September 2002
How Do I Make A Picture Book Dummy?
I want to enter a contest, but I have to send a "Picture Book Dummy." How do I make that?I don't know the specific contest rules, so I don't know how creative you are allowed to be, but you can make a picture book dummy using any color, size, or style of paper you want. Some writers prefer the story board style of dummy, which is simply to draw frames on a large piece of paper or tag board and sketch the scenes in the frames. You can even use index cards, in case you want to move the scenes around. Whenever you're ready, you can staple, glue, or tie it together.
In an essay at his web site, "How I developed the idea for 'From Head to Toe'," Eric Carle illustrates how his ideas turn into sketches, which become books. His thumbnail sketches, which are the beginnings of his stories, help him establish the flow of the storyline. "This is a very important stage in designing a 32-page book," he says. "I may quickly sketch a dozen or two of these until the layout feels right." Be sure to go to his web site and take a look at how he creates his stories from thumbnail sketches. This will give you a good idea for layout.
At his web site, illustrator John Clapp takes readers through the process of creating the pictures for his latest book, "The Prince of Butterflies," written by Bruce Coville. "To make a book dummy, I printed out all of the images at the size of the final book, with the appropriate text printed over them on the pages," he explains. "Then I had all the pages bound at Kinko's and fedexed to my editor. This is the first real presentation to the editor." So that will give you a good idea of how to submit a professional dummy.
Good luck with the contest!
How Do I Find Spirituality Picture Book Publishers?
Do you know which publishers are interested in picture books based on spirituality or yoga? Or perhaps how I could best search for them?First of all, pay a visit to your local bookstore or library to look for children's books with similar subject matter and jot down the publisher's name. I did a quick search at Amazon and found 13 results for children's books about yoga and 161 results for children's books about spirituality. As you can see, there aren't many children's books about yoga. The more specific your topic is, such as yoga, the better chance you have of finding a publisher.
Free Spirit specializes in "Self-Help for Kids" and "Self-Help for Teens." Topics include: self-esteem and self-awareness, stress management, school success, creativity, friends and family, peacemaking, social action, gifted and talented, and children with learning differences. In the Children's Writer's & Illustrators Market, tips for writers, they say: "Prefer books that help kids help themselves or that help adults help kids help themselves; that complement our list without duplicating current titles; and that are written in a direct, straightforward manner."
Spend some time at their web site, review their catalog and author guidelines to see if your topic will fit into or enhance their list. Write a proposal and send them a query about your book. Make sure your book is different than others on the market.
Is There a List Of Publishers That Accept Email Submissions?
I'm looking for a list of publishers that accept email submissions. Do you know of any?What a great question! Wouldn't it be nice if we could click on a link and have at our fingertips a complete list of publishers that accept email submissions? If only it was that easy!
The problem is, if there were such a list, it would be outdated within a few months of publication. New publishers appear on the scene, and submission policies change at established publishers all the time. Actually, other than a few more clicks, email friendly publishers are not that hard to find. Publishers who post submission guidelines at their web sites tend to be more email friendly, and of course that's where you will find out if they even consider email submissions.
The best one-click resource for children's publishers is The Colossal Directory of Children's Publishers Online. I paid a visit and found several email friendly publishers with just a few more clicks. Be sure to bookmark this site. When you find publishers in Children's Writer's & Illustrators Market or the SCBWI Market Survey, you can cross reference them in this handy online directory to see what their web site guidelines have to say. Web site guidelines tend to be the most up-to-date information on publishers' submission policies. Not always, but most of the time.
For more information:
- "How I developed the idea for From Head to Toe," by Eric Carle
- http://www.eric-carle.com/bb-H2Tnotes.html
- John Clapp Illustration
- http://www.johnclapp.com/pob/pob_process.htm
- Free Spirit Publishing submission guidelines
- http://www.freespirit.com/html/c_author_nf.html
- Free Spirit Publishing catalog
- http://www.freespirit.com/html/s_search_nf.html
- The Colossal Directory of Children's Publishers Online
- http://www.childrens-publishers.com
Peggy Tibbetts has been a professional writer, editor, and full member of the Society for Children's Book Writers & Illustrators for the past 26 years. She offers courses in children's writing and has edited several successful children's manuscripts. She is the author of the children's novel The Road to Weird, as well as the adult novel Rumors of War. Peggy also moderates the The Write List discussion list at Yahoo.
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