Surviving difficult projects - advice by Moira Butterfield

Film adaptions are famously long-winded and difficult. There’s even a phrase for it – development hell. According to Douglas Adams: 

“The Hollywood Process is like trying to grill a steak by having a succession of people coming into the room and breathing on it.” 

For writers it’s notoriously soul-destroying. The processes in children’s book publishing aren’t that bad, thank goodness, but it may not all be plain-sailing from contract-signing to publication and it can be difficult to maintain enthusiasm for a writing project when it goes through difficult times. After the initial joy of having a book accepted, there may be many rocks to navigate and perhaps some becalming, too. 

 

Examples of reversals a writer might encounter

 

* An editor wanting you to rewrite parts of your content, perhaps even more that once.  

* An editor leaving and your project going into temporary limbo. 

* New staff arriving and wanting to shift the focus of the project. 

* Changes from an international publisher wanting to buy rights, but only if you play ball. 

* Delays while an artist is found. 

* Delays you just don’t grasp due to lack of communication.  

 

I am giving you a list of worse scenarios here to show you that all these things can occur to all writers at some point, and if they happen to you – well, you are not alone. Many of your fellow writers will recognise the situations and sympathise. 

 

My suggestions 

 

Redevelopment – Get it clear in your mind what the editor is saying they want. If it’s not clear then ask them to make it clearer. Discussing it with them face-to-face will greatly help here. 

 

Be flexible and open-minded. Think around the suggestions being made. Are they a good idea? Is there another solution you think might work better and that you could both think about? Be as positive as is possible. You’re working together to make the work great. 

 

A good thing here is to rewrite your brief for yourself. What was your initial idea? What were its strengths. What were you writing it for? Reconfirm these things to yourself to reinforce your confidence in your decision.  

 

Keep all emails so you have a development trail of what’s been asked of you. If things change a great deal over and over again (Yes – actual development hell occurs) you are perfectly justified, and it’s professionally acceptable, to ask for more money. 

 

If it comes to the point where you think ‘no this is not what I want’, then say so calmly and logically along with your reasons. Your editor might agree with your points after thinking about it. If not, then it’s time to move the project to someone else. That is a positive thing to do for your project. It’s not your failure. Shut the door on development hell. 

 

There’s not much to be done about delays but don’t be hesitant to communicate with your editor and ask them what’s going on. 

 

Difficult projects can really take a toll so take care of your mental health. That means remembering that you are creative, for example, by taking time out to play and by working on other things. 

Do what you need to do to look after your head. (pic: my friend John Miles
found someone meditating on the top of Glastonbury Tor last week)  

 Also please, please remember that you are not alone and even the most famous writers have setbacks. Reach out to your friends in the writing community. They will understand your feelings better than anyone. 

 

Writing is hard and sometimes the process of publishing makes it harder. That’s the simple truth of it. Be ready but be positive, be open-minded and be true to what you are aiming for.   

 

Moira Butterfield is an internationally-published author whose Nosy Crow book Welcome To Our World has just been translated into its 15^th language. Her newest book – Sometimes I’m a Baby Bear, Sometimes I’m a Snail (|Welbeck) aims to give young children tools to express their feelings. 

 

Moira Butterfield
moira@moiraworld.co.uk
www.moirabutterfield.co.uk
twitter @moiraworld 
instagram @moirabutterfieldauthor

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