How do you come up with children’s book story ideas? Your questions answered!
Hurry hurry! Art agent and author Lilla’s brand new class, My Kid Book Pitch, starts TODAY! If you’ve ever wanted to write your very own unique children’s picture book but didn’t know where to start or how you get children’s book story ideas, you need this course! Using tons of playful but powerful techniques like her custom Magic Cards and Blobby Worksheets, plus a 123 page downloadable workbook, Lilla will guide you step by step through her Make a Story Recipe to write the children’s picture book only you can write.
Here’s a round up of some of the questions you’ve been asking … Want to know more? Check out the full details of the course here.
So, Lilla, what’s this class all about? What will I have at the end of it?
Lilla says: “You’ll have an incredible, completely unique manuscript for a children’s picture book – the story that only you can write!”
Lilla continues: “A little while ago, I became obsessed with the idea of teaching my students and my artists how to write a really excellent story for a picture book. I wanted to teach it in a way that was playful and imaginative, but with lots of concrete tips and plenty of downloadables and examples. I’ve created this course the way I love to teach—getting you to literally play with your characters. And of course I’ve included tons of fun twists and surprises to help you come up with ideas for a children’s book, like my dreamy Magic Cards, to trick you into doing your very best work!”
She adds: “The course is based on the way that I work with the amazing artists I represent (in fact, some of them beta tested the course for me – find out what they thought here). You’ll follow my step-by-step playful yet effective process, to create something very special, personal, and unique, ready to wow editors and art directors alike!”
And it works! Read our first success stories here. More to come!
Here’s the first page of your class schedule! Find the full schedule here – it’s packed with goodness!
Do I need to have a story in mind before class? What if I have a story idea? What if I don’t have a story idea? How do you come up with children’s book story ideas anyway?!
Lilla says “Either is totally fine! I’m delighted if you come to class without ideas for a children’s book because I’m excited to see the amazing and unique ideas that you to come up with using my custom Magic Cards. But if you already have an idea in mind that you want to start with and develop further, that’s great too.”
Lilla adds: “Right from Day 1 I’ll be getting you to play, to experiment, and to explore your unique, amazing, creative self. You may find that you come up with something completely fresh that you like better, a new way of thinking about your character or your story, or you might still be in love with your idea and see clearly how it’s going to work. It’s all good. I wrote it for any and all of these situations.”
But Lilla, my life isn’t interesting. Like, at all.
Lilla says: “I promise you every human has stories in their heads. And there’s such a wealth of different experiences in the world that everyone’s story is fresh and exciting to someone else. I’ve designed this course to dig deep into that full, robust, quirky mind of yours and uncover all the nuttiness that’s hiding out in there. I often like to say that I trick you into making your very best art: well, in this course, I’m going to trick you into tapping in to all the amazing, whimsical stories you’re carrying around inside you. Your job is just to show up and enjoy the process.”
As ever, My Kid Book Pitch will be full of art agent Lilla’s playful but powerful games and twists – like her custom Magic Cards, full of treasures from her eccentric collections, that will help you access or refine your one of a kind story idea!
What if I’ve already taken Illustrating Children’s Books? Will I learn anything new from My Kid Book Pitch? What if I’ve already taken My Kid Book Pitch?!
Lilla says: “Absolutely you will! There’s no overlap between the two courses at all. Illustrating Children’s Books is all about picture book illustration and helping you to build a fantastic portfolio so you can land children’s book illustration work. My Kid Book Pitch, however, focuses completely on writing your very own children’s picture book. I’ll be giving supplemental assignments for illustrators that will help them build a really strong, eye-catching pitch, but the content of the two courses is completely different.”
My Kid Book Pitch 2021 also includes 26 brand NEW Magic Cards from Lilla (plus the bonus three she gave out during the #MATSprep warm up exercise!) so even if you’ve taken it before you’ll be able to use the new Magic Cards to come up with fresh, interesting ideas. Plus being creative is always easier when you’re doing it along with other people so you don’t lose motivation and drift – as Lilla always says, deadlines are a creative’s best friend!
Okay, but what if I have actually illustrated children’s books already? Will I learn anything new?
Lilla says: “I promise that between me, my co-teacher, Zoë Tucker, and all your friendly new classmates that you’ll meet, you’ll be exposed to many different perspectives and have lots of light bulb moments. Plus, the live Zoom webinars are real-time videos that discuss the work being done for class, so they’re an incredible opportunity to learn what an agent and former illustrator (Lilla) and a children’s book art director and picture book author (Zoë) think about the work being done for the course – maybe even yours!”
Book your spot now and get INSTANT ACCESS to the first part of the brilliant 123-page downloadable workbook. You’ll get a new section every Monday and Wednesday for four weeks, and every week Lilla will discuss the new section in a live Zoom event.
Speaking of which, will there be reviews?
Lilla says: “Yes! You’ll meet with me every Monday to talk about that week’s assignment. Then Zoë and I will read your weekly assignments, which will involve a key portion of your manuscript text, and pull out a few each week to discuss in the live event on Wednesday.
Lilla adds: “Plus you can also expect occasional pop-in events with art agent and toy creator Riley Wilkinson, who will talk about how you can use your characters to create games and toys. I’ll give you all the tools you need to create an amazing one of a kind story, and you can of course run parts of your manuscript by your fellow students in the private Facebook group – you’ll find they’re an amazingly helpful, kind and supportive community. Read more about what you get in class here.”
I’m in! How do I sign up?
Lilla says: “Book your spot here! But hurry hurry – class starts today! You can instantly download the first 18-page section of the 123-page downloadable workbook as soon as you sign up, and your first live Zoom with me is at 12 noon ET/5 pm BST TODAY! See you in class – it’s going to be a blast!”
Lots of love
Lilla and the Make Art That Sells team xxx
P.S. Did you miss the Free Live Zoom we hosted on Friday? Watch the replay below!
