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You ever have that moment when you discover an illustrator YOU LOVE…?
At last year’s NJ-SCBWI conference, I listened to Nancy Brennan, Associate Art Direction at Viking, speak about how much difficulty they had finding just the right illustrator for a spin-off chapter book series. The ELLRAY JAKES character had run his course and they were hoping to develop EllRay’s little sister, Alfie, into a whole new property–ABSOLUTELY ALFIE.
They wanted illustrations to appeal to a young audience, but the art had to be a distinctly different look than EllRay. If Alfie was going to step out on her own, she deserved a whole new style.
One illustrator’s style caught their eye, but she was European and caucasian—not exactly someone who could bring life experience to a female African-American character. They wanted an illustrator who could identify with Alfie’s childhood.
And then they found Shearry Malone.
Not familiar with newcomer Shearry, I immediately looked her up. And WOW. I nearly screamed, “She’s a modern-day female Quentin Blake!” (Although she will probably prefer to be known as a modern-day Shearry Malone.)
ABSOLUTELY ALFIE makes her debut this summer and I hope to get you acquainted with her. In the meantime, let’s get acquainted with Shearry!
Shearry, when did you discover your passion for drawing?
I’ve been drawing since I was a kid and I always had a passion for it. I started by mimicking comic book art and later discovered that I really liked portraiture. I’ve always felt that there’s something really fun and challenging in trying to capture the essence of a person in a drawing. I never expected children’s art to be my foothold into the illustration world but life can be funny that way.
So if you never expected it–how exactly did you get into it?
It’s kind of an odd story. I answered an ad on Craigslist for a guy who was looking for an intern in his art studio. Turns out he was a local children’s book illustrator with 30 years experience in the field. I was supposed to help run his office, answer phone calls, learn the ins and outs of the business side of things, etc.
I did that for free for the first 3 months and then it became a paid office manager position. During that time, he was curious to see if I could do children’s art, so he gave me little assignments to do at home and we’d discuss them the next day. I’d add the images to a website we built together and he’d look them over on the weekends when I wasn’t in the office.
Long story short, I eventually showed that website to my sister, who happened to take a yoga class with a friend of hers who also happened to be in the book publishing business. She liked what she saw and passed the website over to a few agencies she was familiar with. That lead to a few offers for representation and eventually I decided on the CATugeau Artist Agency.
So, I feel like I fell into this line of work by complete happenstance. Children’s art still doesn’t come naturally to me. It’s always challenging. But I can’t help but think I’ve been given this opportunity for a reason and I intend to follow it through!
Wow, what a story. How did Viking find you? How were you approached for ABSOLUTELY ALFIE?
I received an email from my (very excited) agent Christy, the day after I signed with CATugeau saying that one of the art directors over at Viking was interested in working with me on a new series of chapter books. I didn’t even know what chapter books were! She happily explained and advised that I should strongly consider the opportunity. It didn’t take long. I said yes, and I’ve been working on ABSOLUTELY ALFIE ever since!
I should clarify that I don’t really know how Viking found me and so quickly—other than that maybe they happened to be looking around the CATugeau agency website? Right time. Right place?
Most definitely. Perfect timing. What else are you working on?
I’m basically focused on Book 3 of the ALFIE series right now. I’m hoping (fingers crossed) for a second round of books in this series and for more doors to open up for other illustration opportunities in the future. Having so little experience, I didn’t want to overwhelm myself with projects and deadlines so I passed on a few other book offers after accepting the series with Viking. Time will tell, but nothing would make me happier than to do this kind of work full time for a living.
So what was your original intention with your art career? Do you see yourself moving in that direction, or sticking with kidlit?
Honestly I didn’t expect to have one. I jumped at that Craigslist ad because even with no pay, it’d still give me a chance to be in an artistic environment. My thinking was that I may not be creating the art but at least I’ll get to wear jeans and a t-shirt and be surrounded by it!
I always saw myself having a typical job, like most, and if I were lucky enough I’d carve out time to pick up paint brushes again. Believe me, no one is more surprised by how things have turned out than I am! I still love the smell oil paint and turpentine so it would be wonderful to get back to that in my spare time. It’s still a goal, but it’ll probably be awhile.
Has anyone ever told you that your art is reminiscent of Quentin Blake?
Yes. And I’m honored! I’m a fan of his work. Loose, quirky and timeless! I’ve got a quirky eye myself. It’s hard for me to recognize proper proportions for some reason, so a lot of times a leg will be longer or wider than another or a head is too big or too small for a body. I rely heavily on others to point it out to me because I just don’t notice it! I’m drawn to Blake’s work because he doesn’t seem to care much about those things at all either and it gives his work a certain looseness and a lot of life and personality that I truly admire.
What are your plans for the future?
For the immediate future I plan to finish the two remaining books in the Alfie series and keep an eye on how the first two do once they’re on the shelves. After that, I just hope some awesome person out there wants to give me more work! Artistically, things are still very much up in the air for me but that keeps things exciting.
In the meantime, I dabble in website design. I finally got around to finishing my own—shearrymalone.com. I’ll continue playing around with some of that until my next illustration opportunity arises!
Shearry, thanks for answering my questions and best wishes with ABSOLUTELY ALFIE and your somewhat accidental kidlit career!
Keep up with Shearry on Twitter @InkPaint_Repeat.
by Asia Citro, M. Ed, Publisher
Thank you so much, Tara, for the chance to introduce your blog readers to The Innovation Press!
We are a Seattle-area children’s publisher that’s a bit new on the scene. In fact, this year is our first “big” year; we’ve got ten children’s titles coming out in 2017.
As I’m sure you have all discovered, small presses tend to have a “type” when it comes to the sort of books they’re looking for and we are no exception. Right now we’re focused on the K-5 market, but anything goes as long as it fits in that range—picture books, chapter books, and middle grade submissions are all great. If you take a peek at our titles, you’ll start to get a sense for the sort of books we’re after. As a former classroom teacher, I have a particular affinity for books that teach in some way. We love titles that promote creativity, diversity, laughter, and learning. If you take a close look, you’ll find that almost all of our 2017 titles are hybrid texts (a mix between fiction and nonfiction).
Though we are newer, we have international distribution, so our books are in stores, shops, libraries, and schools all over the world. We also have foreign rights representation (seeing our books printed in foreign languages is the coolest!). Oh, and we’re a member of the Children’s Book Council as well as an SCBWI PAL Publisher. We also believe in making our books available to all children, so for every ten books we sell, we donate one to First Book (an amazing nonprofit that pairs educators and students in low-income districts with books).
We pay an advance as well as royalties to our authors. In addition, we offer a lot of publicity help and support and we involve authors as much as possible in the decision-making process for things related to their book (such as illustrator, title, etc). If you have something you think might be a great fit, we’d love to see it! You can find our full submission guidelines here.
Thanks for getting in touch, Asia. While I have not worked with The Innovation Press personally, this new publisher looks like an excellent opportunity for aspiring kidlit authors.
If you have questions about The Innovation Press, please leave them in the comments and Asia will answer them.
One day I’m not home. ONE. DAY.
Ah, the glamorous life of a kidlit author!
Truth be told, that sink is almost always full of dirty dishes…and the day was somewhat glamorous…as I appeared at an Eastern PA SCBWI event.
During the “squibby” shindig at the Bethlehem Area Public Library, an attendee asked me what the best book marketing methods were. I answered honestly: I DO NOT KNOW. (I wish I did.)
There are a multitude of things I do to promote my work, but I really have no way to gauge the effectiveness of any of it. Sometimes I will show up to a book reading and stare at this…
…and think it has been a total disaster. I go home to a pile of dirty dishes and cry.
But I forget the efforts to market the event—my books that sat in the window display for weeks, the mentions in the paper, the little things that helped to promote the unfortunate empty-seat syndrome. It was just dumb luck that the event occurred on the first sunny weekend in October and everyone went pumpkin picking instead. (Hey, can you blame them?) So I do not know how all that publicity actually fared in the long run. I may never know. And so, I keep plugging away.
So today, I have for you WAY PAST BEDTIME Pre-Order Prize Packs.
WAY PAST BEDTIME features a precocious hero who’s determined to stay up late. Joseph imagines a party of epic proportions going on and he doesn’t want to miss all the frivolous fun.
Kirkus Reviews says, “It’s not all DJ dance parties and hot-fudge fountains when parents stay up late…or is it? Forget staying up to wait for Santa Claus. After reading this, kids will clamor to investigate someone a little closer to home.”
If you pre-order WAY PAST BEDTIME before the release on April 25, leave a comment below stating so. (This is on the honor system. No need to send me a receipt. I will believe you.)
You will then be entered to win one of THREE PRIZE PACKS.
Grand Prize Pack:
- Edu Science 3D Night-Sight Goggles
- Sleeping Emoji Pillow
- Superhero cape
- Three Signed & Personalized Books
- 45-minute SKYPE visit (with your child’s class or your class if you teach)
Two Runner-Up Prize Packs:
- Two Signed & Personalized Books
- 45-minute SKYPE visit (with your child’s class or your class if you teach)
You can preorder a signed copy by calling my local indie, The Bookworm at 908-766-4599.
Or you can order via your favorite local or online bookseller. The choice is yours.
Leave your comment below confirming your order—with one comment per pre-order made—and you will be entered to win.
Winners announced on release day, April 25!
GOOD LUCK!
What a flibbertigibbet I am. I randomly selected the remaining Storystorm winners and announced them on the Facebook group (are you a member yet?), but it took me forever and a day to post them here.
Apologies. I am knee-deep in writing my WHIZBANG WORDBOOK for Sourcebooks Jabberwocky. It’s an alternate reality, selling a book on proposal and THEN having to write it. Not the picture book author’s bailiwick. But I am cock-a-hoop over the whole thing, all atingle.
There comes a moment in my school presentations when the kids want me to stop being a blatherskite and read the book already. This is that moment…
Winner of Chana Stiefel’s DADDY DEPOT
Hélène Sabourin
Winner of Julie McGann’s WALL CALENDAR
Vivian LB
Winner of Colby Sharp’s Prize, Deborah Freedman’s SHY
Sheri Jones Rivers
Winner of Marcie Colleen’s SUPER HAPPY PARTY BEARS
Christine Irvin
Winner of Jason Kirschner’s MR. PARTICULAR
Vivian Kirkfield
Winners of Brenda Reeves Sturgis’s STILL A FAMILY
Mavis Penney
Carrie Pearson
Shanah Salter
Winner of Laurie Ann Thompson’s BE A CHANGEMAKER
Kathy Halsey
Winner of Veronica Bartles’s THE PRINCESS & THE FROGS Prize Pack
Joana Pastro
Winner of Ross MacDonald and Tara Lazar’s 7 ATE 9: THE UNTOLD STORY
Sylvia Mary Grech
Winner of Corey Rosen Schwartz’s HENSEL & GRETEL: NINJA CHICKS
Nancy Rimar
Winner of S.britt and Tara Lazar’s NORMAL NORMAN
Kerrie Turcic
Winner of Adam Grant’s ORIGINALS
Helen Latos
Winner of Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s Found Object Art
Donna L Martin
Winner of Jill Esbaum’s Critique
Megan E. McDonald
Winner of Rebecca E. Hirsch’s BIRDS VS. BLADES or PLANTS CAN’T SIT STILL
Dow Phumiruk
Winner of Ruth Spiro’s BABY LOVES SCIENCE Books
Joan Swanson
Winner of Liz Garton Scanlon and Audrey Vernick’s BOB, NOT BOB
Celeste’s Book Blog
Winner of Dr. Carrie Barron’s THE CREATIVITY CURE
Deb Beauchamp
Congratulations to everyone!
I hope you are busily transforming your best ideas into fabulous stories.
Why don’t you let everyone know how you’re doing in the comments?
by I spent many years as a puppeteer.
I wrote children’s plays.
I performed in them.
I created little people in the form of string marionettes and I crafted miniature sets.
My highlights were collaborating with Cirque du Soleil and participating in the 2012 World Puppetry Festival in Chengdu, China (with my 9 month old daughter attached to me)!
Then in 2013, I made a huge leap. I decided to leave the world of theater and return to my first love, literature. I wanted to pursue my dream of writing books for children.
What was the first thing I did? I became a member of SCBWI. And that, of course, was the best decision ever! Along with the multitude of resources available, I also learned about the SCBWI Eastern and Western chapters specifically devoted to Canadian authors. Then I began to wonder, what other resources were available for us Canadian authors? And the more I researched the Canuck kidlit and writing scene, the more I discovered how rich it is. Here are a few examples:
- CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors Illustrators & Performers)
- QWF (Quebec Writers’ Federation)
- The Writers’ Union of Canada
- UNEQ (l’Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois)
- PWAC (Professional Writers Association of Canada)
- Canadian Authors Association
After a few years and countless rejection letters, I got my first book published, THE DILLY DALLY BEDTIME ROUTINE. Then I thought to myself, I would love to do school visits! But how?
Luckily, in Quebec we have a program called Culture in the Schools. It’s organized by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, and UNEQ juries the applicants. The program is designed for professional artists, both Anglophone and Francophone. They range from visual artists to dancers to writers. These artists are given the opportunity to visit schools across Quebec, share their craft, and offer workshops to children.
Since I had been giving puppetry and theatre workshops since 1999, I decided to apply to the program. And (yay), I got accepted! I got a shiny new profile in the repertory and got to work. I learned the ins and outs of the program and soon realized it’s extremely well organized. The Minister establishes the day rate for all artists (so we don’t have the pesky task of negotiating fees), and artists also get reimbursed for materials, per diems, gas, and accommodations if necessary. A day consists 3 workshops of 1 hour each, or 2 workshops of 2 hours each. I have come to love the program and school visits have become a significant part of my career. Here I am below, surrounded by the charismatic students at Westpark Elementary School. This was particularly thrilling for me because I attended the school years ago!
I’m happy to have found all these valuable resources in Canada that have helped carve my path as a professional author. Of course, writing is a universal craft. Though writers may hail from different parts of the world, we all share similar adventures and challenges. Thanks to social media, we can easily connect with one another. And I feel grateful for how generous and open the writing community is!
Lydia Lukidis is a children’s author with thirty three books and eBooks published, along with numerous short stories, poems and plays. Her background is multi-disciplinary and spans the fields of literature, theatre and puppetry. Lydia writes fiction and nonfiction, and also composes educational texts and lesson plans. She is passionate about spreading the love of literacy and has been facilitating workshops for children since 1999.
For more information, please visit lydialukidis.com.
Thank you, Tara, for hosting the very first peek (one year before publication) at the cover for book one of my upcoming chapter book series, BEEP AND BOB (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster), which I write and illustrate.
Though BEEP AND BOB is my debut series, it is far from the first kidlit book I was supposed to publish. That honor goes to a picture book I wrote years ago. I assembled an illustrated dummy, submitted to the finest publishers (in an envelope with stamps!) and waited for greatness. Of course, for that and a second book, only rejection followed.
Luckily, around that time I found the organization SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). While networking at SCBWI conferences, I found a great community of dedicated and generous creators, always there with support. I also found an agent, who picked up my first middle-grade novel. She began to submit and got some genuine interest from well-known editors. Once again, I waited for greatness. But once again, even after a couple more MG novels and some almost-sales, came our friend rejection.
Of course, this story is heading for that age-old chestnut that the key to any success is PERSEVERANCE. Try and try again, and then try some more. It’s all about dedication and endurance. However, I also discovered one new gem that, for me at least, became a crucial part of the puzzle: GIVING UP.
Obviously I didn’t give up writing or I wouldn’t be here, but at some point after being endlessly battered by the waves, I gave up in the sense of letting go—letting go of being attached to the goal of publication. I stopped struggling so much and gave myself permission to just spit out whatever wanted to come out, no matter how silly or wild. In a short time, I had a draft of BEEP AND BOB, which is about a boy who is reluctantly sent to school in space, and his lost alien buddy. I let it burst with humor and heart, which for me are the two most important ingredients of my work.
But it didn’t take much stepping back to realize that trying to sell a zany, debut, sci-fi chapter-book series about unknown characters was going to be a quixotic challenge. Rare was the agent who even said they represented chapter books (I had since left my first agent). So back to perseverance, and that horrible chore of submission that all writers know.
Luckily, this time things turned out differently: I was soon signed by the awesome Natalie Lakosil of Bradford Literary, and within a month of submitting she sold it in a four-book-deal to Aladdin. Please don’t tell Natalie, or my editor Amy Cloud, that BEEP AND BOB was really just an exercise in embracing failure.
Besides Natalie and Amy, I’d like to thank Nina Simoneaux, who designed this cool cover (I provided the color character spots). Hope you enjoy! And never give up giving up.
Thank you, Jonathan, for sharing your journey to publication.
Jonathan is giving away an original, personalized drawing of BEEP to one lucky commenter.
Leave a message below to win. Share this cover reveal and receive an extra entry for each share–just post a comment for each, letting us know where you shared. Good luck!
Wow, was that a hilarious and exciting Oscars last night OR WHAT?
My only complaint is that with Jeff Bezos in the audience, they should have delivered the Junior Mints via drone. Maybe they thought the egos would be filling up the airspace. (“They” were wrong.)
Andrew Garfield wins for best catch.
But Gary from Chicago…? Congrats on the nuptials, but please put the phone down!
Mahershala Ali, right, hands his award for best actor in a supporting role for “Moonlight” to a tourist named Gary during the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
I’ll not dwell on the epic mix-up because I hope it does not overshadow Moonlight’s win. Let’s remember the victor and not how it was announced.
Let’s get to announcing more Storystorm winners here, shall we? While I cannot promise delivery via drone either, I will promise to get the prizes right.
Here are the winners for Storystorm Days 1-10. More winners to follow later this week.
DAY 1 WINNER OF DEB LUND’S PRIZES
Coaching session: Kathy the Picture Lady
Coaching session: Marcie Rinka Wessels
Fiction Magic cards: Cindy E. Owens
DAY 2 WINNER OF TARA’S ASK-ANYTHING SKYPE
Sharon Putnam
DAY 3 WINNERS OF JOSH FUNK BOOKS
Jacqueline Adams
Corey Rosen Schwartz
Kara Cargill
DAY 4 WINNER OF TAMMI SAUER’S YOUR ALIEN RETURNS PRIZES
Kaye Baillie
DAY 5 WINNER OF DAN MONYIHAN’S HIDING DINOSAURS
Artsy Andi
DAY 6 WINNER OF HANNAH BARNABY’S PB CRITIQUE
Lucky Jo Boscarino (how apropos)
DAY 7 WINNER OF JENNIFER ARENA’S BRAINSTORM SESSION
Rachelle (through_the_waters)
DAY 8 WINNER OF TARA’S F&G
Lynn A. Davidson
DAY 9 WINNER OF CHRISTOPHER POLENTZ’S ART
Kassy Kepol
DAY 10 WINNER OF NANCY CHURNIN’S THE WILLIAM HOY STORY
Donna Rossman
Congratulations to everyone. You will be contacted via email to arrange delivery of your prizes.
More prize announcements to come soon…
I’m thrilled to host the cover reveal for a story I have longed to see in print. The lovely Marcie Colleen is here to show it to you and tell the tale of her own literary love triangle…on Valentine’s Day no less!!!
When I first set out to write a picture book titled LOVE, TRIANGLE (see the origin of the idea for the book here) I just wanted to tell a punny story that hopefully someone would want to publish someday. But my meager expectations were highly exceeded. In fact, the entire journey of this book has been unlike anything I could have ever imagined and I have my very own “triangle of amazing-ness” to thank.
First, my agent, Susan Hawk, who first realized the potential in this story when it was simply a concept pitched to her during our courting phase. And although it took me almost two years after signing with her to write it, she remained a cheerleader the entire time, bubbling with excitement when she spoke of the work-in-progress to editors. Eventually, the manuscript was completed and we found ourselves in a five-house auction situation! Now for those of you who don’t know what that means, an auction is when more than one publishing house wants the story and are willing to try and bid for it. (Sorry to say, book auctions do not include paddles, large hats, or a gavel, in case you were wondering.)
For about a week I met with the interested editors on the phone. We discussed what each house envisioned for the book and how they intended to market it. We discussed potential illustrators and possible design. They even asked for my ideas. It was so surreal.
Finally, the day of the auction came (again, no paddles or giant hats but I did have a mimosa-fueled auction party with some of my closest girlfriends).
After everything was said and done, I signed a two-book deal with Alessandra Balzer, Publisher at Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins. I had always admired Alessandra’s work and had heard her speak once at a conference. As I told her during our pre-auction conversation, I was a “first time caller, longtime fan.” She was the perfect choice for the Apex of this literary love triangle.
But, our team did not become complete until Bob Shea signed on to illustrate.
Bob. Shea. (Now do you know why I call this a literary love triangle?! I mean, this team is the best of the best!)
Now, I love Bob’s work. Funny thing is, several years prior I had heard Bob speak on a panel at Books of Wonder in New York City. It was there that I first met him and he signed a book for me. I was only an aspiring writer at the time and Bob wrote “Good luck with the writing.” Thanks for the luck, Bob! I think it worked!
The story of book-smart Square and sporty Circle who are best friends until a dynamic Triangle shows up releases on October 3, 2017.
In the meantime, take a look at this freakin’ awesome cover!
Hey, we even have the BACK cover…so we cover all the angles…
Marcie is giving away a signed F&G (folded & gathered proof) of LOVE, TRIANGLE to one lucky commenter. Leave a comment below to enter. If you SHARE this cover reveal, you receive another entry. Just comment again telling us where you shared the LOVE.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
It’s that time of year again!
No, I’m not talking about Snowpocalypse City Snowboarding.
Not the Grammys, either.
OK, Cookie wants me to get on with it already.
Sorry, my assistants were a little slow to arrive…
Let’s take it from the top…
It’s that time of year again!
That’s right, click your heels together three times and repeat: There’s No Prize Like Storystorm…There’s No Prize Like Storystorm…
These eight participants completed the challenge and now will have the opportunity to have their best five ideas reviewed by literary agents and editors. Congratulate them!
- NINA HAINES
- GABRIELLE SCHOEFFIELD
- MELI GLICKMAN
- JUNE SENGPIEHL
- SHARON HAAN
- PATRICIA NOZELL
- KIM MACPHERSON
- ANGELA CALABRESE
You may be asking: How were the Storystorm 2017 GRAND PRIZE WINNERS selected?
Every participant who signed the Storystorm Winner’s Pledge was assigned a number based upon the order in which they commented. I then used Random.org to generate 8 random numbers from 1 to 676 (the total number of pledge comments). The numbers were matched to their corresponding name, then I ensured that name was on the Storystorm registration post. If the name had been registered, then I double checked to make sure they had not commented on the winner’s pledge multiple times (thus giving them extra chances to win). If all checked out, the winner was verified. (And they all checked out!)
If you are a grand prize winner, please read the following carefully:
I will pair each one of you with a participating agent or editor and contact you via email. You will have until next week to contact your agent with your FIVE best ideas. I suggest you flesh them out into a paragraph each, like an elevator pitch. Something short and snappy. The agent or editor will then provide feedback on which idea(s) may be the best to pursue as manuscripts. The agent may provide short and sweet feedback like a simple “Go for it!” or more lengthy feedback providing suggestions. I don’t know what’s in store for you–but there’s one thing for certain–their feedback will help you determine what to begin writing!
Thank you all for participating this year!
Remember there are PLENTY more prizes to come. Through the end of this month, I will be giving away all the prizes you saw during Storystorm. Who knows what you may win! (You get a car! You get a car! YOU ALL GET A CAR!)*
*You will not get a car.
by Catherine Bailey & Meg Walters
Thank you, Tara, for allowing Meg and I to reveal the super duper, mega official, cover of our book, LUCY LOVES SHERMAN (Sky Pony Press, 2017)! It’s very kind of you to host us, (and we didn’t even have to hypnotize you!). We’d like to share a behind the scenes sneak-peak of how our cover came to life. Meg will kick it off with her amazing illustrator insights,
An Illustrator’s Eye…
In March of 2015 I was contacted by Julie Matysik, then a senior editor at Sky Pony Press (SSP), the children’s imprint of Skyhorse Publishing. Julie and SSP editor Nicole Frail, had acquired a wonderful picture book text written by Catherine Bailey, called LUCY LOVES SHERMAN. Julie had kept a promotional postcard of mine that she had picked up from a NJ-SCBWI Fall Workshop and thought, based on the postcard artwork, my illustrative style might be a good fit for this new project. Although I have been an illustrator and designer for a long time, and attended SCBWI events for years, this was the first picture book I have illustrated. I was beyond thrilled, and couldn’t wait to illustrate Catherine Bailey’s fun characters and bring her wacky story to life.
Julie sent me the LLS manuscript and I began creating sketches of Lucy and Sherman and thumbnails of the story. Lucy loves polka dots, and loves that Sherman also “wears” polka dots. So I wanted to incorporate dot graphics on the cover, as well as Lucy’s clothes. I also liked that the polka dots resembled water/bubbles. Blub, blub!
The final cover artwork was due to SPP January 2016.
But—as so often happens in publishing—there was a change after the deadline.
In March of 2016 the SPP Marketing Department wanted to move the book release date to coincide with Valentine’s Day to play up the LOVE in LUCY LOVES SHERMAN. They asked me to recreate the cover with more red and add hearts. Marketing also asked that I move an illustration that was on the title page onto the cover. The illustration showed Lucy and Sherman hugging. Here is previous title page art:
I created several new looks for the cover and after a few rounds of edits, here is new Valentines-ish cover March 2016.
Then the publication date was switched to March of 2017. Since the focus was no longer a Valentine’s day release, we were able to go back to the original blue/turquoise background. SPP only asked that I still keep the characters hugging on the cover. And so, here she is – the final, final cover:
Sky Pony Press’s Nicole Frail and Julie Matysik, and Catherine, have been fantastic to work with throughout this whole process. I am thrilled for the March 2017 launch of LUCY LOVES SHERMAN!
The Author’s Note…
I am so glad to talk about the cover design of this book, largely because people always ask me if I draw my own pictures. After a resounding “Nope,” I get the follow-up question about how much input that I—as the author—have in the book’s artwork. That answer is usually “Not a whole heck of a lot.” And that’s fine with me! I love that talented artists like Meg add new layers and depth my stories.
However, the wonderful Sky Pony folks invited my feedback on early drafts of LUCY LOVES SHERMAN. I was super flattered and excited. I poured over the images for days. Seriously. At one point my husband threatened to lock my laptop in the trunk of his car. But I couldn’t help myself. Meg did such a great job!
Then, as Meg mentioned, there was a big shift towards a more “Valentine’s” feel during the cover design process. My editor, Nicole, emailed me the revamped design. It was very red, very adorable, and very perfect for the holiday. But. (Oh yes, there’s a but!) I worried that Sherman’s red shell would get lost against the scarlet background. So I very carefully and very politely voiced my concerns. Nicole really took them to heart, but her hands were tied. The red had to stay but there was talk about adjusting the shade, which I thought was a great compromise. And then—lo and behold—the publication date was pushed back and the problem solved itself. The cover went back to primarily turquoise.
So there you have it. A blow-by-blow of our mini-rollercoaster ride towards the final cover for LUCY LOVES SHERMAN, which splashes out from Sky Pony Press this March. I think Meg and Nicole and Julie totally nailed it. And I hope you to do too!
Pssst! It wouldn’t be a cover reveal without a free giveaway (Free! Everybody loves free!).
Just leave one message in the comments below and you will be entered to win a 20-minute Skype visit with author Catherine Bailey. The visit can be used either by a teacher/media specialist as a school visit, or by aspiring authors who’d like to chat about writing and publishing.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 