Kidlitart Picture Book Dummy Challenge
Scroll down to yesterday's post for #PBdummy schedule and FAQs.
STEP 1: Pick your project
January 6-January 13
Consider the market, consider your strengths, then go with your gut: what idea makes you want to grab someone by the arm and make them listen to your pitch? What are you so excited about that you’re doodling images right now? What do you care enough about to spend the next six months refining?
CHAT TOPIC:
Join #kidlitart on Thursday, January 6, at 9 pm EST, to discuss “Picking a picture book project you can live with.”
Come prepared to share tips on how you brainstorm new ideas; how you choose a winner; and how put your own spin on it to come up with the project only you could create.
For inspiration:
Caldecott winners, 1938-present
SCBWI Golden Kite winners, 1974-present
Note: Awards for picture book text were added in 1997.
Horn Book Fanfare list for 2010
Publishers Weekly Fall 2010 Children’s Announcements
New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2010
Struggling to find an idea?
Check out the series of posts hosted by Tara Lazar during the PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) Challenge (November, 2010), and the posts during last year’s NaPiBoWriWee (National Picture Book Writing Week), hosted by Paula Yoo.
Start building your resource library
Here are three that have excellent overviews on what makes an engaging picture book:
Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books, by Uri Shulevitz
Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide From Story Creation to Publication, by Ann Whitford Paul
The Writer’s Guide to Crafting Stories for Childen, by Nancy Lamb
And . . . we’re off!
Have your super-fantastic, one-of-a-kind picture book idea ready to go by January 13, when we'll begin drafting the text.
Check back often for challenge updates. Leave questions/comments below, or DM @BonnieAdamson or @WendyMartinArt.
Good luck!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
It's here!
Welcome to the Kidlitart Picture Book Dummy Challenge!
Part I: Fine Print
What is the Dummy Challenge?
A 25-week online group challenge to create and submit a picture book dummy.
Start date: January 6
End date: June 30
Who can join?
Anyone! Though geared primarily toward author/illustrators, writers who are not artists can benefit from portions of the dummy exercise, and illustrators without an original manuscript can use the process to create a dummy portfolio piece.
Can I participate without attending kidlitart Twitter chats?
Yes, the challenge steps will be posted here on the blog, as will the transcripts of each chat, as usual--but we encourage you to take advantage of all avenues for joining in the discussion: leave comments here; drop by #kidlitart on Thursday nights; and check in with your Twitter colleagues any time via the challenge hashtag: #PBdummy.
Note: Don’t forget to pick up your official #PBdummy twibbon, designed by Diandra Mae.
Do I have to post my work online?
No! We will be discussing the steps in general terms. If you wish to receive feedback or critiques on specific ideas or artwork, you are free to exchange messages or post images with trusted partners in protected venues. DO NOT post original work in comments here: please be mindful of the nature of the internet and use caution when posting original work ANYWHERE.
What if I don’t want to create a picture book dummy? Will I be left out of #kidlitart until June?
Topics for the Thursday chats will follow the challenge schedule, but should be of interest to all children’s book illustrators and friends. We intend to cover the entire range of issues involved: from what makes an engaging picture book manuscript, through structuring a picture book, craft techniques, tips for scanning and presentation, all the way to researching submissions. We hope you will feel welcome to join in the chats as usual, whether or not you are participating in the challenge.
Are there any rules for the challenge?
Nope. The idea is to have a great time while accomplishing a goal. There are no formal sign-ups or check-ins required—but if you’ve ever participated in a similar challenge, you know the value of community: checking in regularly, encouraging others, allowing yourself to be held accountable to a schedule—all this will help you get the most from the experience.
Any prizes or rewards for participating?
This is a new venture for your trusty kidlitart organizers, so please bear with us when we say we’re not quite sure how this will evolve. For now, the dummy will be its own reward. We’re accumulating lots of information to help you navigate the process, and we’ve lined up some terrific chat guests to inspire you along the way. We promise to take note of any questions or suggestions you might have for future challenges and to let you know of any opportunities that arise from this current challenge.
Part II: Brass Tacks
What is a picture book dummy, anyway?
A picture book dummy is a facsimile of a printed book: text and images laid out on paper cut into pages which are then gathered and “bound” to approximate an actual book. A dummy can be extremely simple or very elaborately produced—but the defining characteristic is the page turn.
A physical dummy allows you to simulate the experience of reading a book. For the author/illustrator, a dummy aids in establishing and editing the visual context into a series of isolated page spreads viewed the way a reader will experience them. It can also be an important tool for exposing flaws in the pace of a manuscript or help to establish natural dramatic breaks in the story line.
Who should create a picture book dummy, and why?
There are three reasons to create a picture book dummy:
a) As mentioned above, a dummy is an important tool for structuring a picture book, and is a recommended exercise for polishing any manuscript. A writer who is not an illustrator can benefit from creating a simple dummy, but should NOT include it as part of the submission.
b) An illustrator who is not an author might consider creating a picture book dummy of a fairy tale or some other familiar text in the public domain, as a portfolio piece. A successful dummy will demonstrate that the illustrator understands how to structure a story within the constraints of the standard picture book format.
c) An author/illustrator should consider including a picture book dummy as part of the submission package for any original manuscript he or she wishes to illustrate. This will give the editor, art director or agent reviewing your submission the clearest idea of the viability of the project. For the purposes of this challenge, we will assume that this is the goal. If you are producing a dummy for any other reason, you may find that some of the challenge steps don’t apply to your project—but we hope they will be enlightening, nevertheless.
How do we break this down?
Here is the schedule as it will be presented during the challenge. Blog posts will introduce each step by providing key points to consider, resources, and chat topics for that phase.
Jan. 6-Jan. 13 (1 week): Pick your project
Jan. 13-Feb. 10 (4 weeks): Draft the story
Feb. 10-Feb. 24 (2 weeks): Develop the characters
Feb. 24-Mar. 10 (2 weeks): Storyboard text and art
Mar. 10-May 5 (8 weeks): Produce tight, full-size sketches
May 5-Jun. 2 (4 weeks): Produce final art of two spreads
Jun. 2-Jun. 16 (2 weeks): Comp the cover and assemble the dummy
Jun. 16-Jun. 23 (1 week): Research submissions; prepare dummy package
Jun. 23-Jun. 30 (1 week): Submit
Jun. 30: Wrap party!
That’s it! Nine easy steps to dummy success!
Ready to get started? Stay tuned: Step 1 posts on Wednesday, January 5—followed by the first chat of the new year on Thursday, January 6, at 9 pm EST.
See you there!
Part I: Fine Print
What is the Dummy Challenge?
A 25-week online group challenge to create and submit a picture book dummy.
Start date: January 6
End date: June 30
Who can join?
Anyone! Though geared primarily toward author/illustrators, writers who are not artists can benefit from portions of the dummy exercise, and illustrators without an original manuscript can use the process to create a dummy portfolio piece.
Can I participate without attending kidlitart Twitter chats?
Yes, the challenge steps will be posted here on the blog, as will the transcripts of each chat, as usual--but we encourage you to take advantage of all avenues for joining in the discussion: leave comments here; drop by #kidlitart on Thursday nights; and check in with your Twitter colleagues any time via the challenge hashtag: #PBdummy.
Note: Don’t forget to pick up your official #PBdummy twibbon, designed by Diandra Mae.
Do I have to post my work online?
No! We will be discussing the steps in general terms. If you wish to receive feedback or critiques on specific ideas or artwork, you are free to exchange messages or post images with trusted partners in protected venues. DO NOT post original work in comments here: please be mindful of the nature of the internet and use caution when posting original work ANYWHERE.
What if I don’t want to create a picture book dummy? Will I be left out of #kidlitart until June?
Topics for the Thursday chats will follow the challenge schedule, but should be of interest to all children’s book illustrators and friends. We intend to cover the entire range of issues involved: from what makes an engaging picture book manuscript, through structuring a picture book, craft techniques, tips for scanning and presentation, all the way to researching submissions. We hope you will feel welcome to join in the chats as usual, whether or not you are participating in the challenge.
Are there any rules for the challenge?
Nope. The idea is to have a great time while accomplishing a goal. There are no formal sign-ups or check-ins required—but if you’ve ever participated in a similar challenge, you know the value of community: checking in regularly, encouraging others, allowing yourself to be held accountable to a schedule—all this will help you get the most from the experience.
Any prizes or rewards for participating?
This is a new venture for your trusty kidlitart organizers, so please bear with us when we say we’re not quite sure how this will evolve. For now, the dummy will be its own reward. We’re accumulating lots of information to help you navigate the process, and we’ve lined up some terrific chat guests to inspire you along the way. We promise to take note of any questions or suggestions you might have for future challenges and to let you know of any opportunities that arise from this current challenge.
Part II: Brass Tacks
What is a picture book dummy, anyway?
A picture book dummy is a facsimile of a printed book: text and images laid out on paper cut into pages which are then gathered and “bound” to approximate an actual book. A dummy can be extremely simple or very elaborately produced—but the defining characteristic is the page turn.
A physical dummy allows you to simulate the experience of reading a book. For the author/illustrator, a dummy aids in establishing and editing the visual context into a series of isolated page spreads viewed the way a reader will experience them. It can also be an important tool for exposing flaws in the pace of a manuscript or help to establish natural dramatic breaks in the story line.
Who should create a picture book dummy, and why?
There are three reasons to create a picture book dummy:
a) As mentioned above, a dummy is an important tool for structuring a picture book, and is a recommended exercise for polishing any manuscript. A writer who is not an illustrator can benefit from creating a simple dummy, but should NOT include it as part of the submission.
b) An illustrator who is not an author might consider creating a picture book dummy of a fairy tale or some other familiar text in the public domain, as a portfolio piece. A successful dummy will demonstrate that the illustrator understands how to structure a story within the constraints of the standard picture book format.
c) An author/illustrator should consider including a picture book dummy as part of the submission package for any original manuscript he or she wishes to illustrate. This will give the editor, art director or agent reviewing your submission the clearest idea of the viability of the project. For the purposes of this challenge, we will assume that this is the goal. If you are producing a dummy for any other reason, you may find that some of the challenge steps don’t apply to your project—but we hope they will be enlightening, nevertheless.
How do we break this down?
Here is the schedule as it will be presented during the challenge. Blog posts will introduce each step by providing key points to consider, resources, and chat topics for that phase.
Jan. 6-Jan. 13 (1 week): Pick your project
Jan. 13-Feb. 10 (4 weeks): Draft the story
Feb. 10-Feb. 24 (2 weeks): Develop the characters
Feb. 24-Mar. 10 (2 weeks): Storyboard text and art
Mar. 10-May 5 (8 weeks): Produce tight, full-size sketches
May 5-Jun. 2 (4 weeks): Produce final art of two spreads
Jun. 2-Jun. 16 (2 weeks): Comp the cover and assemble the dummy
Jun. 16-Jun. 23 (1 week): Research submissions; prepare dummy package
Jun. 23-Jun. 30 (1 week): Submit
Jun. 30: Wrap party!
That’s it! Nine easy steps to dummy success!
Ready to get started? Stay tuned: Step 1 posts on Wednesday, January 5—followed by the first chat of the new year on Thursday, January 6, at 9 pm EST.
See you there!
Monday, December 20, 2010
We have a twibbon!
You may have heard: #kidlitart is sponsoring a dummy challenge to celebrate our first anniversary (a year already!).
Thanks to the lovely and talented @DiandraMae, the Great Dummy Challenge has an official twibbon! . . . cool, huh? Get yours here: https://twibbon.com/join/PBdummy-Challenge-2
We've also taken the hashtag out for a test spin: #PBdummy will be the place to post comments on Twitter during the challenge.
The planning and scheduling is still being finalized, so be sure to add your comments/questions here, or DM us (@BonnieAdamson; @WendymartinArt).
We're looking forward to kicking things off January 6--see you then! In the meantime, watch this space for updates.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Transcript 12/16/10
TOPIC: Are holiday-themed promotions effective?
Points worth mentioning:
The big winter holidays are probably more a time to connect with and show appreciation for the people you work with: a card or small gift works well, depending on the closeness of the relationship.
As a creative marketing tool, try sending promos themed to another holiday: April Fool's; St. Patrick's Day; National Cupcake Day--riffs on any of these can give your promo a hook to make it stand out from the crowd.
Regarding manuscripts and/or dummies, don't forget that publishers are always looking for holiday tie-ins; it might be smart to have one or two in your portfolio.
Speaking of dummies, the last half of the chat was taken over with discussion of the Great Kidlit Dummy Challenge, set to kick off January 6 . . and somehow, that morphed into a general food-themed free-for-all. :-D
Programming note: Kidlitart is taking a holiday hiatus, and will return January 6. Stay tuned to Twitter and to this site for updates between now and then.
Wendy and I wish all of our kidlitart friends the very happiest of holidays!
Full chat transcript below--enjoy with the beverage of your choice:
#kidlitart 12-16-10
Points worth mentioning:
The big winter holidays are probably more a time to connect with and show appreciation for the people you work with: a card or small gift works well, depending on the closeness of the relationship.
As a creative marketing tool, try sending promos themed to another holiday: April Fool's; St. Patrick's Day; National Cupcake Day--riffs on any of these can give your promo a hook to make it stand out from the crowd.
Regarding manuscripts and/or dummies, don't forget that publishers are always looking for holiday tie-ins; it might be smart to have one or two in your portfolio.
Speaking of dummies, the last half of the chat was taken over with discussion of the Great Kidlit Dummy Challenge, set to kick off January 6 . . and somehow, that morphed into a general food-themed free-for-all. :-D
Programming note: Kidlitart is taking a holiday hiatus, and will return January 6. Stay tuned to Twitter and to this site for updates between now and then.
Wendy and I wish all of our kidlitart friends the very happiest of holidays!
Full chat transcript below--enjoy with the beverage of your choice:
#kidlitart 12-16-10
Friday, December 10, 2010
Transcript: 12/9/10; Guest Jannie Ho
TOPIC: Update the outdated. Website questions? Ask @JannieHo.
Apologies to our guest, super illustrator Jannie Ho--the conversation last night was impossible to shape into a more reader-friendly Q&A; we've provided a list of highlights instead.
Please check out Jannie's website, the awesomeness of which was the inspiration for the chat.
Note: Jannie recently updated to a Wordpress site, using the Headway premium theme.
Alert chatters provided a link to a purchase promo currently running for Headway theme packages; and suggest a Twitter source for Headway support at #headwaywp.
Advice/suggestions/comments regarding illustrator websites:
1) Keep the site as simple as possible: it's not necessary (and possibly frustrating to busy ADS) to add animations, etc.
2) Consider opening directly onto a gallery page--the fewer clicks to get to your art, the better. However, opening with your blog might move you higher in search engines.
3) Provide your name and contact information on EVERY page; if an AD prints samples from your site (and some do), your name should be on them.
4) STOP USING FLASH: makes sites slow to load, hard to bookmark; not SEO-friendly; doesn't work on iPhone/iPad; ADs may be unable to download images.
5) make sure your site is mobile-compatible, as many ADs report surfing for talent from smart phones.
6) ADs repotedly like thumbnail organization; thumbs should be shrunk from originals, however, not cropped into obscurity.
7) Opinions divided on wisdom/effectiveness of providing pdf portfolio on website. Pro: handy for ADs to print samples for prospective clients; Con: makes it easier to steal images. Chatters point out that there are ways to add security, but NO image on a website is ever totally safe.
8)Questions raised in regard to performance of Wordpress in controlling SEO for images. Some use the NextGEN gallery plug-in or Flickr to display images.
9)Choices for monitoring visits to your site: StatCounter; Google Analytics; or statistics provided by The Authors Guild Web Services
10) If you have an established blog, consider exporting content to new web site, or placing a link to the existing blog on your site.
11) Edit content on your new blog: get rid of old, outdated work; keep it fresh.
12) Don't include styles in which you do not want to work.
Thanks to all for your insight! Full transcript below:
#kidlitart 12-9-10
Apologies to our guest, super illustrator Jannie Ho--the conversation last night was impossible to shape into a more reader-friendly Q&A; we've provided a list of highlights instead.
Please check out Jannie's website, the awesomeness of which was the inspiration for the chat.
Note: Jannie recently updated to a Wordpress site, using the Headway premium theme.
Alert chatters provided a link to a purchase promo currently running for Headway theme packages; and suggest a Twitter source for Headway support at #headwaywp.
Advice/suggestions/comments regarding illustrator websites:
1) Keep the site as simple as possible: it's not necessary (and possibly frustrating to busy ADS) to add animations, etc.
2) Consider opening directly onto a gallery page--the fewer clicks to get to your art, the better. However, opening with your blog might move you higher in search engines.
3) Provide your name and contact information on EVERY page; if an AD prints samples from your site (and some do), your name should be on them.
4) STOP USING FLASH: makes sites slow to load, hard to bookmark; not SEO-friendly; doesn't work on iPhone/iPad; ADs may be unable to download images.
5) make sure your site is mobile-compatible, as many ADs report surfing for talent from smart phones.
6) ADs repotedly like thumbnail organization; thumbs should be shrunk from originals, however, not cropped into obscurity.
7) Opinions divided on wisdom/effectiveness of providing pdf portfolio on website. Pro: handy for ADs to print samples for prospective clients; Con: makes it easier to steal images. Chatters point out that there are ways to add security, but NO image on a website is ever totally safe.
8)Questions raised in regard to performance of Wordpress in controlling SEO for images. Some use the NextGEN gallery plug-in or Flickr to display images.
9)Choices for monitoring visits to your site: StatCounter; Google Analytics; or statistics provided by The Authors Guild Web Services
10) If you have an established blog, consider exporting content to new web site, or placing a link to the existing blog on your site.
11) Edit content on your new blog: get rid of old, outdated work; keep it fresh.
12) Don't include styles in which you do not want to work.
Thanks to all for your insight! Full transcript below:
#kidlitart 12-9-10
Friday, December 3, 2010
Dummy Challenge
Hello, kidlitart-ers!
In addition to the traditional avenues of promoting our work with postcard mailings, online portfolios and sample submissions, many of us have original picture book ideas we'd like to develop. The notion of combining our art and writing talents received support recently from this post, which suggests that the picture book market is uniquely receptive to the author/illustrator. And several of us got an extra boost by participating in Tara Lazar's PiBoIdmo challenge last month. Add all this to the fact that #kidlitart's first anniversary (!) is coming up January 6th, and we've got a great reason to celebrate with our very own kidlitart picture book dummy challenge!
This is all still in the discussion phase--which is where we need your help. Here are the ideas so far:
1) host an online challenge, either here at the kidlitart blog or elsewhere, that would include a schedule of checkpoints to creating a finished dummy and a mechanism for posting your progress (not the work, just a comment on where you are in the process).
2) create a hashtag for keeping up with/encouraging each other via Twitter
3) establish a closed blog or Flickr account for participants who wish to disuss specific ideas or post work in progress for critique (this would be voluntary--you would not have to post work to participate in the challenge)
4) the challenge would be open to everyone: non-illustrator friends are welcome to join in (making a dummy is a great exercise for polishing any picture book manuscript)
5) the challenge would begin after the first of the year--kickoff January 6th--and run through May or June.
6) At each stage, the host site would post reference material for participants: links to online resources; pdf downloads of storyboard templates, etc.
7) the goal for illustrators would be to have a finished dummy ready to submit as part of an author/illustrator package. In other words, no prizes other than the satisfaction of accomplishing an objective.
Obviously, there are still lots of details to work out. If you're interested, we need your feedback to make this work! Please use the comment field below for questions, concerns and suggestions, or just to let us know you're interested. We won't hold you to it, but it will help in the planning if we have some idea of how many might be participating.
Thanks to all for your input so far, and for your support of #kidlitart every week: the energy and enthusiasm is wonderful!
In addition to the traditional avenues of promoting our work with postcard mailings, online portfolios and sample submissions, many of us have original picture book ideas we'd like to develop. The notion of combining our art and writing talents received support recently from this post, which suggests that the picture book market is uniquely receptive to the author/illustrator. And several of us got an extra boost by participating in Tara Lazar's PiBoIdmo challenge last month. Add all this to the fact that #kidlitart's first anniversary (!) is coming up January 6th, and we've got a great reason to celebrate with our very own kidlitart picture book dummy challenge!
This is all still in the discussion phase--which is where we need your help. Here are the ideas so far:
1) host an online challenge, either here at the kidlitart blog or elsewhere, that would include a schedule of checkpoints to creating a finished dummy and a mechanism for posting your progress (not the work, just a comment on where you are in the process).
2) create a hashtag for keeping up with/encouraging each other via Twitter
3) establish a closed blog or Flickr account for participants who wish to disuss specific ideas or post work in progress for critique (this would be voluntary--you would not have to post work to participate in the challenge)
4) the challenge would be open to everyone: non-illustrator friends are welcome to join in (making a dummy is a great exercise for polishing any picture book manuscript)
5) the challenge would begin after the first of the year--kickoff January 6th--and run through May or June.
6) At each stage, the host site would post reference material for participants: links to online resources; pdf downloads of storyboard templates, etc.
7) the goal for illustrators would be to have a finished dummy ready to submit as part of an author/illustrator package. In other words, no prizes other than the satisfaction of accomplishing an objective.
Obviously, there are still lots of details to work out. If you're interested, we need your feedback to make this work! Please use the comment field below for questions, concerns and suggestions, or just to let us know you're interested. We won't hold you to it, but it will help in the planning if we have some idea of how many might be participating.
Thanks to all for your input so far, and for your support of #kidlitart every week: the energy and enthusiasm is wonderful!
Transcript: 12/2/10
TOPIC: Does anyone know what you do? How do you promote yourself OUTSIDE the book/art community?
Note: This chat morphed into a discussion of a possible kidlitart-sponsored online challenge to create picture book dummies. Please see Dummy Challenge post for details.
#kidlitart 12-2-10
Note: This chat morphed into a discussion of a possible kidlitart-sponsored online challenge to create picture book dummies. Please see Dummy Challenge post for details.
#kidlitart 12-2-10
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