It's been a good while (update)

[Coley]

@smceccarelli thanks! That's sort of what I thought but was curious if I had missed something, thanks

[burvantill]

Congratulations! Thanx for the status update. You give us hope.

[garmin express 0]

great information .thanks for updating

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@smceccarelli hi Simona! It’s so good to have you back. I absolutely adore the books you’ve worked on recently. If it’s alright with you, I’d like to ask how many of your books were found by your agent and how many of them did you find by yourself. Also, how did you find them? What methods did you use? Postcards? Emails? Networking? Etc? Thank you so much.

[smceccarelli]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz Hi! It's nice to touch base with the SVS community now and again!
So....that's a simple question but there's not a simple answer. I do a lot of "marketing" myself and always put my agent's name everywhere. So, if somebody contacts my agent, is it because of something I've done or something she's done? Hard to say, and, in the end, not important. My agent negotiates all my contracts regardless, and she always gets more money and more time for nearly every project - and that's a huge credit to her and fully justifies her cut, even if I was responsible for getting most of the work.

Also, the quality and type of contract counts. The two best and most prestigious contracts I've ever done are 100% her doing. I would have never been able to get those by myself, regardless of how much I market myself: big publishers don't generally go hunting for illustrators on social media and probably get thousands of postcards - there's jobs you're just very unlikely to get with blanket marketing.

I talked about marketing in old posts, but here's my experience so far. I don't do postcards: I did one postcard volley one or two years ago, never got any lead, it's super expensive and takes a lot of time. That's the experience I've heard from a few other illustrators, so I stopped doing that. I print postcards to hand out in person and my agency does one postcard campaign a year, where they send several postcards in an envelope (from all their artists) and take care of all the addresses, shipment, etc...

I'm moderately active on social media, though my posting schedule is inconsistent. I got a couple of good leads from social media - the majority from Behance, which is by far the most serious and highest-profile platform for creatives in my opinion. I'm also on childrensillustrators.com, but I'll probably cut that next year, as I only get leads from self-publishing authors from there (if you're interested in those, that's a good place).

The absolute top source of contracts for me is in-person networking (which is also the major way my agent goes about it in NY). I go to the Bologna Book Fair every year and I added the Frankfurt book fair last year - but any occasion to meet and chat with art directors and editors, show your portfolio and hand out your card is good: whether is a workshop, seminar, SCBWI event, meetup, whatever. I also have a growing network of published writers, who can introduce you to their editors and publishers either in person or online - so chatting up to writers is also a good strategy. That's expensive, of course - with one visit to Bologna I could do 5 or 6 postcard campaigns. But from every visit I get 2-4 contracts, and those breed more as publishers get back for the next one or talk with other colleagues, or book previews come out in the secret channels that publishers use to share that stuff
So, my feeling is that, as much as we are in a super-connected and open world, the major source of business is still very much personal connections and word-of-mouth. Maybe that's just the way humans tick - we prefer to work with and trust people we sort-of-know rather than complete strangers, no matter how good...

[Jeremy Ross]

@smceccarelli, great feedback - thank you!

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@smceccarelli hi, Simona! Thank you so much for the response. It’s very helpful. I’m currently signed with Advocate Art. I like them but I’m currently stuck doing educational books and though I appreciate the money they’re paying me, these books are just so uninspiring. I’ve always wondered if there’s something more I can do to receive more story book (or is the right term trade books) projects.

I think you made a great point in connecting with people through book fairs and conferences. I might just join the Bologna or Frankfurt book fairs in the future. Provided I earn enough money for the trip. Lol

Anyway, regarding connecting with art directors through fairs, do you just walk up to them during the event, introduce yourself, and give them a post/business card? Or do you need to sign up for an appointment like a portfolio review or something?

I apologize if I’m starting to sound annoying. This topic is really just so interesting for me and you know so much. Thank you!

[smceccarelli]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz Yes, that’s pretty much how it works.
Some publishers publish open slots on their booths (things like: Tuesday from 3-4: portfolio reviews). These are first-come first-served, so lines form up to 1-2 hours before the slot starts and you have to be lucky to still be viewed within the slot. But it works: 6 contracts and counting just from standing in those lines. If they have scheduled slots, they will not view portfolios outside of those.
Otherwise, you just walk up to the receptionist and say something like “Hallo, I’m an illustrator, and I was wondering if I could show my portfolio to somebody here at ...(Insert name of publisher).” Some will make arrangements, others will give you a card with their submission guidelines and contacts (which I follow up immediately after the fair), others will just take a card.
It is possible to make appointments beforehand, but not easy at the start - I only managed one in my first year and two in my second. Much easier once you have worked with a few people (I had six lined up before they moved the Bologna fair this year)...

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@smceccarelli Thanks Simona! Do publishers announce that they only have limited slots on their sites?

[smceccarelli]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz Not that I know of. They post them on their booths at the fair itself (that’s for Bologna and Frankfurt)

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@smceccarelli i see. Is it really hard to get into these slots? I imagine illustrators are scurrying to these lines as quick as possible. Lol or am I wrong? Also, are these free or do the publishers ask for a fee?

[smceccarelli]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz Some are harder than others, but it’s all manageable with a little bit of planning and patience. You do need to turn up at least one hour before the start in most places, but I’ve had good luck also squeezing in last minute.
No, of course there’s no fee!
Be forewarned that large american publishers don’t do that kind of thing - at most you may be able to drop a card. It’s mostly European and UK publishers who offer these slots and a couple of lesser known US ones (I got two contracts from a US publisher this way). UK publishers are wooed a lot (don’t know why), so lines there are particularly long.
I stopped standing in UK publisher’s lines last year as it was made clear to me a couple of times that my style does not fit the UK market. That’s a learning - if you look through the booth and you don’t see anything even remotely close to what you do, there’s no point waiting for a slot.

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@smceccarelli thanks! These are all very valuable info.

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@smceccarelli i just read for the Bologna Children’s Book Fair that the event is moved to may due to the COVID-19. That sounds really concerning. Are you still going?

[smceccarelli]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz I rescheduled accomodation but I can cancel the day before with a full refund. I’m going if the fair is taking place (which is uncertain at this point - but fingers crossed).

[LauraA]

Hi @Eric-Castleman! Thanks so much for checking back in, and of course I remember you! And thanks to @smceccarelli for weighing in as well. This is all such valuable information and I am generally encouraged by the success of SVS artists.

I feel a bit behind the professional curve but am determined to keep going until I catch up. Would love a critique group! Would like to eventually do stories, but illustration first.