Picture Books

After spending so much time basking in the brilliance of Rick Walton (and of course Will Terry, Kristyn Crow, Guy Francis, Nathan Hale, and Sharlee Glenn), I figured I had the system of creating a picture book down.

But last week I got invited to a number of picture book meetings at Candlewick, and found all sorts of new details. (Not to imply that there’s anything Rick & Co. don’t know—as far as I can tell they’ve solved most of the universe’s problems—I just missed some of what they said.)

In one meeting, I watched the editors discuss some of their favorite manuscripts they’d received. Several of them had received submissions they didn’t care for but wanted to offer to another editor if anyone at our press was the right person for it—and in several cases another editor took the manuscript. We also looked at several books previously published in other countries and considered buying the rights to the book (and all that would imply—translation, cover design, reworking, fees, etc.).

I also learned that Candlewick is unusual in how much input the authors get on their book’s illustrator. Generally, once a manuscript is accepted, the editor and designers hold a meeting to discuss illustrator options. They pull out sample art they have on file, offer suggestions, and debate possibilities. When they’ve chosen three possible illustrators, they’ll often consult with the author to see what the author thinks. This privilege for the author isn’t in the contract, but is offered as a courtesy (after all, you wouldn’t want the author to hate his or her published work). The author also gets to approve the sketches.

Oftentimes the publisher will work out the page turns and trims size before sending the manuscript to the illustrator, although some illustrators, especially the more experienced ones, work directly from the manuscript and choose the spreads themselves. Among many things a publishing house is looking for in an editor is the ability to maintain character consistency—to draw the same character doing a variety of things, over the course of an entire book. On average, the illustrator gets about six to eight months to go from the sketches to the final artwork.