Since it's six months till Christmas, illustrators might like to investigate this mouth watering list of recommended books for illustrators and start dropping hints about which one's they would most like to receive from Santa or for an upcoming birthday: http://www.creativeboom.co.uk/resources/10-essential-books-for-aspiring-illustrators/ . You may start salivating now....
By now you would be aware that Google has begun ranking its search engine results by the mobile friendliness of websites. So we all need to understand what mobile friendliness means in practice. There is far more than one dimension to getting it right. Reading this article and seeing the animated visual explanations will really help you understand the jargon that goes with mobile friendly technology (eg nested objects, breakpoints, flow, relative units): http://blog.froont.com/9-basic-principles-of-responsive-web-design/
Since it's six months till Christmas, illustrators might like to investigate this mouth watering list of recommended books for illustrators and start dropping hints about which one's they would most like to receive from Santa or for an upcoming birthday: http://www.creativeboom.co.uk/resources/10-essential-books-for-aspiring-illustrators/ . You may start salivating now....
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Choosing a book title (or even an artwork title) isn't easy, and often the working title you start out with isn't the title you end up with. This blog-post from Anne R. Allen has some interesting historical information, a reminder to Google any title you come up with, a request to research what titles work for you as a reader and why, a list of ideas for titles that tend to work consistently (eg related to the names, occupations, and places in your manuscript/artwork), a nudge to have your title connected to your genre somehow and plenty more: http://annerallen.blogspot.com.au/2015/05/10-tips-for-choosing-right-book-title.html?m=1
This article from Creative Choices is a rather good one on niche marketing, containing clever ways you can test market your creative work without committing a lot of scarce resources to it: http://ccskills.org.uk/careers/blog/find-your-creative-niche?utm_source=newsletter%20241&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Find%20your%20creative%20niche&utm_campaign=newsletter . Some good quotes from the article are: 'The best niche can be described as being an inch wide and a mile deep. This means it's very specific in scope, meets a well-defined need and attracts plenty of people who want to buy.' and 'Before you start selling anything, show samples and demonstrate services to both existing and new customers. See what they think. Ask if they think it’s up to scratch and if the price is right. This is much better than meeting an awkward silence later on if you try to sell something and they don’t like it.' These notes from a recent local SCBWI workshop on portfolio preparation are well worth a read, especially if you are currently revamping your illustration portfolio. http://www.scbwiaustralianz.com/our-blog/2015/5/19/perfect-your-portfolio-with-donna-rawlins . Donna Rawlins' list of what to include in a portfolio contains some unusual elements. For example she suggests that you include a nursery rhyme with associated text, a story board for an already published book, and a book cover for a novel. Including black and white illustration work could double your chances of being selected as an illustrator by a publisher. "Most successful submissions clearly demonstrate the artist’s connection with and love for books."
This next article would have to be the best ever about the sales difference between marketing a book and building a platform. You have to get near the end before you come across Scenario 1 (with all the common mistakes new authors make in trying to sell their first book) and Scenario 2 (a different approach with regular blogging, and an emphasis on being helpful), but they are 'Must Read': http://timgrahl.com/when-should-you-start-marketing-your-book/?utm_content=buffer36c1d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer . The top take home tip is 'Your number 1 job as a writer is not to simply write your next book, but to build a platform that will support your entire career.' Of course, illustrators should also be building a platform too! |
NewsA place for sharing anything newsworthy about local children's book writers and illustrators or to share good content on career development. Archives
February 2016
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