Transcript: 7/8/10; plus takeaways!

TOPIC: How big a chunk of your income do you put back into supplies, computer programs, shipping, etc.?

Reminder: @ArtistTaraReed joins #kidlitart on July 15 (9 pm Eastern) to answer questions about licensing your art!

TAKEAWAYS

Tips for holding down costs:
look for specials
buy in bulk
recycle materials for new projects

Good prices on art supplies:
Dick Blick
Utrecht Art
Cheap Joe's
Jerry's Artarama

Suggestions:
uline for mailers
Costco for local printing

Other major expenses:
Computer/software upgrades
Paid portfolio sites:
Hire an Illustrator (HAI) (can pay weekly: $7/wk; or yearly: $320/yr)
ChildrensIllustrators.com (mixed reviews; pricey: $350/yr)
iSpot (good reviews; very pricey: $650/yr plus one-time set-up fee of $100; discount for SCBWI members? Yes: call 1-800-838-9199 for details)
Picture Book (poor reviews; $300/yr; offers 6-month rate of $150)
Tip: updating portfolio regularly is key to success on paid sites

Other sites for exposure:
LinkedIn (free; mixed reviews)
SCBWI gallery (free with paid membership; mixed reviews)

Some artists feel marketing directly (mailing samples/postcards to publishers and art directors)is more cost effective.

Printing services online:
GotPrint.com
overnightprints.com
Zazzle

For generating mailing lists:
SCBWI Market Guides (must be a member to access: first year's fee is $85; annual membership renewal is $70)
Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market (CWIM), published by Writer's Digest Books, updated yearly; purchase of book includes one year membership to online site)
Harold Underdown's updates of publishing personnel at The Purple Crayon
research: online, bookstores, word of mouth

Software for managing mailing lists:
Excel
Word, for printing labels

Quantity to send out: 30-150

Also mentioned:
Imagekind; Deviantart for selling art prints online

Tweet of the night:
@Emilys_Art: "SCBWI membership is worth it's weight in gold!"

Full transcript below:

#kidlitart 7-8-10