Checking roughs – a vital picture book author skill Moira Butterfield

I was inspired to write this blog after reading an interview with actor and writer Brett Goldstein, co-creator of the marvellous Ted Lasso TV series. He emphasised how important attention to detail was in his work. He also told the story of visiting the set of Sesame Street and being really impressed by the attention to detail that was evident as part of the team’s passion to make the work the best it could be. He even saw Elmo giving script notes! 

Elmo likes things to be just right, and so do I. 

 

It struck a chord with me because picture book authoring requires great attention to detail – especially non-fiction picture book work. There are checking stages the author will be asked to do and they require concentration, care and even a measure of diplomacy. It’s a vital part of being an author of illustrated books – a vital part of making good work. 

 

I‘m asked to check illustrator pencil roughs and then the colour work. I’m checking to ensure the illustrator has correctly interpreted the factual details of my text. The artist has invariably done a wonderful job and I take care to tell the editor so, whilst pointing out any things that need correcting. 

 

I’m not making purely subjective comments on the art but I point out factual errors - perhaps a beak is the wrong shape on a bird I’ve named or a creature is missing its tail, for example. I’m also checking for mismatches between the pictures and what is said in the text. So if I’ve mentioned, say, a particular creature and it hasn’t appeared as it should on the page. 

 

Occasionally, if the art is now in colour and it doesn’t affect the book, I might make a small text change to accommodate a new picture and make the work correct. Here are some examples of things I spotted in the last few days, just to show you the kind of detail I might point out.

There was no crab to spot. 

The coral cup needs a line to separate it from the tentacles. 

I changed the text here because Herefords weren't illustrated. 

The grass wasn't drooping like a mini arch. 

 

The writer should not point out errors with a heavy hand. You don’t want your reaction to sound like this: “Ha ha! Good for me! I found something!”. It ought to sound like this: “The illustrator has done a great job. I really appreciate the efforts made. Here are my comments. I hope they help. Do come back to me to discuss them if you would like.” 

Be this! 

 

It takes significant work time to do a thorough check on an illustrated non-fiction book. In fact it’s a good idea to check everything twice – and then even look again the next day if you have the schedule time and the book has lots of detail. 

 

Recently I had a spread up onscreen when a friend arrived and I explained what I was doing. “Oh kids won’t know it’s wrong,” she remarked, but they very well might and I certainly would. It does matter because attention to detail is a part of a writer’s creative passion, as Brett Goldstein pointed out. It’s necessary to make the book the best it can be, and that’s what I want for every book I write. 

Moira Butterfield is the author of many non-fiction picture books, most recently Maya's Walk, illustrated by Kim Geyer (Oxford University Press) and Grandma's Story, illustrated by Salvatore Rubbino (Walker Books). 

www.moirabutterfield.co.uk

twitter @moiraworld 

instagram @moirabutterfieldauthor

Tips on writing picture book non-fiction • Moira Butterfield

Moira Butterfield was one of our Picture Book Den co-founders, and has recently been writing lots of highly-illustrated non-fiction for age 4+. Her book Welcome to Our World (Nosy Crow)was an international bestseller in 2018. Her new book Home Sweet Home (Red Shed, Egmont)came out at the end of June 2019. In 2020/2021 she will have picture book non-fiction published by Nosy Crow, Walker Books and Quarto. 

What is picture book non-fiction? 

Picture book non-fiction uses the medium of the illustrated picture book to explore real life. It might be for ages 4+, or pitched slightly older at 6+ (as is Home Sweet Home). The text will be paired with the work of an imaginative picture book illustrator. 

Moira’s new book – Home Sweet Home. 

The text needs to be a great out-loud read 

Picture book non-fiction text needs to exhibit the same writing skillsets as a storybook. As it is likely to be a shared reading experience between adults and children, the author needs to think hard about the way the book will hold up as a ‘together’ read. Just as you would do with a story, read your work out loud regularly as you write. That way you can catch anything that doesn’t flow well, is long-winded or confusing.

The text might be poetic or caption-based 

Some non-fiction picture book text is lyrical – using the features of poetry to explore a subject. By contrast, some non-fiction texts use an introduction and short caption facts (as per Home Sweet Home). For instance, lyrical non-fiction about a butterfly might read more like a poem about a butterfly, whereas in a caption-based text you might want to explain – step-by-step - the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. It should still sound great out loud (and with its meaning as clear as a bell), but it’s not laid out as poetry. 

I myself have written both these styles and I’m happy to mix them up in the same book. I think it makes for a good varied read.

This poem comes from the beginning of ‘Everybody Feels Angry’ 

(QED, illustrated by Holly Sterling). 

The book contains a mixture of material exploring a child’s feelings. 

Here’s a snippet from a Home Sweet Home spread.
It shows an introduction and caption. 

Be hyper-aware of the needs of your age-group 

Be very careful to ensure your text caters to the age-group you’re aiming at. Will they be interested/able to connect with what you are saying and the way you are saying it? For example, a 4 year-old might prefer the poetry approach as a way of accessing a subject. A 6+ year-old might prefer longer content with more caption facts. 

The text should have a sense of wonder 

Most importantly the language of a non-fiction book should impart a sense of wonder in its subject. That’s why picture book non-fiction is such a great genre. We’re getting the chance to spark a child’s interest in the amazing world around them. 

The opening spread of Home Sweet Home, illustrated by Clair Rossiter
and written to get children interested in life around the world. 

Page length varies 

Picture book non-fiction may not always follow a 12-spread pattern. I have written for 48pp and longer recently. In fact a publisher has just suggested that I write with no page numbers in mind, which I think is a great idea. The designer will then work on the text to see what comes out. That’s pretty radical and has given me the impetus to be very creative without stricture! 

Children need to feel involved 

A non-fiction picture book text should, in my opinion, connect to the lives of the children who read it. So, for example, Home SweetHomelooks at homes around the world and in history, but with reference to a child’s own experience. I am giving them surprising and (I hope) fascinating facts but making sure I link the information to what they know.  In fact, in this case I decided to ask the reader questions as they move through the book – to get them actively connecting themselves to the things they are learning. 

First example of including questions -
taken from Home Sweet Home.

Second example of including questions -
taken from Home Sweet Home.

The text needs heart 

Above all, a picture book non-fiction text needs heart, just as a story does. Are you passionate about it? What’s the reason you chose a particular subject? If you have something important to say, then your feeling is more likely to shine through in your work. 

www.moirabutterfield.com

Twitter @moiraworld

Instagram @moirabutterfieldauthor

Top 5 Tips for A Successful Author Tour • by Natascha Biebow

Some of you might recall my post about my 10-step Marketing Plan last year in which I confessed that I’d much rather hide under a rock than do erm . . . marketing, which involves shameless self-promotion and networking and generally being quite visible.
I’m pleased to report that chunking it down and blogging about said plan meant that I actually felt accountable and did all 10 things, plus one more: a mini-author tour.

Because THE CRAYON MAN: THE TRUE STORY OF THE INVENTION OF CRAYOLA CRAYONS is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in the US, I was thrilled when I found out that I’d been awarded the 2018 SCBWI Book Launch Award so now I had some funding. By staying with generous friends and family, I was able to keep costs manageable and extend my tour to two weeks.

But how to begin?

Here are 5 insights I gained from the process that I hope might help other authors and illustrators:

1. Find a dopplegänger because you’ll need a ton of time to arrange everything yourself, unless, of course, your publisher is generous enough to fund a publicist to help you do some of the legwork. In addition to the usual marketing and promotion, the book tour required additional and unexpected time to organize.

- Start early! Be aware of school timetables so that you can try to avoid holidays, busy times, testing times, end of year field-trip times, etc. etc.
 

 

- Ask your publicist, other authors/illustrators, friends and family for contacts for schools, school and public libraries and booksellers. You can also find many of these online. 

Create a wishlist.

2. Figure out a system for keeping track of all the details as they come in and for following up: for each place you visit, you’ll need obvious things like times and contact details, but also to have agreed advertising for your event (see media pack below), parking, number of kids in the audience, AV equipment, flipchart, etc. There was a lot of back and forth to confirm everything!

 

- Create a media kit: From your website, you can link to a google.docs file, in which you can create a downloadable media kit – this will save time! – with your bio (long and short), photos, reviews, links to your social media, blogs, website, information about your books, and latest news.

3. Independent booksellers are key! I reached out to indies in the places I wanted to visit and found they would be keen to hook me up with local schools. It’s a win-win – they can pre-sell your book and you do a short storytelling assembly in return. Unless you are visiting affluent private schools, the understanding is that there is no charge for these sessions.

Contact booksellers at independent bookshops -
or ask friends to reach out to their local shop and put you in touch!

- Write a pitch for your book. Create a press release (including any good reviews!)
 

and a flyer about your school visits.

Craft a professional and friendly email. Link to your book trailer if you have one.
Then wait . . .  and wait . . .

- Be prepared to pick up the phone. Though I sent emails, sometimes, I wasn’t able to progress anything until I spoke to the busy bookseller on the phone to find out if they would be prepared to collaborate. Doing this, gave me an instant sense of what kinds of possibilities (or NOT!) would be available.  

4. Where else should you go? Think outside the box!

Some bookshops and libraries have regular storytelling sessions, but I found that these seemed to be mostly aimed at very young children. Often for events, bookshops requested a Saturday, and well, there are only so many Saturdays if you’re doing a two-week tour. Some bookshops also run half-term festivals that can be good opportunities.

I really enjoyed visiting bookshops and connecting with booksellers, but generally speaking, the audiences were quite small. 

My Saturday event at Hooray for Books in Arlington, VA,
though widely promoted drew a small audience.

I found that by working with the booksellers instead to set up school visits, meant I could connect with more kids, teachers and librarians and consequently sell more copies of my book.

 

- Consider alternative opportunities! Does your book tie in with some kind of local interest or museum or lend itself to an activity? One of the most successful events of my mini book tour was a Saturday stall at the Easton Farmers’ Market, in Easton, PA, home of the Crayola crayon. A simple craft activity drew in kids, and I was able to hand-sell my book to parents. Plus it was fun! They also invited me to help launch a new initiative - the Easton Book Festival, that will take place this Fall.

Easton Farmers' Market event

I was invited to help launch the new Easton Book Festival

- Even if you aren’t able to agree on an actual author visit, offer to stop by and sign stock. In this way, you make a personal contact with a bookseller and provide autographed books that consumers will like! 

- Think about how you’ll personalize each book – can you make it fun? I had a crayon stamp made and invested in a set of coloured Sharpies.

5. Create a cracking presentation that you can adapt to the audience and the amount of time available. For a long time I was stuck on this. I looked on in awe at all the other professional authors and illustrators doing school events and wondered how I would ever be able to come up with something great. But then I realized something key – I needed to make it true to me and my book. Who was I as an author? What kinds of stories did I like to write and tell? And how could the kids in the audience interact and have fun live during the presentation?

I decided to create a guessing game about my dream job as a child . . .

The other thing that I was stuck on was an opener. If you tell good jokes or can draw, these are easy ways to grab young audiences right off the bat. But I am neither . . . What I discovered is that my opener needed to be something that started a conversation with the audience and made a personal connection with them.

- I put together my presentation in a series of slides in Keynote. This way all the children could see the images, even in a large group.

- I practised over and over with my new clicker until I knew the presentation by heart. I made and bought props.

Slides help all the children view the images clearly in a larger audience.

- As the tour came together, I realized that though my ideal was a 45-minute presentation that allowed time for drawing (with Crayola crayons of course!) and questions, I needed a version that was short (25-30 minutes long). I also created a version of my presentation that I could use in a library or bookshop setting if the audience was made up of aspiring creatives and mostly grown-ups interested in the non-fiction topic of my book.

- I printed out a set of key slides onto A3. I shared these in smaller ad-hoc presentations in bookshops and libraries, and in case of tech failure.

In smaller groups, I used props and A3 printouts

- I invested in a portable speaker and a 3-way adaptor so I’d be prepared to hook up to all varieties of available AV equipment. I also loaded my presentation onto a USB stick. Include replacement batteries!
 

- For each stop, I allowed at least half an hour to meet my contact, confirm the details of timings and get set-up. 

Prepare for the unexpected!

- A simple, craft activity (Thank you, Jane Clarke!) that can be used in addition to colouring is useful for smaller bookshop visits when you've run out of things to say or the kids are too young for your book.

 

Oh, the things you can make with coffee filters!

- Uh, oh, I didn't sign up for this! At one school, my presentation took place in a school cafetaria: The lunch clear-up was underway, which didn’t allow very much time to set-up. In addition, the audience was comprised of 500 kids (way more than usual numbers). It was hot, it was after lunch. I needed to be prepared to manage a larger group or a set of jumpy kids.

 

I wanted to get my young audience to get excited about my presentation, but also needed a way to regain calm. I did this in two ways – I used the pacing of my presentation, interspersing me talking with interactive bits where the kids came up to draw and a really short video about the production of Crayola crayons. I also observed how teachers got the kids to quiet down at the start and used this as a way to re-gain their attention when excitement levels rose. Another great way to get kids to focus is by using rhythmical clapping that they repeat.

- If you have a very large group, it can be helpful to ask teachers to choose volunteers.

We did some group drawings with Crayola crayons - the audience suggested what each of the eight volunteers -
who represented the first 8 Crayola crayon colours invented by Binney – should draw!

- Questions . . . be prepared to get odd questions that you won’t know how to answer. Like how much you earn and what year Crayola first made markers.

Top tip!

There is so much going on that sometimes I forgot to ask someone to take a photo at my events! If you have snaps of your presentation (taken from the back so as not to show kids' faces) or of the kids' drawings, you can post on social media to create a buzz about your book.

5*: SMILE AND HAVE FUN!  

Afterwards . . .

 

- Defnintely eat CAKE. You deserve it!
- Send out thank you notes and ask for testimonials that you can post on your website.
- Create the next book.

 

Have you got any author visit
tips to share?

________________________________________________________________

Natascha Biebow, MBE, Author, Editor and Mentor

Natascha is the author of The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons, illustrated by Steven Salerno, Elephants Never Forget and Is This My Nose?, editor of numerous award-winning children’s books, and Co-Regional Advisor (Co-Chair) of SCBWI British Isles. She is currently working on more non-fiction and a series of young fiction. She runs Blue Elephant Storyshaping, an editing, coaching and mentoring service aimed at empowering writers and illustrators to fine-tune their work pre-submission. Find her at www.nataschabiebow.com

Q & A with Steven Salerno: The Process of Illustrating Creative Non-Fiction Picture Books

When my editor, Ann Rider, first suggested Steven Salerno to illustrate THE CRAYON MAN: THE TRUE STORY OF THE INVENTION OF CRAYOLA CRAYONS, I was fascinated to read some of his blog posts about the making of his books. I asked him about the similarities and differences between illustrating non-fiction and fiction picture books:
 

When an editor first approached you about doing your first non-fiction picture book project, what were your thoughts about taking it on? 

I started illustrating picture books in 2000, and by 2011 had already illustrated 17 popular fiction picture books, and with all of them in a decidedly whimsical style. So in 2011 when an editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt asked me to illustrate Brothers at Bat (a non-fiction true story about 12 brothers who formed their own professional baseball team and played from the late 1930’s until the early 1950’s) my initial reaction was that of surprise . . . simply because up until that point none of my fiction picture books stylistically suggested that I was the perfect choice to illustrate a non-fiction story that logically would be best illustrated in a more realistic style in order to capture the look and feel of the 1930’s through the 1950’s.

Brothers At Bat by Audrey Venick & Steven Salerno

I myself knew that I could indeed create wonderful, appropriate illustrations for the story, because drawing in a more realistic manner is not a difficulty at all, but I was curious why the editor took that stylistic leap of faith in me!

How is it different illustrating fiction vs non-fiction? 

A really significant difference is in the research phase . . . For example: In one of the fiction picture book stories I illustrated, BOOM! – about a dog named Rosie who is afraid of thunder, and his owner who comforts her – it happens to mention a firetruck and an orangutan . . .  So my research for that book merely involved looking at maybe 50 potential reference photos and narrowing them down to the 2 or 3 photos that I actually used as specific reference. Every other visual element created within the illustrations for BOOM! was drawn out of my imagination without any need for reference whatsoever. And all of the other fiction picture books I’ve illustrated also required extremely minimal reference photo research. 

At the opposite end of the research spectrum is the amount of research that goes into a non-fiction, historical picture book story. For the seven non-fiction picture book stories that I have illustrated thus far, on average, I probably scour through about 3,000 potential historic/period reference photos in order to narrow them down to the 100 to 150 photos that I actually end up using as specific reference to create the sketches and final illustrations for the non-fiction picture book. 

Steven Salerno's desk whilst working on The Fantastic Ferris Wheel
by Betsy Harvey Kraft. Note the reference photographs!

Another significant difference is TIME! – a lot more time! – because of the added time involved with the research phase, and also the significant additional time it takes to create the sketches and final illustrations, which all must reflect real people and places, correct fashions and other objects that are correctly rendered to reflect a specific time period. This is a much slower process!

The net result is that creating the sketches and illustrations for a non-fiction picture book, on average, takes me about eight months total, whereas the fiction picture books that I have illustrated, on average, take me about five and a half months in total. 

You start each picture book project – fiction OR non-fiction – by reading the story many times and then doodling ideas in the margin of the manuscript. Can you elaborate a bit more about this process and its importance in capturing the story
and its voice?  

Creating these very tiny, visual shorthand rough sketches directly into the margins as I read the story is simply so that I can immediately begin formulating a record of my initial instinctive vision for the illustrations nearly as fast as I generate the visual compositional concepts in my head.

How long did it take you to research reference for your new book THE CRAYON MAN: THE TRUE STORY OF THE INVENTION OF CRAYOLA CRAYONS by Natascha Biebow? 

It probably took about a month to sort through the roughy 3,000 potential reference photos and narrow them down to the 100 to 150 that ended up actually being used as specific reference to complete the sketches, refined sketches and final illustrations.

Where do you find your reference?

The author sometimes provides useful reference materials. In addition, some of the reference photos I located were in books, but the vast majority came from on-line searches. This yields many photos, but unfortunately most of them are too small in size, and also of very low pixel resolution, which will not allow them to be enlarged effectively. So, many times, you will find a pertinent photo on screen, but because of its size/resolution limitations, it is totally useless as photo reference that you can actually print out and physically use alongside your sketch and easily refer to. Therefore, online not only do you have to locate a pertinent reference photo, but it also must be of a certain size and resolution so that it can be physically printed out.

What do you do when you can’t find accurate visual reference for a particular element in the manuscript given that it’s meant to be a true story?

This happens a lot! For example, with The Crayon Man, the main character is Edwin Binney, who was, in the story's timeline, about 35 to 38 years old. But the only reference photos of the actual real person that I could find of him were when he was about 57 to 65 years old. So, to create the illustrations, I had to imagine what Edwin looked like at 35 - 38 years old based on the available photos of him.

In another example: when I created the illustrations I created for The Fantastic Ferris Wheel, the true story about the making of the first gigantic observation wheel (Ferris wheel) for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. I ran into the following problem: At that time the tallest building in America was only about 30 stories tall . . . and the Ferris wheel was about 27 stories tall . . . which meant that any reference photos I could locate of the Ferris wheel from 1893 were all from an angle looking UP at the wheel. 

But in my initial sketches I envisioned many scenes that were looking at an angle DOWN at the Ferris wheel. This meant that I had to understand how the wheel was constructed so that could devise angles looking down at the wheel in my drawings . . . which was not easy to do!

Can you give some examples of when you completely re-thought an illustration or composition as a result of something you discovered in your research or some feedback you received from the creative team?

Before I do any photo reference research myself, I create my initial rough sketches for the book based solely on the events and actions as specifically described by the text, first in a very rough storyboard format. So once I have already determined my intended images for all the inside of the book illustrations via these rough storyboard images, I then do my reference research to specifically support the elements within the sketches. So I have never located a reference photo that completely changed my intentions for the illustrations. Once I complete all my refined final sketches and they are presented to the publisher (to the editor, art director and designer) they offer their comments and suggestions to improve upon the imagery relative to their communication of the story. Usually all of the sketches are essentially approved as is, with only relatively minor tweaks suggested to improve upon their clarity. But their very smart suggestions, though seemingly minor, really do help to make the illustrations truly be their best.

Let’s look at covers. What do you think makes for a dynamic and commercial cover? How do you make non-fiction relevant so it grabs contemporary readers? 

I always feel that any cover, whether for a fiction or non-fiction picture book should essentially be simple, regardless of whether the illustrator’s style is complex or minimalist or anywhere in-between. It should be an evocative, simple, poster-like image that only needs to reflect the core theme or mood of the story, even if in just a conceptually suggestive manner. 

The basic goal should be to create a visually teasing gem that has the viewer wanting to open the book and look inside . . . What a cover does not have to be, nor should be, is a complex/busy visual scene or concept that overly explains the inside of the book.
 
In my opinion it's ultimately always a much more effective marketing tactic in terms of sales for the cover to just be very simple and striking rather than get caught up in trying to have too many explanatory elements.   

What is your top tip for illustrators who are considering trying their hand at non-fiction picture book illustration? 

When I illustrate a non-fiction picture book, I personally take the visual stylistic approach of creating the illustrations in a more realistic manner compared to the more stylized whimsical approach I take with the many fiction picture books I have illustrated. But this does not mean that a non-fiction story MUST be illustrated in a realistic manner. A non-fiction story can be wonderfully illustrated in any manner of illustrative style . . . so the only tip I can offer is simply ensure the illustrations capture the spirit of the real people and events described in the story.

Edwin Binney's inspirational story, THE CRAYON MAN: THE TRUE STORY OF THE INVENTION OF CRAYOLA CRAYONS, will be published in March 2019.

View the trailer!

Steven Salerno’s favourite crayon colour is ALL OF THEM, because sometimes each one is the perfect choice. He lives in New York City and creates illustrations for books, magazines, newspapers, advertising, posters, and product packaging. So far he’s illustrated 30 picture books, with five of the titles as both the author & the illustrator. Find him at www.stevensalerno.com

Natascha Biebow's favourite crayon colour is periwinkle blue, because it makes her heart sing. Author, editor, coach and mentor, find her at www.nataschabiebow.com and www.bluelephantstoryshaping.com