Will I want to spend all my time making kids books forever?
Prompt E-Eagle
If you’re trying to break into Children’s books or waiting for your next gig, it might be tempting to think…
Will I ever get that book deal?
Or
Will I ever get another book deal?
I’m grateful that I’ve been able to fill up my calendar with illustrating books since my debut in 2022, which is a dream, and while I’m happy to do the same for a couple more years, I’m starting to wonder if drawing almost 200 pages of illustrations a year is even a worthwhile goal.
I love making children’s books!
I love that I can do this as my main job, but will I want to do just this? Three years ago, if you asked me, my answer was a resounding YES!
But doing it, I’m discovering why diversifying how and what I produce could be a good thing.
Here are some of those reasons…
The need to produce more income than what Children’s Publishing alone can offer.
A need to refill the creative well and not just produce one dimensionally.
The need to select jobs and not just take any available ‘opportunity’.
The need to try new things creatively to keep growing.
The need for diverse (reliable) income streams.
Starting tomorrow I’ll be leading the Creative Sprinters (Paid Subscibers) and Studio Founders (Founding members) In a Creative Sprint in your inbox over 5 days where we will discuss the Streams, Seasons, Story and Sovereignty of creative income, complete with daily prompts to help us think about these things deeper.
My goal is that everyone will come away with actions they can take to move towards their financial goals, for some that might be getting their first or next book, for others it might mean diversifying their income or energy.
And I think all of us will come away with a little more focus and clarity about our personal next steps towards Financial Sovereignty as a Creator.
Before we pause our series, drawing of prompts from the Hobbit for 5 days here’s today’s prompt:
TEN MINUTE ARTIST PROMPT
E - Eagle
"The Lord of the Eagles of the Misty Mountains had eyes that could look at the sun unblinking, and could see a rabbit moving on the ground a mile below even in the moonlight."
Here’s a suggestion, maybe you can even turn this into a more finished illustration over 5 sessions, or try it different ways?
(I’ve discontinued the video experiment and replaced it with newsletter voiceovers)
As we pause from the hobbit prompts, you can use the time to catchup on missed days or even get started. I’m also going to use that time for us to get to know each other a little better.
PS: As I was thinking about if I want to spend my time in kids books forever I pulled up some numbers, and since I have them I thought you might find them interesting or valuable too! So here is…
CHILDREN'S PUBLISHING ILLUSTRATOR JOBS CHEAT SHEET (2022-2023)
TOTAL MARKET OVERVIEW
Total children's books published annually (US & UK): ~11,000
New titles (not reprints/reissues): ~6,800
Illustrated debuts across all publishers: ~875 annually
PUBLISHER BREAKDOWN
Big 5 Publishers: ~350 debut illustrators (40%)
Mid-sized Publishers: ~275 debut illustrators (31%)
Independent Publishers: ~250 debut illustrators (29%)
BY FORMAT
Picture Books: ~525 debuts (60%)
Illustrated Nonfiction: ~175 debuts (20%)
Graphic Novels/Comics: ~90 debuts (10%)
Illustrated Chapter Books: ~85 debuts (10%)
MARKET DISTRIBUTION
US Market: ~560 debuts (64%)
UK Market: ~315 debuts (36%)
Source: Claude 3.7 Sonnet
What do these numbers mean to you, do they make you optimistic or pessimistic or something else? I think if you have the skill level, with enough focus attention it’s well within your means to get 1 Publishing deal, and with some extra strategy and efficiency even fill up your year with publishing work, which is what I do.