Great Resource About Commissioning Illustrations

There are a lot little intricacies about copyright law pertaining to illustration that are commonly misunderstood – mainly that the producer of the book needs to buy all rights to the art in order for it to be included in a book. I talk more about that in my post titled "Authors Who Plan to Self Publish – You Don't Need All Illustration Rights!"

I've found a great resource that I think anyone who works in the publishing business should read. If you are an illustrator, please read this, too. The more knowledgeable all of us are, the easier it will be to maybe get what our work is worth! It's a booklet written by illustrator Randy Gallegos and can be downloaded for free on Randy's blog.

Thanks Randy for this great resource!

Authors Who Plan to Self Publish – You Don't Need All Illustration Rights!

Since I started my journey as a children's illustrator, I've been approached by many authors who want me to illustrate books they intend to self-publish. And most of them think they need all rights to the illustrations - probably because there is so much misinformation out there.

Understandingly, most authors are unable (or unwilling) to pay a fair fee to an artist to illustrate a picture book ($5,000 and up for a typical 32-page book). On top of that, they expect to get all rights to the artwork for the less-than-fair fee. Traditional publishers that pay fair fees don't even do that. The industry standard to buy all rights is 100%-150% of the fair fee ($10,000 and up for a typical 32-page book).

Typically, the contract will give all BOOK rights to you, the author. Which means that the illustrator can't sell the art to anyone else to be used in another book, and you (the author) are free to use the art to promote the book. That's all you need!

Are you thinking: "What if my book gets so popular that I want to license my characters to make plush animals or action figures out of them to sell?"

I'm really glad you have so much confidence in your book - that will take you far! But, in reality, this probably won't happen, and if that highly unlikely scenario does play out, there can always be re-negotiation talks for more rights.

I think it's sad that so many first-time authors won't hire an artist who won't give them full rights. Most professional illustrators won't agree to do that, so the talent pool for the authors to choose from is shrunk to the inexperienced and unschooled in the industry. I feel like a lot of authors are really shortchanging themselves from having great art for their stories because of this mostly irrelevant issue.

If you are thinking about self-publishing, and put all the time and effort into writing and marketing your story, please consider how important the visuals are! The better the art, the bigger chance for your book to get read! And who is going to want to buy a plush of a mediocre character anyway?

Something to think about.

How to Deal with a Bad Day

I got this little gem in my email this morning and had to repost it - it contains some real wisdom for how to think about those "bad days."

HOW TO DEAL WITH A BAD DAY
by Christine Kane 

Let's face it. No matter how much progress we make, we're still going to have "bad days."

You know the ones.

When the old critical voices are milling about drinking martinis in your head. You try to send them all away with your favorite powerful affirmation, but only a few of them even look up - and one of them turns away and snickers.

So, what do you do when no matter what you do, you're just icky?

Very few success-gurus or business coaches talk about the bad day. Rarer still is any discussion on the process of following your dreams or building a business and the persistence it takes to break through old patterns.

Sometimes it helps to hear someone be honest about this stuff. Not so that you can indulge in self-pity about how hard you have it. But so that when the bad day strikes, you have some leverage and you KNOW WHAT TO DO! (Or not to do!)

So, how do you get through a bad day?

Here's a few things that help me. Let them help you too...

WHAT TO REMIND YOURSELF:
1 - The icky voices do not tell the truth.
They're just your old voices coming up to feed. Do not feed them. This is what makes them stay.

2 - This is not who you are.
The voices like to tell you that this messed up person is who you really are and that the rest of the world doesn't have these same flaws.

Not true.

This is just a temporary set back. That's all.

3 - Lattes don't take the voices away. It just makes them go faster.
Bad Days are not a call to rush out to Starbucks, hoping that if you move faster, it will all go away. If there's any action that needs to be taken now, it's probably a nap.

4 - You can put off your productivity until tomorrow.
Consciously choosing to be unproductive is much more effective than spending the day wondering why you can't get anything done. It really is okay to put down your goals and to-dos for one day. You can return to them tomorrow. Today, make it your goal to consciously do nothing.

5 - Everything seems worse when you're tired or hungry.
If you are tired or hungry, that could be the primary cause of feeling bad. Eat something yummy. Take a nap. Go somewhere and sit quietly.

WHAT TO DO:
1 - Stop feeling bad about feeling bad.
If it helps, make today a container. Know that you're allowed to have this stuff and that nothing horrid is going to happen with this one day of getting thrown off.

2 - Make no decisions.
The late Richard Carlson, author and psychologist, gave this great advice: "Never make decisions when you're in a low mood." That's because low moods are a natural occurrence and that any low-mood decisions are typically not healthy. Put off all decisions when you're having a bad day.

3 - Don't read fashion magazines. Or the news.

4 - Take a 20 minute walk.
Bring a gentle affirmation along with you. On days like this you don't want to say, "I am master of the universe!!!" On days like this you want to say, "I am loved. I am precious."

5 - Don't try to FIX yourself today.
No need to rush to the Self-Help section at Borders. Maybe there are steps you can take toward being healthier in the big picture. But today, let yourself stop.

6 - Lower your standards.
If you eat a good healthy meal, be proud. If you do a little yoga, give yourself a high five. Tomorrow you can have your old high standards back and be productive and evolved and all that. Not today.

7 - Say NO to anything if it's motivated by the word "should."
This is a good rule to follow on good days too!

8 - Ask yourself what you feel like doing.
Sometimes the answer to this can be surprising. Maybe you'll want to begin a fiction audiobook and clean your closet! Maybe you'll just want a nap. Don't judge your response. Just do it. You might be surprised at how this one little bit of permission changes your state instantly!

9 - Don't do anything destructive.
Don't overdose on sugar or indulge in alcohol. Don't call anyone who drains you. It will not help.

WHAT TO BE:
Be very, very kind to yourself.

WHAT TO KNOW:
That the victory is not about not having bad days anymore. The victory is that you can get back up after having one.

Christine Kane is the Mentor to Women Who are Changing the World. She helps women uplevel their lives, their businesses and their success. Her weekly LiveCreative eZine goes out to over 12,000 subscribers. If you are ready to take your life and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://christinekane.com.

Top 10 Things I’ve Learned from International Freelancers Day (in no particular order)

Just got finished attending the first International Freelancers Day online conference. It was so informative! Had fun tweeting with other attendees while the presentations were going on. There was so much I learned, and a lot I missed (will catch up when the replays are available). But here are just 10 of the take-aways I can think of right now (my mind is swimming with so much information) that would be helpful to many kinds of freelancers – illustrators, writers, graphic designers, marketers, entrepreneurs, etc.

1. Pricing Implies Quality – Jonathan Fields
2. Paradox of Choice - don’t overwhelm your clients with too many choices – Jonathan Fields
3. Present your pricing from the highest to the lowest, because people will compare the new price in relation to the one mentioned before it – Jonathan Fields
4. FUF: Follow up Forever – Michael Huggins
5. ABP: Always be Pitching – Rebecca Matter
6. NEVER miss your deadlines. 75% of new freelancers Rebecca Matter hired missed their first deadlines. WOW!
7. Get listed on top influencers’ resource directories – Ed Gandia 
8. Milk the freelance life – Peter Bowerman (favorite quote - a t-shirt to be made?)
9. People Don’t Buy What You Do; They Buy Why You Do It – Simon Sinek (by way of Peter Bowerman)
10. Never discount, instead offer economical alternatives by taking out line items. – Michel Fortin

Don't Work For Free Under the Guise of Good Exposure

I don't believe in doing spec work, or work for "an opportunity for your art to be seen" or promises of "a lot more work in the future" or "it will be a great piece for your portfolio!" I don't think any other profession has to deal with this issue and I don't understand why people think it's ok to ask graphic designers and illustrators to work for free.

As artists, we are able to create something that someone wants, right? Then why not treat it as any other profession? You wouldn't go to the doctor and tell her you'll only pay her if you like what she says. Hell, if that's the case I would NEVER pay my doctor!!

Ben Crick is the designer of this wonderful image here, as well as three others about spec work, and he has a brilliant post about it here.  I hope he comes out with these images as posters, because I want one! I feel like he should put them on t-shirts and I'm sure he'd have a lot of graphic designers and illustrators wearing them all the time!!

Visualizing my Goal

In working on my OGSM for the Zero2Illo challenge this week, I imagined myself in the place I dream of! So, I sketched it out and included it on my plan. They say visualizing it can help it happen!

12 Week Challenge

Getting geared up for the 12 Week Challenge over at Zero 2 Illo. It starts on Monday, April 5 and I'm hoping it will help me get my illustration career going. Here is what Jonathan says about it:

The 12 Week Challenge is an opportunity to make amazing progress towards your goal of becoming a full time professional illustrator. But this time you won’t be alone.

Here are a few things we hope to achieve with the 12 Week Challenge:

• Life-changing progress for as many participants as possible
• Community spirit and a collaborative effort to get “there”
• A platform and spotlight for those on the journey

Please join us!

My Website is Up!

Yay! I finally got my website up! After a lot of work, it's live. I have both my design and illustration samples on it. Let me know what you think. Click here check it out!

Just Say No to Spec Work!

No one would really do this in these situations, but to a graphic artist/illustrator, it is a regular occurrence! This really was said to me recently: "I'm not asking you to work for free, but can you come up with a few ideas, then do the finished art, then I'll see if I like any of them before I decide whether to pay you or not." Um, I'm not really asking you to kiss my ass, but why don't you just pucker up and plant one on my behind.

UPDATE: "Pig On My Bed" came in 3rd place.