The best book I have reviewed in the last month. So drum roll please.... The honor for the April 2014 Book of the Month Pick by Corine is...... But It’s Just A Game and Author Julie Cook About the Book: Meet Jasper! A young boy who is totally absorbed with playing video games… "With my game controller in my hands, I'm the boss of my whole world! I can be who I want and do as I please. I can get the highest score. I get all the chances that I need. If I make a mistake it's ok. Everyone thinks I'm 'it on a stick!' And the bad stuff all goes away." Video game addiction is on the rise, but it can be prevented. This creative story book teaches both kids and adults how to switch out their game controller for a "life controller." Video gaming is becoming a part of our culture, and we must be strategic in creating a healthy gaming balance. My Review: As a clinical psychologist, I love when I find a kid’s book that deals with a grown-up subject in a kid friendly way. In But It’s Just a Game, Author Julia Cook, deals with addiction/game addiction in a way kids can relate. I am using this book to help kids recognize how games/the internet can be addictive and how to set appropriately limits with games/the internet. This book ends with tips for parents and educators regarding games/the internet. The illustrations are engaging and colorful, and the main character, Jasper, is likable and relatable. You can order But It's Just A Game from Amazon for about $8.95. For more about But It’s Just A Game and Author Julie Cook series visit: Website: http://www.juliacookonline.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliacookonline Twitter: https://twitter.com/juliacookonline Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/juliacookonline/ To check out some of my other reviews or the reviews of my books, click on the picture below. Until next time, please pray for me as I pray for you Corine |
|