Your Query Letter for Children’s Picture Book Purposes
by Mary Kole | Former literary agent, now a freelance editor, writing teacher, and IP/story developer for major publishers and creators.
Building a successful career as an illustrator begins with your attempt at a query letter for children’s picture book. There are some added considerations when submitting an illustrator query letter, so here's a rundown of how to present your art and craft in a compelling package for literary agents and publishers.
It's worth noting some specific things when you write your query letter for children’s picture book. Read on to find out what they are.
Getting Work as An Illustrator Via a Query Letter for Children’s Picture Book
There are various methods to break into illustration for the picture book market. An excellent place to begin is to develop a picture book project from the ground up. These days, many picture books are sold as author-illustrator projects due to the ease it affords publishers, and the relative quality of projects where one individual controls both the words and pictures. It has more intricate interplay and the agents and publishers don't need to spend any time matching a text and an artist.
If you aren’t yet a writer of stories, and want to work mostly as an illustrator, you can also try your hand at an illustration query letter for children’s picture book if you want to become part of a publisher's roster of potential illustrators (every publisher has one). This can be a tough pursuit that may or may not have rewarding results, because the illustrator market is incredibly competitive, but it is something to consider if you don’t have a complete picture book project ready yet. At the very least, you want to develop a portfolio to show off your illustration style.
Illustration Portfolio Links In a Query Letter for Children’s Picture Book
Before you try crafting your query letter for children’s picture book, you must gather some materials to show off what you can do. Your solid children’s book illustrator portfolio should be accessible and visible online (more on this later). At the basic level, it should include:
6 to 8 exceptional finished illustrations in a style that you want to show off or do more of.
A range of techniques, if you use different approaches, including different compositions and perspectives.
A mix of subjects—from settings to characters–with a special focus on characters and facial expressions.
If you don’t have pre-made artwork like this at your disposal, then concentrate on making more before you pitch your portfolio in a query letter for children’s picture book—you might be focusing on submission prematurely.
Showcasing Your Illustrations
Two primary ways to promote your illustration work include setting up an online portfolio, and sending out postcards (the latter is a pretty cost-intensive and labor-intensive approach, but some publishers and art directors like having a tangible card to look at).
Look into websites such as Wix and Squarespace in order to make an eye-catching, easy-to-use portfolio site without breaking the bank. Given that many literary agents and publishers aren't receptive to unsolicited email attachments, hosting your work online is a crucial step. To send a dummy of your picture book to agents and publishers, you will need to upload it in the form of a PDF to your website. Make it available through a direct download link in your query letter for children’s picture book, or make the file password-protected and share the credentials. You can also use Google Docs or Dropbox to create a link to the file, but make sure it does not expire.
To communicate with literary agents, art reps, and publishers via mail, print postcards on high-quality paper at a website such as Vistaprint (which is fairly low cost and often offers promotions). Vistaprint is, indeed, cheap, but try it for a few mailings and then upgrade to better quality paper and vibrancy if your mailings get you work. Otherwise, springing for very expensive printing is not a good investment right away.
Getting Your Illustrations Out There Outside of a Query Letter for Children's Picture Book
Books like Children’s Writer's and Illustrator's Market can direct an illustrator to literary agencies, agents, and publishers (concentrate on contacting the art director position at these publishing houses). Include a postcard containing three of your best pieces and include a way to contact you on the other side.
Another method to exhibit your artwork is to participate in conferences which feature portfolio showcases or to become a member of the SCBWI, which has a platform for illustrators to show their work. Although it is possible to showcase art online, using sites such as Deviant Art, the SCBWI and conferences have more of a focus on art for publishing.
Then, when you’re ready to send your ideas directly to agents and publishing houses, and you’re composing a query letter for children’s picture book, you should focus on any publishing credits you’ve earned in your publishing journey (magazine and blog entries can also count). Additionally, links to an online portfolio should anchor your query.
Be clear on your goal, also. Are you looking for representation so that an agent or art rep can pitch you to publishers? Or are you interested in connecting directly with people who might need an illustrator, like self-published authors? Would you prefer to do all kinds of illustration or target picture books specifically? If the latter, you might also want to post yourself on sites like Upwork and Fiverr.
Keep your illustrator query letter for children’s picture book simple when you send inquiries to literary agents, art reps, and publishers. Keep working on your portfolio, too, so that you’re not just coasting on the same few images. When you change your style or create new images, refresh your portfolio and postcards. And keep putting yourself out there!
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