Friday: Illustrators Marketing Intensive

There was lots of great advice about marketing your work and the workshop was geared towards people that had books out or would have them out soon. I think there was a lot of info that’s useful to pre-published illustrators as well. Here’s a smattering of my notes and the points I thought were particularly useful. Some people talked faster than I could write, so the quotes are paraphrased.

John Rocco:

*Put your website URL in your trailer so people can find you after watching it.

*Expect nothing from your publisher (for promotion) and think of things that you can do to help the book (trailer, bookmarks, coloring pages, local contacts, etc.).

*Book trailers don’t have to be snazzy. You’re an illustrator; tell the story.

*Be kind. Be generous with your time and work, with bookstores and at signings. Be sincere.

Dan Santat:

*Build a network of peers: sincere relationships are very important.

*Blog consistently, at least once a week, so people will keep coming back. Talk about your work, but talk about other stuff too.

*Uses or has used different sites to promote his work (Flickr, Tumblr, Blog, Facebook, Illustration Friday), but says: You can do as much social networking as you want, but your work is what’s going to get you jobs.

*Handmade feel makes trailers more appealing.

Sophie Blackall:

*If you like doing something, find a way to call it work (like her blog to book: Missed Connections).

*If your stuff isn’t out there, it won’t be seen.

 Dan Yaccarino (on giving presentations):

*Know your topic (research even if you think you know it).

*Know your audience (kids, adults, kidlit people) and tailor the presentation accordingly. Sometimes the ideas/content for audiences overlaps.

*Don’t sign a cast or anything else or you will have to do it for everyone. Kids have a keen sense of fairness.

*Don’t shake hands with the kids. Fist bump and then Purell so you don’t get the flu.

*Be flexible (what if your computer goes out?).

*Drawing during a school visit is like a magic trick to a kid. If you can do it, do it.

 Michelle Fadlalla:

*Make the package you send stand out so that people will be interested and will review it. It’s also good to know who the right person is to send it to, instead of blanketing everyone in the industry.

*Anything that the publisher offers, take advantage of it.

Deb Shapiro:

*Have patience. It takes a long time to build and develop your presence. It’s about the long run, not the sprint. Patience and hard work will get you there eventually.

Jed Bennett:

*Let your publisher know what you can do for them. You have to be the biggest champion for your book.

Saturday and Sunday: General Conference Notes

Jean Feiwel:

*This is a bestseller business. You have to make money for the compa