Edit Notes for Author-Illustrator Picture Book Creators
Welcome to Through Lines! Living creatively, thinking imaginatively, practicing the craft of storytelling, and uncovering your invisible strings
After years of immersion in the world of children's literature—from deep analytical study in English Literature to hands-on experience in editorial roles—I've developed a comprehensive understanding of what makes picture books resonate with young readers. My background taught me to analyze the intricate layers of storytelling, while looking at what exactly separates a good manuscript from a truly great (and highly marketable) one.
What fascinates me most is how picture books in particular operate as a unique art form where every element—from word choice to white space—must work in perfect harmony to create something truly exceptional.
Today, I'm sharing insights that I hope will be useful to author-illustrators specifically. Being an author-illustrator demands unique skillsets and a targeted approach to creation, but it shares the common goal of all kidlit storytellers: creating meaningful stories for young readers.
For Author-Illustrators: Mastering the Dual Role
✨Handle technical knowledge.
Understand standard picture book formats and production specifications, including page length and trim sizes.
✨Develop integrated storytelling.
Learn to think in both words and pictures simultaneously.
Allow your visual and verbal storytelling to inform each other from the start. Keep a sketchbook where you can quickly capture ideas in both forms, letting each medium inspire the other.
✨Hone in on your process.
You can create your dummies with concurrent development of text and art. Start with rough thumbnails and equally rough text, then refine both in parallel.
Alternately, you can fully develop the manuscript (text only), and then use that as a basis for thumbnail creation.
No matter how your work unfolds, remember that revisions are part of the process, even once the dummy is sold to an editor.
✨Build strong book architecture.
Take advantage of your dual role to create sophisticated visual and verbal structures.
Plan your page turns, spreads, and pacing with both elements in mind. Consider how the physical form of the book can enhance your storytelling through techniques like creative use of the title page and endpapers.
✨Create complementary layers.
Utilize your control over both elements to create sophisticated interplay between text and art.
Rather than having your illustrations simply mirror your text, let each element tell different parts of the story. Master the art of leaving things unsaid in the text that can be shown in the pictures, and vice versa.
Remember, these notes are just starting points. The keys to crafting exceptional stories are consistent practice, thoughtful analysis of both successes and failures, and openness to learning from feedback. Keep pushing your boundaries while staying true to your creative voice and the stories you want to tell.
Happy writing and illustrating!
Glimmers
✨Adult Spelling Bees! I saw this advertised at Book Club Bar in the Lower East Side (February 27th at 8pm!) and I desperately want to go—but I’ll be out of town. Still, coming across this event was a real joy because I believe novelty and whimsy are necessities in adult life, and activities like this help us cultivate these senses within. In my early 20s, I attended a grownup spelling bee in NYC, and the memory was revived, including this picture of me in bee antennae and the cutest pair of rose stud earrings that I adored, but have long since lost track of—unlike my desire to engage in nerdy extracurricular activities with my equally nerdy friends.
✨Balance Boards. I’d been familiar with balance boards as classroom tools for children who need to get wiggles out on a consistent basis throughout the day. Then I found this one, did some research, and discovered that balance boards have all sorts of benefits for adults. Plus, they’re objectively fun.
✨Notes On. This newsletter, written by Hannah Connolly, is like a cozy conversation in a bright coffee shop with a good friend about inner musings, writing and creating, the experience of being a woman in our society (and the sisterhood of it all), deep dives into the books we’re reading, and so many other things I’m obsessed with:
Notes On is for slanting morning sunlight on a notepad. It’s for paperbacks and Polaroids. Fresh flowers and fresh coffees and fresh words. It’s a love letter, from me (a reader, thinker, pop-culture obsessive and never-not-writer) to you (whoever you may be). It’s for those who think critically about frivolous things (literary references in Taylor Swift’s discography, for example); for those who notice all the tiny joys in life and want to make more of them; for those who feel too much, or simply want to find a community of similar minds.
I especially enjoyed reading about Why Print Media is the New It Girl and How to Romanticize February.
Just catching up on a few of these newsletters on this rainy day. This is such a helpful breakdown, thank you!