Joan Holub began her career in children's books as Associate Art Director for children's books at Scholastic in New York. Prior to that she was a freelance art director at a Design/PR firm in the South. She has been writing and illustrating full time since 1991.
Joan has author/illustrated five children's books including Pen Pals (Grosset & Dunlap, grades 1-3) and Boo Who? A Spooky Lift-the-Flap Book (Scholastic), both of which will be published in September 1997. Spring 1998 will see the publication of three more books author/illustrated by Joan: a chapter book, a novelty book and an easy reader. She has about a dozen other completed manuscripts circulating and numerous others currently in the works.
Joan continues to illustrate books written by other authors, including My First Book of Sign Language (Troll, 1996), I Love You, Mom (Troll, 1997, by Iris Arno) and The 100th Day of School (Scholastic, 1996, by Angela Medearis). Being both a writer and an illustrator is something of a juggling act, but Joan enjoys the variety.
To see some of Joan Holub's illustrations, visit her website.
1) How long did it take for you to have your first book published, and was it the first book you had written?
I started writing and submitting manuscripts regularly around 1992-93, and sold my first book manuscripts in May and June 1996. Those sales were an easy reader (Pen Pals) to Grosset & Dunlap and a lift-a-flap book (Boo Who?) to Scholastic. I think it's important for authors who want to write for children to read recently published children's books and to talk/listen to kids to get in touch with their interests. I had written numerous other manuscripts before making my first two sales, but my writing improved dramatically once I began doing these things.
2) I am a first grade teacher who absolutely adores reading aloud to my children. I am constantly observing the specific writing tactics that young children respond to. So, I have recently decided to try my hand at writing children's books. However, I am not a gifted illustrator like you! How do I hook up with an illustrator who can share my vision?
If you are not a professional artist I would not suggest trying to illustrate your story or trying to locate an artist for your story. Your publisher would prefer to choose the illustrator for your book. You may have a vision of what you'd like the art to be and feel that the publisher may not understand it if you don't provide illustrations. But remember that publishers and illustrators interpret manuscripts on a regular basis as part of their jobs. So what if their vision is different than your original one? Maybe it'll be better than you could have dreamed and your sales will skyrocket as a result. You'll have to trust the experts.
3) I see that you used to be in the center of it all: New York. Do you find that now that you are on the other side of the country it is harder to maintain your contacts? Were there advantages to being in New York?
There are advantages to living in New York City. I love the energy. There are a wide variety of classes, seminars and conferences available locally for authors and artists. Editors and art directors from many of the major publishing houses are just a cab ride away. However, the widespread use of fax machines has made it easy for authors and artists to send hard copies of manuscript changes or artists sketches to publishers from just about anywhere. Even when I was in NYC, I often faxed sketches to publishers rather than dropping them off. The fact that an author or artist lives somewhere other than New York does not deter publishers from working with them.
4) I am a freelance writer living in Santa Barbara, Ca. have a children's picture book abot teddy bears (text and black/white sketches complete; will be watercolors in final) ready for publisher/agent. Also have a " teddy bear maker" willing to supply a little teddy with each book. Now what? How do I get the project to the people with the money - expertise etc. to get it published and marketed?
In my experience, publishers tend to prefer to see a 'book plus' project such as you've described from a packager or book producer. A reputable packager should be willing to do the work of 'sourcing' all components of such a project. Publishers don't have time to devote to these details, and you may not have the contacts or expertise. A packager should be able to find someone who can make as many teddy bears as needed in a timely and cost-effective way, safety test these bears if needed, and figure out the proper 'housing' for your project. Will your book and bear be in a box? What shape and size? What design? Who will make the box and how much will it cost? Of course, involving a packager in your project will reduce the payment you'll receive because a packager may take a substantial portion of the proceeds. I believe that The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI (818)888-8760) makes a list of packagers available to its members. If you do have the savvy and the contacts and are willing to research all facets of your book plus project, I imagine you can work directly with the publisher. But the publisher will expect a professional presentation involving pricing, product and packaging.
5) Suppose you write a children's book that you feel would make a good pop-up book. Do you make this suggestion in the cover letter, try to design a page to illustrate the idea, or say nothing at all?
If you're not a pop-up artist or paper engineer, I would just suggest the pop-up idea in your cover letter. However, I do think that for novelty books it can be helpful to show visual representation of a spread or two along with a manuscript if possible.
6) I have recently written my first children's book, but have ideas for many future books. My question is how to go about finding an agent. How do I know whether an agent is the best one for the type of work I'm writing? Do I need an agent who lives in the same State where I reside? Is there some published list of agents which I could obtain?
SCBWI offers a list of children's book agents to its members. Several guides to agents can be found in major bookstores. You just have to wade through the listings and make your own determination as to who to try. One cautionary note: It can be just as hard to find a good agent as to find a publisher for your manuscript. A good place to meet agents is at writers' conferences. It is not at all necessary to be in the same state as your agent.
7) I would like to know about what the percentage is that an illustrator can get for illustrating the story for someone else who is writting the book. I have had an offer but not sure it is a fair one.
Offers vary widely depending on the publisher and the type of book. For a picture book, an illustrator may expect advances of roughly $5,000-$10,000 from a major publisher and perhaps less from smaller houses. Royalties for a picture book vary from about 5% to 10%, split between the author and illustrator. For a chapter book or novel, an illustrator may be offered a flat fee for a color cover and black and white interior art, but it's best to receive a royalty. New artists usually start at the low end of the pay scale.
8) Does the text for a picture book have to rhyme? Or can it be successful based on the story itself?
Bad rhyme is much worse than no rhyme. Best to stick with non-rhyming text unless you have a flair for writing rhyme.
9) Can you explain some of the basic differences in the writing process between a chapter book and an easy reader? I've looked at many "easy readers" from different publishers, and they seem to range anywhere from about 200 words to 60 pages long!
Standards for length and difficulty in easy readers and chapter books are different among publishers. Part of your job as an author is to research the market. Become familiar with the easy reader and chapter book lines each publisher produces. Read the books already published. Count words. Analyze structure. Find out what the target age group is (usually mentioned on the back cover or in the front or back matter). Write to the publisher to see if they offer guidelines for their easy reader or chapter book lines. If you study the books already on the shelves, you'll begin to figure out which house best suits your book. Then you'll know where to submit your manuscript.
10) When you made the transition from Associate Art Director to author/illustrator, were there any aspects of the publishing process that surprised you now that you were sitting on the other side of the desk?
Because I was once on the other side of the desk, I think I have a good understanding of why an art director may make certain decisions. Yes, you can believe an art director when they say they like your work and are just waiting for the right manuscript. An art director may love your work, but they can't call you unless the right manuscript comes along. Art directors review the work of many artists on an ongoing basis. So when they're presented with the question of who should illustrate a given manuscript, one or more artists usually come to mind as possibilities. Having worked in a publisher's art department, I also know how to avoid certain problems in my own illustrations. I make sure to leave enough bleed (1/8" - 1/4") around the edges of my art for trim. I make sure there's enough room for the type and that the area is not so dark that black type will be unreadable. If there's a possibility that a book may go into a foreign edition, I'm careful not to write English words in the art (I write them on overlays instead.). I keep important objects out of the center gutter where they might be swallowed up and disappear during the binding process!
Questions and answers from Author/Poet/Columnist Charles Ghigna (aka "Father Goose").
Questions and answers from legendary author Lois Lowry.
Questions and answers from the
Nonfiction writing team Mary Bowman-Kruhm
& Claudine G. Wirths .
Questions and answers from Author Dian Curtis Regan.
Questions and answers from Author Kathleen Duey.
Click Here To
Return To Our Home Page