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AN
AGENT’S ADVICE ON SELLING YOUR ARTWORK:
Some Basics
Edited:
first appeared in "THE BASICS" in C.B.I. (Children’s
Book Insider) newsletter July 1996.
© Chris Tugeau. May not be reproduced or printed, except for personal
use, without permission.
by
Chris Tugeau
When I asked a trade picture book art director what she looked for from
illustrators, she responded, "Good drawing, good composition, good
color." Seems obvious, doesn’t it? But it’s amazing
how many portfolios she and I see that don’t have these basic
elements exhibited.
Let’s
assume you have studied art technique and you practice to get better
all the time. Samples areeverything! It is very difficult to get a book
assignment, or any illustration job, if the buyers are not seeing plenty
of good pieces. Have 10-12 strong samples of your style in your portfolio.
For children’s publishing, these samples must show character development,
interaction, real space and a narrative feeling. Character development
can be shown by differing expressions on the same character’s
face and by body language. I like to explain interaction by noting that
the characters in a story are not aware of our presence observing them.
We are looking at them "acting" within their world. This is
their "real space"…the foreground, middle ground and
background of their lives. There does not need to be a written story,
just the feeling of one which makes it a narrative.
You must have a promotional piece that the buyer can keep for their
files. Printed color pieces are best. There are companies that affordably
offer 500 large post cards for about $200 plus. But you can mount photos
or good color copies attractively as well. I sometimes mount 5x8 standard
white cards with a 4x6 photo and my logo sticker and artist’s
name beneath it. An 8x10 black page with perhaps two or three color
copies cut and arranged on it is also most effective. Black and white
composites on an 8x10 card stock sheet are nice too. It’s a good
idea to send a different promotional piece out two or three times a
year to interested editors and art directors. When you can afford it
(or even before!), DO take out a page in an appropriate promotional
directory and order the reprint pages to send to buyers.
You must constantly study the market. Go to local bookstores once a
month and look at all the new offerings. Go to libraries and study the
good backlist classics. Why are the illustrations working? How do they
flow? Look for styles similar to yours and notice who publishes them.
If your style is terribly unique, look for houses that dare to be different.
Call the publishers and ask for their most recent catalogue, or ask
your local bookstore for old ones.
Send your samples to appropriate art buyers. A pet peeve of every art
buyer is to have their time wasted by mismatched presentations. For
instance, do not show ‘mass market’ styles to a ‘trade’
publisher, or adult samples to the K-3 art director. (there is some
cross over, of course) And always send a SASE (self addressed stamped
envelope) for the return of your samples, or a stamped post card for
response if you do not want them returned but want to know they got
there and were viewed.
As for response letters, being "not right" for the house or
list may be just a matter of market timing. Positioning is all important.
The "bottom line" is always looming for publishers. Books
must sell so that more books can be published. The market may be saturated
with a subject or approach. With the heavy competition of the past decade,
quiet, sweet looks tended not to be "in". Then the adorable
"love" books appeared at the end of the 90’s. Whatever
your style, if possible, go for the dramatic and memorable. This is
how you will remain in the buyer’s memory so they will call when
a project comes up. Be aware of trends, but do your own style better
and better. There are a wide variety of stories and they need a wide
variety of art styles. Work on finding your own personal look, practice,
get criticism, study the market and keep those strong samples in the
mail to publishers. And be SURE your samples show those three essential
elements of "good drawing, good composition and good color."
The rest is imagination and story telling. All together, it’s
a children’s book!
__________________________________________________________________________
Chris
Tugeau is an artist and artist's representative. This article is used
by permission. It and other articles can be found at her excellent web
site at http://www.catugeau.com/articles/articles.html
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