Hey Rose and Christripp,

 I want advice on where I should be in my life as a children’s book author and illustrator in the making. Right now I’m revising my children’s book story and illustrations and building up my children’s book illustration portfolio. I’m going to have people review my children’s book and illustrations for constructive criticism. If my work is really great, I’ll just show my portfolio on my social media with a link to my website and other social media pages. And from there I will wait for an art director,literary agent and or SP writer to find and contact me for work? Is that a good plan? And if my work isn’t great I’ll continue to revise my work and improve until I can showcase a good portfolio to get me hired. As a Children’s book author and illustrator I should make more artwork to share online, review other author’s, children’s book manuscripts in critique circles and continue attending online SCBWI webinars right? Am I missing anything? Is it okay for me to post w.i.p.’s and finished unpublished illustrations from my children’s book dummy online? I don’t know if I should be warry that someone could take my designs or ideas? But if I have my name watermarked I don’t think anything bad could happen? What’s a good guide for me to look at when critiquing other children’s book manuscripts and or pictures books?

Thank you again,
Christen

Hi, Christen! SP stands for self published. Other abbreviations you might see are PAL (published and listed, meaning a traditionally-published writer or illustrator), ms (manuscript), mss (manuscripts), MC (main character), POV (point of view), and BIC (butt in chair, the most important thing in getting a project done).
 

Hello Olmue and Christripp

     Thank you so much for the warm welcome! It’s great to be a member here at SCBWI. Thank you for your input it’s so valuable to me. I’m not sure which road to take whether it be self published or through a published company with my own written and illustrated work and illustrated work for others. Although when I think about it I do feel that I want to be published with a company and not be self published. Hearing about how I can submit my portfolio and not have a proposal to a publishing company and have the publisher pair me up with an author sounds wonderful! I’m just so glad to be able to have these discussion boards to go to for advice especially because I joined a different social media page that wasn’t SCBWI and posted a similar question and received a disheartening message that really got to me. This one person who wrote and illustrated their own picture book book and had it self published through Amazon told me : “ So you want to be ran over and taken advantage of…..How about you write the story draw your images make the bucks, become famous and be your own person.”

    I also for some reason posted that I’m an illustrator looking for job advice to suddenly have people message me saying that they are  Illustrators that would like to work for me, when it’s like no guys read my message twice. It was bizarre! But I definitely know better resources to go to now and I’m thankful to have SCBWI as a top resource!

     I feel that I’m still a rookie Children’s Book Illustrator that needs to work on building the design aspects of a children’s book dummy more. So I’m taking courses on Domestika for that and looking over YouTube videos on how to create a children’s picture book dummy in Procreate which I’ve seen an accomplished published through a company illustrator named Anoosha Syed post.  I know if I want to work for someone when creating a children’s book I want to be paid the normal wage I should be paid. I have a question, for my children’s book illustration portfolio should all my illustrations be the same size or can they be different?

Thanks so much,
Christen

If anyone missed the Zoom and would like to watch the replay, here's the info:

https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/JmIHzjkdFQ7D8KTrtr5GGVLZ0VBkaqbMcdv_XERQ-v7sKbrJ511h7JsORz-UYZYj.uzNH6fqdr7kLWtbd?startTime=1676052420000

Passcode: 8QPWB+o6

It's full of tips, Success Stories, info about how the judges go through the 1000 or so entries, a peek at the Google form used to enter the contest on March 1, stats...and much more!

Hello everyone,

I am a children’s book author and illustrator in the making. I thought in the future when my children’s book dummy is good and I have a great children’s book illustration portfolio I could send a proposal to an children’s book author to be their illustrator. I just wanted to know what should be included in the proposal.

Thank you,
Christen