FEATURED ILLUSTRATOR - Julia Groves

@julia2groves

Julia Groves, Norwich based Illustrator and Printmaker is this month's Featured Artist, see her work in the Showcase Gallery here!

Thanks for inviting me to be the Words & Pictures Featured Illustrator!

I have created a banner which reflects the Words and Pictures theme for June of; ‘Festivals, Workshops and Retreats’. The characters are from a picture book idea I have recently written and illustrated. The original story is set at night, but I wanted this illustration to be all about colour.

I joined SCBWI in 2011, on the recommendation of a friend in order to enter the Undiscovered Voices competition. To my surprise and delight I was selected as one of the six winners in the illustration category. It was a great introduction to children’s publishing and I had a wonderful time at the launch party; meeting new SCBWI friends and receiving invaluable advice from editors and agents. My selected entry was also published in the Undiscovered Voices 2012 anthology.

My winning UV2012 entry Birdsong

I originally studied Illustration at Cambridge School of Art and Printmaking at Brighton University. Since then I have worked as a lecturer in Art Schools (teaching most Art & Design subjects!). In 2011 I was fortunate to gain a place on the MA Children’s Book Illustration course at Cambridge School of Art as a part-time student and I am currently in my final year.

The course has been a rollercoaster ride and a brilliant crash course into the children’s book world. The first semester was all about drawing, we chose our own theme and I concentrated on ‘interiors’, giving me a great excuse to sit in museums and cafes drawing exhibits and people watching.

Sketchbook page, Cambridge Museum of Zoology

We went on to a Sequential Image module, on the advice of my wonderful tutors Paula Metcalf and Marta Altes, I bit the bullet and wrote and illustrated my first picture book, Monty’s Midnight Friend. A black and white story which explores issues of loneliness and new friendships, as well as teaching children about different nocturnal animals! The illustrations were based on chalk-board drawings; I started working on actual chalk-boards, then black paper and finally on washes of black ink on watercolour paper.

Spread from Monty’s Midnight Friend

My next book came about through painting and doodling, when my mind was a blank. It’s a ‘zoom style’ board book, I made it using relief prints and typeset the text using old wooden fonts. I really enjoyed working on a board book, there are fewer restrictions in terms of page numbers; mine was only six double pages (picture books always have to conform to the 32 page layout, for printing reasons). I can’t reveal the whole sequence as it is currently with a publisher in the USA, but here is a sample page.

Spread from I SEE board book

I have been developing a way of working using a simple table-top print method. I print black proofs and scan them as separate layers in Photoshop, where I colour and compose my final images. I favour simple, graphic images with an emphasis on bold compositions. I have also been working on a counting book. 

 

I have been lucky to visit the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy for the past two years. It’s an amazing experience for any aspiring children’s book illustrator, as publishers from all over the world congregate in one place to sell foreign rights to each other. Of course this presents a wonderful opportunity for British illustrators to meet publishers from all over the world.
This year I was selected to be represented on the Cambridge School of Art stand (the only participating university at the fair). It was all arranged by the amazing Pam Smy, our course leader. It was very exciting as I assisted in several meetings with publishers on the stand, had meetings arranged for me by my tutor Prof. Martin Salisbury, but also managed to see several other publishers during the week. The experience has enabled me to make contact with publishers and to gain invaluable advice about my work.

Cambridge School of Art stand at Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2013

My advice would be not to underestimate your own experience; I had no idea what sort of illustrator I would become. My years of printmaking and my interest in graphic design have really shaped my approach to design, colour and composition. My time on the MA course has opened my mind to discussing and developing new ideas, both with fellow students and tutors. SCBWI offers wonderful networking opportunities via workshops, conferences, the website and the NING social site.

My two children are also a constant source of inspiration, both for stories and characters.  It’s good to run any idea past a child if you possibly can, you’ll be amazed at their brainstorming abilities! 

See more from Julia in her Showcase Gallery, her blog and on Twitter.

Network News: There are critique groups and there are critique groups

By Gill James

And they’re all valid as they address different needs. It all depends on what exactly is your cup of tea.

This week I’ve done a round-up of some of the type of groups offered by the networks. If you see something that appeals, check with your Network Coordinator to see whether that sort of group exists in your area. If you’re really keen to join a group like this, why not start one?

Remember, you need to be a member of SCBWI to join a critique group. Perhaps this is a good reason to join?

The mish-mosh

Work is normally e-mailed in advance. All genres and any age-groups are accepted. There tends to be a lot of submissions to this type of group and about ten to twelve attendees. Feedback can be less focussed here but the fact that you deal with several genres gives considerable objectivity and can be useful to writers who are still uncertain about where their work should be pitched. You maybe thought you were writing a picture book but actually your text is more for an emergent reader.

The genre-specific group

This tends to work well for groups of about half a dozen, all writing for a similar genre and age-group.  Usually work is emailed in advance. The members know each other and each other’s work very well and give focussed feed-back. One does have to guard against developing a house-style, however. This type of group may well work together for several months or even years then split apart as members become published or move on to other projects.        

The pre-beta group

This is a very small group - maybe just three or four – where the writers become writing buddies.  They’re not quite beta, though they could provide beta services to other groups. True beta readers must come cold to a project in order to give objective feedback.  People in this group know the members and their work very well and may often offer emotional support as well as constructive criticism.

The tea-party

Members bring polished work and read it out. This is a celebration of what succeeds. It can include extracts of members’ published work also. You will receive feed-back but normally only positive. This will be a larger group – maybe twelve to twenty and there may be some rota of who is to read. You’ll probably drink lots of tea and coffee and eat cake. Or you might even have a glass of wine.

The sandwich

This is really a type of feedback method than can be applied to any group. You say what works. You say what is working less well. You say something else positive, perhaps making a constructive suggestion about how the work can be improved.

Over to You...

• What category does your SCBWI critique group fall into?
• If not critique, what does your SCBWI group do?
• If you're not in a group yet, what type of groups would you like to see operating near you?

If you’d like to find a group near you, contact your British Isles network coordinators here. 
  

To join SCBWI and take advantage of the many opportunities to raise your profile: market your work, meet fellow writers, artists, the gatekeepers to publication, while being supported in the development and pursuit of your craft, visit scbwi.org.

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Gill James writes mainly for young adults. She is your Network News editor and is interested in news stories about your network. Contact her at networknews at britishscbwi dot org.

Marketing Part Two: Brands

By Nicky Schmidt

In the first part of this series, we looked at the basics of marketing – starting specifically with product, because without a great product, you may as well stay in your pjs and never get out of bed. Once, however, you’ve written your novel, the best one you can, you have to start thinking about promoting it, because, as I said in the previous article, increasingly authors have to manage their own promotional efforts. But before you can promote yourself or your book, you have to have a brand – that is, you have to know what you stand for and why you do what you do, because it’s your brand that defines everything about you and your books.

"What’s a brand? A singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of the prospect." - Al Ries, Marketing Consultant, Chairman of Ries & Ries

You’ll increasingly have heard about publishers talking about brands and the author, or a book series, as having a brand. Harry Potter started out as a book and became a brand. So did Twilight, so did the Hunger Games. Brands are about everything that a company or product stands for – and strong brands sell. Strong brands are stories, memories, emotions and, particularly, relationships. Multiple elements make up brands – logos, fonts, tag lines, style/graphics/colours – but ultimately the brand is the visual, emotional, rational and cultural image that people associate with you or your product, the thing that makes them choose your book over another, the thing they relate to and rely on. Think Harry Potter – it’s about fun, excitement, trustworthy entertainment, justice – not just a book about a boy wizard. Think of Apple – you think cool, hip, wannabe, trendsetter, beautiful – not just technology solutions.

The first thing you have to consider is creating a brand for yourself. To that end, what mental and emotional image do you, as author, represent and present to your target market, or, what image do your books present? What do you stand for, what do your words mean? If you are writing a series, it is much easier to focus on branding the books – you have, after all, created a whole world full of common values and emotions. This is why publishers like series – they’re much easier to brand, and therefore to sell.

But what if you’re writing one off books? Then you have to look to the values and emotions that play across all your books. Consider the American YA author, Sarah Dessen – there’s a recipe and a relationship of trust – teen girls buy her books because they know they’re going to get books about love, relationships, growing up, getting smarter. The branding lies in both Sarah Dessen and her books – you think Sarah Dessen and you know what you’re buying.

But, if you don’t want to be pigeon-holed into writing books which are all the same, write under a pen name and create a second brand.

Perhaps the most salient factor for the most successful brands is the promise of consistent quality. ~ Rosi McMurray, executive director of strategy, The Brand Union

If you’re the kind of author who writes across age groups and likes to experiment with different types of stories, then your work is harder – the branding has to be about you and everything you stand for – your values, your unique take on the world, the reliability of your writing and your stories. Integrity and responsibility are critical in personal branding. People will seek you on a bookshelf because they know they can trust your words.

The problem for debut authors is that you’re starting with a single book. So my advice is, don’t worry about the marketing so much, instead, make your book as good as you can and then write another and another and another. Create the products and get them on the shelves. The big point about brands is very much about relationships of trust.

Anyone remember when Coca-Cola tried to introduce New Coke back in 1985? They changed a time-trusted recipe, which resulted in a storm of consumer protest. When they reintroduced, “Classic Coke” sales rose. Think how scores of JK Rowling fans felt when she published The Casual Vacancy. Lesson: Never mess with a trusted recipe. Know what you stand for, believe in it, nurture it, and retain it. That’s brand management.

Unless you have absolute clarity of what your brand stands for, everything else is irrelevant. ~ Mark Baynes, global cmo, Kellogg Co.

The other point to remember is that your publisher has a brand too – they will be known for producing particular kinds of books. So while you are a brand in your own right, you are also one of the publisher’s sub-brands and need to align with your publisher’s brand.

Think about what you and your books stand for. Think about the colours and sounds and shapes and smells that represent you, that you love. Create a quirky, catchy tagline for yourself. Use these things consistently on all your promotional spaces – website, blog, author Facebook page, author Tumblr page, Twitter, bookmarks and giveaways. Be your brand at school visits and signings, live your brand in all your public spaces. The easiest way to do this is to know who you truly are and to be true to yourself because ultimately you as the brand become the marketing. And remember, as Scott Talgo, Brand Strategist says, “A brand that captures your mind gains behaviour. A brand that captures your heart gains commitment.”

You’re just anybody without your identity.’ – Grenville Main, DNA Design

In further considering brands, I recently wrote a blog post on my own blog, Absolute Vanilla about Brand and Voice – you may find it worth a read – because as I see it, there is a distinct correlation between an author’s voice and their brand.

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@NickySchmidt1

Born and raised in South Africa of central and northern European heritage, Nicky Schmidt is an ex scriptwriter, copywriter, and marketing, brand and communications manager who "retired" early to follow a dream.  Although she still occasionally consults on marketing, communications and brand strategies, mostly she writes YA fiction in the magical realism, realistic and supernatural genres.    She also writes freelance articles - mostly lifestyle and travel - for which she does her own photography. Her work has been published in several South African magazines and newspapers.

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 18th June

Before I start the blog round-up, I'd like to thank everyone who's commented on or retweeted these posts over the last few months. Not only is it great to know that the Blog Break is being read, but also that you're reading the posts by our featured SCBWI bloggers.


To kick things off this week, Bridget Strevens-Marzo has a hugely inspiring blog post about the ShoutSouth! festival run by CWISL (Children's Writers and Illustrators in South London). SCBWI members including Bridget, Mo O'Hara, Sarah Mussi, Anne-Marie Perks, Sam Hepburn and Sara Grant took part in three days of writing and illustrating workshops with over ninety 8-13 year olds. You can see the variety and quality of the results over at Bridget's blog and it's an immense credit to the organisers that everyone donated their time for free.

Jane Heinrichs has written a terrific post about unleashing your inner creativity, something that sounds easy but can often be very, very hard. As someone who frequently finds themselves in front of an empty Word document, gripped by irrational fear, I found this list of simple tips very approachable and encouraging.

Cathy Brett's article for The Guardian on illustrated fiction for teenagers kicked off a fantastic debate on the SCBWI British Isles Facebook group. Why don't grown-up books have pictures in them? Are publishers the problem, or do book illustrations seem childish to older readers?

Meanwhile, over in the silly corner, Lorraine Gregory has a highly unscientific test to help you determine whether you're cut out to be a children's writer, and one of the comments on Mark Jones's latest blog post reads "Well, that was a waste of time". Depending on your mood, you may consider that a criticism or a recommendation!

Nick.

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Nick Cross is a children's writer, blogger and all-round digital guru. In 2010 he was a winner of Undiscovered Voices with his zombie comedy Back from the Dead.
Read Nick's latest blog post, in which he considers the seemingly endless state of being an "Almost There" writer and yet finds optimism in Waiting and Learning.

Ask A Publisher - Q&A with Sara O'Connor, Editorial Director at Hot Key Books

Welcome to our monthly Ask A Publisher feature, hosted by Sara O'Connor, Editorial Director, Print and Digital at Hot Key Books. This month, the Q and A is about graphic novels, editing, second novels, titles and a little bit about submitting. Next month, Sara will tackle some of the great questions that she couldn’t get to this time, about covers, genres, the acquisition process and more!

I am curious to know if you have noticed any increase in interest for graphic novels or comic books for children? My experience is that the general public are much more receptive and enthusiastic in conversation about this kind of book but are they buying and reading them? NoBrow, a publishing house dedicated to graphic novels, has just launched an imprint for children - FlyingEye Books. How this has been received by others in the industry? Has it or will it inspire other publishing houses to do something similar?

I have noticed a fair amount of attention for graphic novels in the mainstream recently. About the same time I got your question, Julia Eccleshare had written this response in support of the format: and there is the fantastic Phoenix Comics magazine for kids that is mainstream enough to be on sale in supermarkets. (Buy it!) You could also argue that WIMPY KID and all its inspirations are graphic novels – which people are buying in droves.

There was an interesting comment on the Big Green Bookshop’s blog recently about shelving. They could sell poetry more effectively when it was shelved among the general fiction. I wonder if we would see more graphic novel sales if they were mixed in among the YA books, rather than tucked away in its own section – or best yet, shelving in both?

At Hot Key we are experimenting with a graphic biography of sorts. Later this year, we are publishing Isobel’s Journal, written and illustrated by an eighteen-year-old girl. As with a lot of books we publish, it’s not easily classified into any particular niche, but it is wonderful and fascinating and we can’t wait to see readers’ reactions to it.

We are happy to consider graphic novel submissions (for ages 9 to 19) – so please do send them in.

How important are titles to the pitching process?

Not hugely, and this is because your publisher will ask to change it if they don’t think it’s perfect. I think the title is hugely important in the selling process, but pre-publication, it is quite common for titles to change.

I think the title is hugely important in the selling process, but pre-publication, it is quite common for titles to change.

How much time do you generally spend on editing a manuscript after an author submits their 'finished' draft? What are the most common areas of improvement that you come across?

Apologies for the cliché, but how long is a piece of string? It depends on the state of the manuscript when it comes in. For some, I’ve asked for major overhauls – for others, I’ve only done a close line edit. It can be one round of edits or three. I write editorial letters that I obsess over, have editorial phone calls and/or spent hours making tiny notes within the script.

As for common areas of improvement, I am a cutter – really questioning if what is there is necessary. Have a look at coverage of one of my SCBWI masterclasses written up by Candy.

How quickly would you expect an author to write their second book?

As quickly as you can while matching the quality of your first book. If you’ve written a fantastic novel, your audience will want to read something else by you – now. As close as you can get to “now” without going completely insane or compromising quality is what you should aim for.

The trend is to get your second book out a year after your first. So, if you sign a deal in January 2013 and your book is coming out in January 2014, your publisher will likely want book 2 publishing in January 2015 – perhaps delivered in the summer of 2014. That’s 18 months from the signing deal.

Other SCBWI writers will be able to speak much more to the perils of this. As a writer, you’ve got to balance the needs of your audience and the needs of your creativity to find the right amount of time. My advice is to be honest with yourself up front, at contract stage. As long a publisher has time to plan – and you aren’t missing deadlines – there should be time for you to write book 2.

The trend is to get your second book out a year after your first.

I have a children's book which is almost complete – written and illustrated. Should I attach the pdf in my first contact with the publisher, or should I get in touch initially just to say hi and can I send it along for their opinion? Any help appreciated and if anyone has access to anywhere with sample letters that would be great too.

Great, congratulations on finishing! As you submit, you should check each individual recipient’s submission policy – there will be a lot of variation. Some will want a query with nothing attached, some will want a sample, some will want the whole thing. (I would advise your PDF to be smaller than 5MB or you will struggle to get it received by various company servers – or send a link to download once it’s been requested.) You can look here for great querying advice:

So, my questions for you:

1. How many of you have bought a graphic novel in the past six months?
2. Second time authors, any advice for your fellow writers about the time it takes to produce that second book?

If you have any questions for Sara, you can either submit them in the comments section below or you can email them to writers@britishscbwi.org.  Sara will return with her answers on the 15th July.

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Sara O'Connor is the editorial director, print and digital at Hot Key Books, acquiring books like The Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week Shrunk! by Fleur Hitchcock, Tribute by Ellen Renner, Boonie by Richard Masson and Clockwise to Titan by Elon Dann. She looks for books that are brilliantly written, that stand out and that have lovely authors behind them, with a slight preference towards the 9-12 age category.

She's also in charge of the digital strategy for Hot Key, working with a brilliant digital team to produce projects like the interactive iBook of Costa-award-winning Maggot Moon.

Who's it all for anyway?

If you're reading this on Sunday morning and you're a SCBWI British Isles member you'll still have time to send us the opening 750 words of your middle-grade novel for our first Chalkface Challenge. Do you have one tucked in a forgotten file in some dark and cobwebby corner of your hard disk?

On Wednesday there'll be much excitement when The Kate Greenaway Award and the Carnegie Medal winners are announced. Bridget's overview of The Kate Greenaway reminded me how children and young people are involved in the judging process. For the Chalkface Challenge, which is of course no comparison to these prestigious awards, we've handed it all over to the kids with one judging criterium - which story do you want to hear more of?

There are so many people we create stories for and for so many reasons - agents for representation, publishing professionals for publication, other writers and illustrators for approval, ourselves for our own fulfilment... so many people and so many reasons that sometimes it's easy to forget who we are really writing and illustrating for.

We are the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators after all.

Wanton use of disguised children to illustrate a point.

A year or so back, I drew up a list  of what I thought we give children when we give them a book. The list would be the same if it were what we have the potential to give them when we write or illustrate a book.

Hopefully, as well as the wonderful gift of entertainment, we also give:

• The reassurance that other children feel the same way – they’ll have access to children’s secret thoughts, the ones that aren’t shared in the playground  the thoughts that make children feel they’re the only one. A book can show them they’re not.
• A way to live their lives – not by being told but shown how other people live and the freedom to come to their own conclusions about how to live their way. 
• A hiding place – who hasn’t slouched over their desk behind a text book wall?
• The opportunity to be read to – a bedtime or anytime story is one of those priceless relationship-building times.
• An escape hatch – when everything gets too much.
• A wardrobe door – a gateway to possibilities of the imagination for the real and the made-up worlds.
• Inspiration – kick starts to their own imagination
• The chance to meet extraordinary people up close and personal – often, unexpectedly extraordinary people, who might appear ordinary on the outside but because they’re in a book, the reader will know what’s really going on.

and...

• Hope – bad things will always happen in real life and in a good story you have to have trouble. Books can help children find a way through their own.

The original list is here.

I really like the idea of keeping children at the centre of what we do.

Last Monday would have been Maurice Sendak's 85th birthday, this year is the 50th anniversary of the publication of Where the Wild Things Are. I  hope you caught the marvellous Google Doodle on Monday.

I spotted this on my timeline yesterday...

With the Greenaway overview, we had other goodies this week too  –  an interview with the prolific and award winning Sophie Mckenzie,  Candy Gourlay and Teri Terry's 'perks and pitfalls' of appearing at festivals, brilliant blogs for coffee breaks, Network News, a report of Apps Night at the London Professional Series and we celebrated Paula Rawsthorne's new book.

Next week with breaking for blogs, news and celebrations, we have Ask a Publisher with Sara O'Connor and Hot Key, Nicky Schmidt with Marketing Part 2: 'Brands' and on Friday a new Featured Illustrator.

Excitement all round!

Jan Carr

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Jan Carr is the editor of Words & Pictures. Her fiction is older middle grade, she blogs occasionally and loves to write in magenta.

Paula Rawsthorne’s new thriller Blood Tracks gets off to a delicious start

@PaulaRawsthorne

This week, UV 2010 winner Paula Rawsthorne shares photos of the fabulous cake at the launch of her second novel, Blood Tracks, a dark psychological thriller, published by Usborne on 1st June. And while you're reading, feel free to tuck into a yummy treat of your own to help her celebrate....

Blood Tracks: Gina Wilson Is On The Edge … Her Dad has died in mysterious circumstances and she is the only one convinced that something isn’t right. As she struggles to find the truth, Gina is plunged into a world far removed from the one she has known – a world of lies, crime and betrayal. A world she can’t run from … A dark and dangerous thriller with a harrowing secret at its heart. 

Yummy!

Paula was born and brought up in Liverpool and now lives in Nottingham with her husband and three children. Her talent for writing was first noticed when she won the BBC Get Writing competition and her comic story was read by Bill Nighy on Radio 4. The opening chapters of her YA thriller led to her becoming one of the winners of Undiscovered Voices 2010. Thanks to SCBWI’s UV she gained an agent who was on the judging panel and was subsequently signed by Usborne who published The Truth About Celia Frost in 2011. It was named by The Independent as one of the best teen books of 2011 and was nominated for 10 literary awards. It was the winner of the Leeds Book Award (2012), Sefton Super Reads Award (2012), and the Nottingham Brilliant Book Award (2013). 

"Being one of the winners of UV2010 was life changing and I owe a great deal to SCBWI-BI and Undiscovered Voices"

Paula says “Being one of the winners of UV 2010 was life changing and I owe a great deal to SCBWI-BI and Undiscovered Voices. One of the unanticipated aspects of becoming a published author was being invited into secondary schools to do talks and writing workshops. Since the publication of Celia Frost, I’ve undertaken many school visits and have found working with the teenagers a massive bonus to being a YA writer. I’m a member of The Edge, a group of eight SCBWI-BI members who are all YA writers. Formed by the wonderful Sara Grant, The Edge does events with young adults and people who work with them to get teenagers excited about reading.”

Rebecca Hill, Fiction Director at Usborne Publishing and Paula's editor says:

“Blood Tracks is one of those brilliant books that manages to hook the reader from the very first page, and keep them thinking about the twists, turns and turmoil long after they've finished.
From the compelling characterization of Gina as she struggles to uncover what really happened to her dad, and her blossoming relationship with Declan, to the unfolding mystery surrounding Uncle Tom - Blood Tracks has all the ingredients of the perfect thriller. Fast-paced and full of surprises, a stunning follow-up to The Truth About Celia Frost."

 After a launch at Waterstones, Paula is off on tour with Blood Tracks, appearing at Festivals, Events and in schools in Liverpool, Coventry, Manchester and Nottingham. Join me in wishing her lots of success and hip, hip hooray! 

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Tania Tay is an ex-advertising copywriter and has been published in Sable LitMag. She is writing MG and YA fiction, and is on the editorial team at Words & Pictures.