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Written by Holly Black
Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books / Simon & Schuster Children's (May/2013)
Finished/savored DOLL BONES. Could eat @hollyblack's prose with a spoon. Also love @wheelerstudio's creepylicious pics.
— Debbie Ridpath Ohi (@inkyelbows) May 17, 2013
Also see my other MicroBookTweets and my interview with Eliza Wheeler.
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Juana Martinez-Neal, who won last year's SCBWI Summer Illustrator Portfolio Showcase, has a fantastic step-by-step post about how to put together a children's illustrator portfolio. Lots of specific tips and resource links plus visual examples from other illustrators (hey, like ME :-).
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Photo by Adam WheelerEliza Wheeler and I met at the SCBWI Summer Conference in 2010, when both of us were chosen for the Illustration Mentorship Program. We both hit it off right away; I love Eliza's positive life outlook, enthusiasm and wry wit. Since then, we've become good friends and I fervently wish we lived closer together so could hang out more often. Geography really sucks sometimes.
The photo to the right was taken by Eliza's filmmaker/photographer husband, Adam Wheeler (who is just as cool as his lovely wife).
It's been so exciting to watch Eliza's career take off since that SCBWI conference. Not only did she win the Overall Portfolio Showcase the year after, but her first picture book, MISS MAPLE'S SEEDS (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin), hit the New York Times Bestseller list!! Eliza has a lot of other projects already on the go, of course, but was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions for Inkygirl readers.
What was your work process for MISS MAPLE SEEDS?
When I started working on the finals for MISS MAPLE, I had printed out light sketches onto the final drawing paper with my Epson printer (a step I've replaced by traditionally transferring the sketch via a light box), and I stretched and taped my paper onto 16 plywood boards. That way, I could work on all of them at the same time and build up slow washes, moving onto the next as I let layers dry. Creating finals for picture books calls for long hours, and I've found audio books to be really helpful while I work. I believe during this book I listened to The Hunger Games, and started the Harry Potter series.
Photo by Adam Wheeler
What advice do you have for aspiring picture book writer/illustrators?
1) Be patient while you build up your body of work. Just focus on your craft, and leave the business side of storytelling for later; for when your work is REALLY good.
2) Create the kind of work that your kid self would have loved. Be your own audience, and always ask yourself "If someone else made this, would I read it? Would I put it up on my wall?". It seems obvious, but more often than not when I ask myself this question, I'm surprised to think "no".
3) Read, read, read. Whenever I'm stuck with my storytelling I read. I get new ideas or answers to existing stories when I read. And don't just read in your genre. A friend lent me Aimee Bender's adult novel The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, and I was distracted through the entire thing because every single time I sat down to read that book, a particular story I was working on would come to me in waves. I don't know why that was, but certain books will do that, and I've learned that it's a really great thing.
Photo: Rachel Jackson
Photo: Rachel Jackson.How was your book launch party?
It was INCREDIBLE. I had so much help from my good friends on the day of the event, and it was also my first public speech. I was so nervous, but then really enjoyed telling the story of this special book. There was a large crowd, and it meant the world to see all these friends from different areas of my life come together. There were people there I hadn't seen in years! Also, my books sold out! They had something like 54 copies. We were blown away. I knew that I wanted to make it special for my debut book, but it was even better than I could have imagined.
Congrats on MISS MAPLE'S SEEDS making it onto the New York Times Bestseller list! What was your reaction when you found out?
It was of complete and utter disbelief! I saw it mentioned on twitter late in the evening, and thought it was a mix-up. Then Nancy Paulsen emailed me the list, and I was in shock. I told my husband, but it sounded more like a question, "My book got on the New York Times bestseller list?" We just kept saying, "what?! what?!" back and forth. And then I think we laughed a lot and continued saying "what?!".
Your fabulous illustrations appear in the just-released DOLL BONES by Holly Black. How did that process go?
Doll Bones was extremely fun to work on - illustrations for middle grade go a lot faster than picture-books, it's sort of less excruciating in the sense that we don't need to convey too much information with the illustrations. They add fun, mood, and flavor - there's an ease there that I love. I worked entirely with Simon and Schuster's art director, Sonia Chaghatzbanian, but Holly was sweet to send me a couple Tweets through the process to let me know she was loving the illustrations, which were thrilling messages to get.
What are you working on now?
As for new projects, I'm right in the thick of illustrations for a picture book by Mara Rockliff called The Grudge Keeper. It's a super fun story; one of those manuscripts I couldn't turn down because I wished I had written it. I'm also working on a new picture book idea with my editor Nancy Paulsen at Penguin, but can't say much about that yet. I also will be working on a brilliant middle grade novel by Kate Milford called Left Handed Fate, and I'm equally excited and nervous for that project, just because I want to do Kate's story justice with the illustrations.
Where to find out more about Eliza and her work:
Eliza's website: http://wheelerstudio.com/
On Twitter: @WheelerStudio
Eliza Swanson-Wheeler on Facebook
Also see my other Inkygirl interviews.
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I'm in the middle of reading DOLL BONES by Holly Black, illustrated by my friend Eliza Wheeler, and enjoying it so much that I find that I'm starting to purposely slow down my reading pace so the book will last longer.
Comic originally posted on Writer Unboxed a few years ago.
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I read about Authorgraph.com letting authors digitally sign copies of their books on Mediabistro today, and have decided to try it out. You can see a sample of how the above doodle/signature was drawn (this is what a reader would receive as well). Here is the Author FAQ from the Authorgraph.com site.
The service is free, though Authorgraph.com points out that if a reader is using Amazon's Personal Document Service, Amazon may charge a small fee. At present, the site's only income-generating model seems to be through Amazon affiliate links.
Once you've signed your message and autograph, the reader who requested it has the option of downloading it as a PDF or AZW file, which can then be saved on devices or printed out. When printed out, the image fills an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. It would be nice if a reader had the option of a smaller size that is suitable for printing out and sticking inside the book. Savvy readers, though, will know how to shrink the image before printing.
Readers can also share their author autographs on Twitter. Here's a demo video:
Though the idea of being able to digitally sign a book is great, I can't help but be skeptical about the demand. I know that I'd far prefer a real-life ink autograph than a digital file that's been printed out...BUT Authorgraph.com's process saves the author the postage and printing costs/hassle of autographed bookplates sent by snailmail. Plus the opportunity for the reader to send a brief message to the author and then see the signature being drawn adds an extra level of personal interaction.
I'm intrigued enough that I'll be adding this to my I'M BORED Bonus Page and see how it goes.
More info about Authorgraph: http://www.authorgraph.com/
To request an Authorgraph from me about I'M BORED: http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/debbieohi
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From Publishers Weekly (click on image to see original article)
The package above was mailed out to about 100 chlidren's book professionals, handmade by award-winning illustrator Sophie Blackall to help promote THE MIGHTY LALOUCHE, a new picture book about a Parisian postman at the turn of the 20th century, written by Matthew Olshan and illustrated by Blackall.
What a wonderful package to receive in the mail!
Find out what was inside each package by reading the full article in Publishers Weekly.
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I am thrilled to announce that I will be illustrating two picture books written by Lauren McLaughlin debuting the pint-sized detective, MITZI TULANE, for Random House Children's Books. Editor: Maria Modugno. Art Director: TBA.
Lauren McLaughlin worked in the film business as both a screenwriter (Hypercube, Prisoner Of Love, Specimen) and producer (American Psycho, Buffalo '66, Vig, Stag and others), and she is the author of several teen novels including Scored, Cycler and (Re)Cycler. You can find out more about Lauren at http://www.laurenmclaughlin.net. I read Scored a while back and loved it, am looking forward to reading Lauren's other YA books as well.
My editor will be Maria Modugno. I was originally supposed to work with Maria on the RUBY ROSE books by Rob Sanders at HarperCollins Children's, but then I heard that Maria had left HC to become editorial director at Random House.
Maria Modugno, Editorial Director of picture books at Random House & Golden Books For Young Readers Group
Turns out that Maria still wanted to work with me (YAY!!) because soon afterward she contacted my agent, Ginger Knowlton, at Curtis Brown and asked if I'd be interested in illustrating the Mitzi Tulane books.
I read the manuscript and fell head-over-heels in love with the pre-school detective.
:-)
I'll be starting work on the first Mitzi Tulane book in 2014.
Thank you SO VERY MUCH to my fantabulous agent, Ginger Knowlton, for helping make all this happen and keeping me organized, as well as Ginger's wonderful assistant, Mina Feig.
I'm soooo excited about all the fun picture book projects I have lined up over the next little while. These include...
What I'm working on right now:
NAKED! for Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, written by Michael Ian Black and illustrated by me.Editor: Justin Chanda. Art Director: Laurent Linn. Scheduled for publication in Summer 2014. Read the announcement about NAKED! in Entertainment Weekly.
What I will be working on in the near future and next couple of years:
UNTITLED picture book for Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, written AND illustrated by me (woohoo!!!!!). Editor: Justin Chanda. Art Director: Laurent Linn. Scheduled for publication in Spring 2015.
RUBY ROSE ON HER TOES for HarperCollins Children's Books, written by Rob Sanders and illustrated by me. Editor: Margaret Anastas. Art Director: TBA. Publication date: TBA.
UNTITLED (second RUBY ROSE book) for HarperCollins Children's Books, written by Rob Sanders and illustrated by me. Editor: Margaret Anastas. Art Director: TBA. Publication date: TBA.
UNTITLED (first MITZI TULANE book) for Random House Children's, written by Lauren McLaughlin and illustrated by me. Editor: Maria Modugno. Art Director: TBA.
UNTITLED (second MITZI TULANE book) for Random House Children's, written by Lauren McLaughlin and illustrated by me. Editor: Maria Modugno. Art Director: TBA.
Meanwhile, I am also working on writing and sometimes illustrating my own projects: picture books, illustrated middle grade, and YA. My children's book writer/illustrator sister Ruth Ohi and I are also planning to do a book project together. Life is pretty amazing right now, and I'm grateful for the people who have helped make it happen. I've mentioned a few of these people already, and will be posting about more of them over the coming year.
A Thank You To Justin Chanda & Simon & Schuster Children's
A Thank You Letter To The SCBWI
And how it all got started:
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