If you have been looking for some encouragement to dust off your blog and keep it going, then this article will help because it explains why regular blogging makes a writer more attractive to publishers. Because 1) Bloggers have a platform/readership tribe, 2) Bloggers test their ideas and get feedback on what works through analytics, 3) A long term blogger creates subject matter credibility, 4) Blogging gets you thinking not just like a writer but also like a salesperson, and 5) If you are blogging then you are writing, and the more writing you do the better writer you will become.
http://michaelhyatt.com/5-reasons-publishers-love-bloggers.html?utm_content=bufferb9071&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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A perennial question is, 'What does an art director look for in an illustrator?' In this article Giuseppe Castellano answers that question from his perspective. He starts with what the text needs. Once he has a list of those needs (eg eerie, bold, black & white) he goes looking for illustrators who can deliver quality in those areas (strong character design, an understanding of colour theory, compositional intelligence, consistency and an ability to command the medium). He then searches widely online and offline, and appreciates professionally done postcards. An up-to-date website that showcases only your best work is essential. If your work meets the needs and quality requirements AND fits with the tone of the story, then you will make his short list.
http://www.gcastellano.com/arttips/2014/12/16/what-does-a-childrens-book-art-director-look-for

So any illustrator who wants steady work should be doing four things: 1) getting independent feedback on what kind of atmospheric qualities and story tone your style melds with, 2) research into the atmosphere and tone of recently published illustrated books as possible, 3) working out what sub-genre of children's books you have the best synergy with, and making contact with agents, publishers and art directors who do a significant amount of work in that sub-genre, and 4) working hard on improving the technical quality of your artwork.​

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....

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!

Since Podcasts are important for gaining the interest of young people and for opening up public speaking opportunities, this step-by-step guide to creating a podcast is one you might like to bookmark. Belinda Pollard used an iPhone and an iMac to produce her first podcast of an interview with an author. http://www.smallbluedog.com/how-i-created-my-first-podcast.html?utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost . Interspersed with the step by step approach are notes about what she learned in the process, eg If you are conducting a podcast interview it is important to brief your interviewee on things like how close to hold the microphone to the mouth and exactly how long the podcast interview process will take. It is best to get all your raw audio clips ready before proceeding to the editing software.

For those illustrators who also dabble in graphic design, or who spend time thinking about your colour palettes before beginning your digital illustrations (or suspect it could be very helpful)– this delightful article is just for you. Once you have clicked to the link, use the arrow on the right hand side of the picture to will scroll through 33 examples of Disney Pixar children's animations together with the 5 colour swatch palettes used to create them. http://blogs.disney.com/oh-my-disney/2015/05/11/these-disneypixar-palettes-are-the-most-aesthetically-pleasing-things-youll-see-all-day/?cmp=SMC|none|natural|blgomd|OMDMay|TWT|pixarpal-DisneyPixar|InHouse|2015-0511|||esocialmedia#Brave . Studying the colour saturations, tones and interplay of accent colours with colour groups will help you create more aesthetically pleasing illustrations.

One of the things an illustrator has to show in a portfolio is versatility. Having at least one image in your portfolio set at night time will add a degree of professionalism to your portfolio, because many illustrators forget just how many stories have action taking place at night time. This web-link is primarily about night-time photography, but it contains some excellent ideas for composition and lighting effects: http://clickitupanotch.com/2011/09/6-tips-for-night-photography/#_a5y_p=1152663?hootPostID=8b4617276c29bbe2f1c6f87b555b9747

On the spectrum between self-publishing and traditional publishing is hybrid publishing. It may be a good option for some writers, but only if they do sufficient research first and read any contract carefully. This article has a useful list of questions to ask any hybrid publisher before agreeing to publish with them: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/66658-not-all-hybrid-publishers-are-created-equal.html?utm_content=buffer5b730&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer . Two of those questions are 'What marketing and promotional support is there?' and 'Can I speak with recent authors who have published with you?'.

There is something that makes a successful illustrator stand out from the rest of the wannabees, and Wendy Martin has put her finger on what that is: http://wendymartinillustration.com/wordpress/2014/03/14/location-location-location/ . If you take your main character/s out of the picture, can the background hold its own? To see how important this is, visit @cillustrators and scroll through the illustration work they feature.

She also has five ideas for moving out of your illustrator comfort zone: http://wendymartinillustration.com/wordpress/2014/01/14/portfolio-builder-jump-your-comfort-zone/ . Commit yourself to quarterly promotional mailings. Enter illustration competitions. Do some guest blogging. Prepare a portfolio for a market outside children's books. Have a go at sharing your passion through teaching.

Here is a useful list of things independent authors can do to increase their chances of success, together with reasons why they can make such  difference: http://www.richardstephenson.net/?p=85 . The bullet points are: recognize the monetary limits of your genre; hire an editor; use proof readers; get a professional book cover; begin by going exclusively with Amazon and KDP Select; use social media; master the art of advertising; interact with your readers; when you receive praise, ask for a review; and advertise your other works at the end of your book. 

Some take-home quotes from Richard Stephenson's article are:
"In terms of paid advertising, my primary piece of advice is to never gamble what you can’t afford to lose because there is no guarantee that you will get it back." 
and " Get your name out there whenever you can. It might seem like a complete waste of time that gives nothing in return at first, but plant those seeds early on and they will bear fruit in the future."

This featured link is a very good example of an illustrator showing her process on her blog – in this case the development of a book cover. http://kristenmargiotta.com/gustav-gloom-and-the-inn-of-shadows-cover-process/ . She works in oils, and from the background to the foreground. She intersperses explanatory text with pictures, and shows the initial thumbnail sketches, the final sketch, the preparation of the surface and the preparation of the oil paints, and then a series of four pictures from background only to final art. Putting that blog-post together would have taken a lot of time and effort, but the payoff is that anyone commissioning her will have a greater understanding of how long it took to produce the final art and because of that will be willing to pay her accordingly. 

How to inject humour into writing is a subject that surprisingly doesn't come up often. But humour is essential to keeping young readers engaged.  The suggestions in this guest blog-post from Anna Staniszewski are helpful https://laurasassitales.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/making-stories-funny/ . 1) the more you exaggerate the more fun you will have; 2) put two contrasting traits in the same character; and 3) go for the unexpected, but make it a surprise and not bizarre.

This week we feature something for our writers and something for our illustrators - because these articles were so very good.

The first one called '21 dumb mistakes to avoid when writing your first e-book' is a must read. Thankfully the writer has grouped the mistakes under sub headings, and gives both the common mistakes and how to fix or avoid them. http://myexpertdesk.com/21-dumb-mistakes-to-avoid-when-writing-your-first-e-book-2015/?utm_content=buffered7b7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer The tips I like most are a) writing your introduction when you have finished your manuscript, b) copying your draft before you start making any edits (so you can find the bits you cut out and want back in), and c) proofreading your work in a different format, and font and font size to the one you wrote it in.

The second one is this wonderful set of annotated photographs of an illustrator's process in producing a double page spread for a picture book. http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2015/mar/24/korky-paul-how-to-illustrate-books?utm_content=bufferedef2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer It takes you on a journey from the text to go on the spread, to the first A4 rough draft and all the way to the final artwork, with notes on paper selection, graphite pencil selection, on what makes a good eraser and other tips. For an author, reading it will help you understand why the artwork takes so long to prepare and costs so much. For an illustrator, there is always something new that can be learned from another professional in the same field.

James Foley, a Perth based illustrator, http://jamesfoley.com.au/ frequently gets requests from TAFE students. They always ask him what the work of a professional illustrator looks like. So he decided to write a blog-post about it http://jamesfoley.com.au/2015/03/04/how-to-survive-as-an-illustrator-advice-for-a-student/ . For James the thing that really started his career on the right track was joining SCBWI and learning about the industry from others who already had a degree of success. However the bulk of his income comes from doing talks and workshops. It took 6 years of having a day job before he could go full time with illustration. But that is only an appetiser, the blog-post has much more.