Illustration Masterclass: Ways into Publishing

This week author/illustrator Shana Nieberg-Suschitzky reports on our recent Illustration Masterclass event in London, covering the different opportunities for artists and writers in publishing today, hosted by Gillian McClure.  



On 28th June I attended yet another brilliant Illustrator Masterclass, called Ways into Publishing. This was given by the inspirational Gillian McClure and organised and run by our lovely Anne-Marie Perks.

Gillian McClure is a very experienced published writer and illustrator, who has experienced being in print in three very different ways since her initial success. First, Gillian was published through the traditional mainstream method, from 1974 until 2008. Then in 2010 Gillian, due to changes in the publishing world, she chose to start her own publishing company, Plaister Press. And most recently in 2012, Gillian’s company has become part of a group called Authorization, which gives extra help and support to self-publishers or small publishers.

Gillian devised the workshop to explore all of these publishing possibilities so that we might be better informed of our options. The event was divided into two sections.
In the first part she explained the advantages and the disadvantages of each publishing path. This was followed by Gillian showing us the sales and costing figures of producing a picture book, which drummed home the hard-core reality behind the business of making picture books.  



In the second part we were separated into small groups to explore and discuss each of our projects, work out how we could best sell our concept and where it would fit in the market. Finally three of us pitched to the whole group and Gillian gave us feedback that would help all of us think of how to present and analyse what’s the best way forward for each of our particular proposals.


To summarize the choices, looking at the traditional publishing route, the main benefit that stood out for me was the kudos of being on those Publishers' lists. And although there were plenty more benefits, the disadvantages can include: that even once you’re a published author/illustrator, you may still be waiting for a long time for responses; or that there can be a lack of commitment or support regarding marketing depending on your sales results.


With regards to the self-publishing route, the main advantages are that you are much more in control, being fully committed to your own project. You can make decisions on future print runs; choose directly which reviewers to send to, and form direct relationships with stockists and bookstores. The disadvantages include having to self-fund; having to do all of the marketing and business side on top of the creating; and having the stigma of self-publishing, which, though less prevalent today than it once was, still lingers.


And finally, there is the hybrid route, which is being part of an umbrella organisation (though this may only be able to happen if you are already published or have your own company). This seems to offer a great opportunity of having the freedoms gained by being self-published, whilst being part of an endorsed community, which offers business and marketing support. However, the disadvantages are that they will take 35% approx. of net profits and it’s still a very new business concept, so it’s not as tried and tested as the traditional route.

This was a fantastic workshop, which provided both published and unpublished writers the opportunity to gain vital knowledge from the wealth of Gillian’s experiences. It makes clear how hard it is to make money from this industry, however, I don’t think that any of us are, or should be, interested in this career solely for the money. Though we want and need to be paid fairly, the core desire of anyone creating tales and beautiful pictures is to give and take pleasure from telling our stories and to be appreciated. Gillian has shown us several possibilities of how to make this happen. 


It was generous and brave of Gillian to share this information with us and I would like to thank her on behalf of all of those present. I would thoroughly recommend attending if Gillian was to give this talk again.

_____________________________________

Shana Nieberg-Suschitzky aka Shanarama creates stories and illustrations for both picture books and older children’s fiction, though she has a few other tricks up her sleeve. In 2012 she won the Undiscovered Voices Competition for illustrating and is a proud SCBWI member.

6 comments:

  1. I really wanted to go to this but couldn't make it because of personal commitments. Thank you for doing a report.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shana Nieberg-Suschitzky12 July 2014 at 00:21

      Sorry you couldn't come Candy, that so often happens to me. I'm glad that you have hopefully found the report helpful & do keep a lookout as I'm sure that Gillian will probably run this workshop again.

      Delete
  2. This is great stuff I hope I get a chance to come along to a future event - looks like you need a few men to join in!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shana Nieberg-Suschitzky12 July 2014 at 00:24

      Hi Dennis, as I said to Candy, I'm sure that Gillian may consider running another one of these workshops & yes, over the years there have been less men proportionally, especially in the Illustration side, so of course you'd be welcome.

      Delete
  3. Thank you Shana and Gillian.
    Again and again, I'm reminded that it's a business as much as a craft.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Delighted in this subject commitment! Looking for ahead to study to keep up incredible learning and and increase the visual appeal. summarizing an article

    ReplyDelete

We love comments and really appreciate the time it takes to leave one.
Interesting and pithy reactions to a post are brilliant but we also LOVE it when people just say they've read and enjoyed.
We've made it easy to comment by losing the 'are you human?' test, which means we get a lot of spam. Fortunately, Blogger recognises these, so most, if not all, anonymous comments are deleted without reading.

Words & Pictures is the Online Magazine of SCBWI British Isles. Powered by Blogger.