Equestrian Magpie & Fuzzy Ponies

Frozen River

A Drive to The Moffat Tunnel

Amtrak in the Snow

Snowy Morning

Dallas Snowpocalypse 2013 part 2

Dallas Snowpocalypse 2013

Snowpocalypse: Today's Studio View

Illustrating Your First Book - Pricing your work and finding an editor

Today I had an email from one of my former fellow DISD art teachers. She is contemplating illustrating a book and had some really great questions:



"Hello,

... I applaud you for taking the bold move and seeking new artistic venues. You caught my attention when you mentioned that you illustrated children books. Recently I had a lady ask me to illustrate a book for her. How do you go about pricing? Also I have written my own book that I wish to publish some day. How do I go about editing?


Your guidance would be very much appreciated. 

Thank you. "



My response:

Hi! Congrats on being asked to illustrate a book! My first book I illustrated for the author (his first/only book) the next two I both wrote and illustrated. I also have a degree in graphic design so I did the layout on all of the books. Believe it or not, I was not really excited about that first book and I had no idea what I was doing. I illustrated it for $500 plus 60 % royalties. The royalties from that first book turned out to be a bit of a joke since the author printed them at Kinko's and didn't sell any copies. He was positive that someone would steal his work if he used a vanity or POD (print on demand) press. I did about 26 full page illustrations, although we didn't negotiate what the illustrations would be like. It took me 80+ hours! That works out to $6.25 an hour - not exactly professional rates... I now charge many times that!

How to Price Your Illustration Work:

Be sure you are not selling yourself short but do take into consideration your skill level when setting prices.

Take into consideration:

• How much do you want to make an hour? 
• How much it will take to make this job worth it to you? How precious is your time? Are you a busy person? 
• Keep your process in mind: Can you fix mistakes or do you have to start over? I use watercolor, so if I mess up on an illustration, I have to start all over again. Build that into the price. 
• How many illustrations are required, how detailed and how big will they be? 
• Are the manuscript and subject matter high quality or are you doing this person a favor? This question may seem harsh, but in most cases the illustrator ends up with way, way more time/money/emotion invested into a book. People don't really consider that, don't be shy about explaining it in a kind way. Also, with picture books especially, it is the illustrations that really sell the book! As soon as you illustrate one book, people will come crawling out of the woodwork telling your about the story they wrote that they want you to illustrate. Charge less to illustrate for a well-written, highly marketable book. Direct poorly written and half finished manuscripts toward an editor or writing coach. Actually, direct ALL writing toward an editor before you illustrate it. It is better to be safe than sorry! 
• What will this client be like? If you have an inkling that he/she may be a difficult client make sure the payoff will be worth it. 
• Who will hold the rights to the images as well as the actual illustrations? If this book is wildly popular you will want the rights to create and sell dolls, prints and themed products in your Etsy store or another outlet. 
• Are you doing this for fun or considering illustration as a career? 
• Do you have an art degree or an MFA? 

You can charge a flat rate, charge by the illustration or hourly. Charging an hourly rate might be a good way to start out if you're not sure how long a job will take you. It is also a good way to protect yourself with possibly difficult clients. 
You can also negotiate a percentage of the royalties if the book is to be sold. I would recommend at least a 50% cut for a picture book, less for a chapter book or less illustration dependent book. However, if you are working with self-publishers chances are the book may never be sold. Be sure you're receiving a fair amount for your illustrations - even if the book is never sold - you still did the work! 
It is also not unheard of to ask for portions of the fee along the way. You might ask for a certain amount when you present the author with preliminary sketches. Do not turn over finished work or high-res scans of it until you have been paid. Work up a contract before you begin and have the client sign in agreement.

How to Edit Your Book:

Get a real editor. If you are serious about publishing or selling your book or you are going to spend a significant amount of time or money on printing, get a real editor. Grammatical mistakes, typos and spelling mistakes are really embarrassing and we all make them! I'm sure my editor would find at least ten in this post alone! 

What do I mean when  I say, "a real editor?" I mean someone who can properly strangle you when you misuse commas. No, seriously, a real editor is someone who will really take the time to find mistakes and offer fixes AND honestly advise you on the structure of your work. It is important that you work well with this person. Editing can be like cleaning out a closet; sometimes personal and sometimes messy. Approach your editor ready to listen. 

Choosing an editor wasn't difficult for me. She is an old high school friend. Because we went through the same grueling AP English program, I know she can write well. Because she has a PhD in English lit, is currently a writing and lit. professor and has three years of experience as a freelance editor, I know she is serious about reading, writing and editing. I suspect most colleges have professors or grad students who will take on freelance editing jobs. Check bulletin boards, call the English Department or just email my editor! She really is great:

Ashley Argyle PhD

InkTip Editing

How to Design Your Book:

Appearance is everything when it comes to books, particularly children's books. As with editing, if you are serious about publishing or selling your book or you are going to spend a significant amount of time or money on printing, have an expert do the job. A nice, professional layout will compliment your work and lend credibility to your title. Poor book design, on the other hand, screams, "I am self-publishing and I did this myself in Microsoft Word!" A professional designer will be able to clean up and tweak your illustrations in PhotoShop (if need be), layout your interior in Adobe InDesign and create industry-standard files to send to print or eBook. I offer these services. If you are interested please visit my design site, Eternal Summers Press.

MOUNTAIN KITCHEN: Roasting the Thanksgiving Turkey

In the last episode of Mountain Kitchen, we smoked fresh trout. In this episode we'll be roasting a turkey, since we now know that smoking is a time-honored and painstaking way to ruin good meat. (No wonder the Surgeon General has issued so many warnings against smoking!)

First I retrieve the turkey from the fridge where its been thawing for the past five days. "Five days!?" my mom says, "Isn't that overkill?" Then I remind her of the time she needed an ice pick to prepare the family turkey. I should also pause and point out that this episode of Mountain Kitchen is actually coming to you from Dallas, not the mountains. In the mountains we keep our turkeys in the snow bank outside the kitchen door. (no joke) Although that may be more of a Park City thing, as our Rollinsville neighbors seem to frown on using Nature's Big Deep Freeze because of the large black bear population...

Once the turkey is in the pan, I split the wrapper open and an inch of bloody water immediately gushes out. I congratulate myself on putting the turkey in the pan first. Yes, I celebrate small victories. I remove the wrapper and stare in a state of shock at this cold, pale, naked thing. In five hours we're all supposed to be gathered around it with a festive sense of warmth and family straight out of a Norman Rockwell. Right now it looks more like an alien autopsy scene. My mind wanders to such a scene from the movie Independence Day. I picture a tentacle shooting from the turkey, wrapping around me and slamming me against the kitchen window, "Release me!" the creature utters, using me as its voice. A meow and a paw patting my leg brings me back. A small furry crowd has gathered on the kitchen floor to witness the autopsy, uh, I mean turkey preparations. We were cooking here weren't we?

Now for the really horrible part. I must REACH INTO THE BODY, FEEL AROUND IN THERE, and take out the giblets. As a child I used to admire my mother's stoicism as she performed this task. I would watch for a minute or two and then run away in horror. It is amazing the lengths a mother's love will go. Times have changed though. These days you will find the giblets neatly enveloped in a small body bag inside the turkey. Feeling around for a ransom note, I find the neck instead. I toss all of these little treasures into a pot of boiling water and proceed with making the stuffing.

The secret to making great stuffing is to include the most disgusting parts of the turkey in addition to the most random collection of ingredients you can round up from your kitchen/yard. (Don't worry, I couldn't find any mushrooms.) Pile them all into a bowl until the bowl is too full to mix, then mix it it with your bare hands. Once again, this is an incredible sensory experience for anyone who enjoys touching wet, mushy things.

After scraping all the stuffing from the counter top, I go ahead and stuff the turkey and tent it. It takes a moment recover from the disappointment of learning that this tenting has nothing to do with camping. Jeff arrives to help me put the turkey in the oven. This is an exciting moment, as we also learn that the turkey won't fit in the oven. After chasing each other around the kitchen with hot oven racks, the problem is soon remedied.

So, that folks, is how you roast a turkey. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out. Wish me luck. For your viewing pleasure, I've included the alien autopsy clip below. You're welcome Lexi.

From our family to yours,
Happy Thanksgiving

This link starts just in time for the autopsy or the embeded video shows the whole clip with lots of cool explosions.

Aww, Nuts!

Studio View Fall Day

Gorgeous fall day outside my studio window!

Windmill Hill - A Golden Evening

We went for another hike at Windmill Hill Nature Preserve. Jeff had a sharp eye and spotted this letter box. We have never found a letter box before, just geocaches.

My New Book: P IS FOR PANGOLIN

I'm excited to announce the release of my new book, P IS FOR PANGOLIN, an alphabet of obscure, endangered & underappreciated animals. Huge thanks to Jeff and to my editor, Ashley Argyle of Inktip Editing. Read on for a description and sneak peak at the illustrations.
Available on Amazon.

P IS FOR PANGOLIN, an alphabet of obscure, endangered & underappreciated animals: What is a pangolin? Better yet, what is a yeti crab and how does it grow food? Learn fun and fascinating facts about these and many other little-known creatures from across the globe. Each animal is richly depicted in bright, playful watercolor illustrations. The back of the book features four teacher resource pages with thought-provoking activities written by the author, a certified teacher. In addition, there is a section dedicated to conservation for readers who want to take action. Even avid wildlife enthusiasts are sure to learn something new from this extraordinary alphabet book.

Spur of the Moment Hike

We found Windmill Hill Preserve In Desoto today. Nice place.

King of The Garden

Dallas Aurora 4

Dallas Aurora 3

Dallas Aurora 2

Dallas Aurora 1