Is there a children’s picture book inside you, longing to get out? Do you dream of holding your very own beautiful children’s book – actually written and illustrated by YOU, even if you don’t think of yourself as a writer – in your hands? Then you’re going to want to check out art agent Lilla’s exciting NEW course, My Kid Book Pitch, which takes place this fall. You’ll learn everything you need to know to create your own incredible authentic picture book, from a showstopping first line to a memorable central character. Lilla will be sharing tons of hints and tips along the way, with insightful ways to help you discover the unique story that only you can write using her Magic Cards, and an amazingly indepth workbook that she’ll share with you section by section to take you through the whole process step by enjoyable step.
Get it now with our early bird offer and save 15%! Until now, this course has only been available during sales and as part of our Double Scoop Kid Book bundle, but we’re launching it today with a fab early bird discount that will snag you 15% off, PLUS read on to find out what Lilla’s artists thought of the course when they beta-tested it last month! First though, we caught up with Lilla to ask her a couple of questions about the course.
Q: Lilla, why did you create this course?
A: Lilla says: “I want to help creative people write picture books. As an art agent, I speak to a lot of art directors and editors, and they’ve told me again and again that what they’re looking for right now are authentic, meaningful picture books, especially from illustrators and creative people. What I also know from working with creative people is that they don’t usually think in a linear way, but they are nutty and imaginative and full of ideas. I wanted to create a course especially for them that would help them access all that magic and put it into a form that an art director or publisher is going to absolutely love. If you have a visual pitch from Illustrating Children’s Books that shows you can deliver and then a story from My Kid Book Pitch, that’s just irresistible catnip to an editor or art director.”
Q: Why are picture books so important?
A: Lilla says “Picture books are absolutely huge right now, especially with so many people home schooling their children, but even outside that they’re an amazing way for parents and carers to find that authentic connection with their children and grandchildren.”
“All of my artists who do picture book illustrations are fully booked right now, especially those who were originally Make Art That Sells students who caught my eye during my Illustrating Children’s Books course, which is why I’m so keen to look for new artists to represent. There’s definitely work in this market right now.”
Lilla adds: “Also, picture books are one of the hottest change agents at the moment: you’ll find them covering topics such as gender, diversity, the environment, kindness, accepting your own uniqueness, strong girls, sensitive boys, loss, immigration – the list is endless. And the wonderful part is that it’s going to influence both parents and children, both in this generation and generations to come. It’s completely radical.”
Q: What are you most excited about for My Kid Book Pitch?
A: Lilla says: “I just can’t wait to see the stories that my students are going to come up with. I’ve beta-tested it with some of my artists and what they’ve created is just extraordinary, I know they’re going to get book deals out of this. I’m so excited about this writing course: it’s for illustrators who have already written a picture book or just have an idea for a story, illustrators who don’t think of themselves as writers, writers who haven’t written a picture book before, or writers who have written a picture book before but want to freshen up or want to challenge themselves in new ways or update their voice. Like all my courses, it’s about being the best you can be and about being as authentic as possible.”
She adds: “I give you every single thing you need to know from my hours of speaking to art directors and editors and mentoring my artists, including those who joined us for my virtual residency last month. I’m thrilled to see what everyone’s going to do with it!”
Art by Erica Root, a former Make Art That Sells student who is now represented by Lilla Rogers Studio after Lilla spotted her in class.
Lilla hosted a virtual residency for six of her represented artists – all of whom were previously Make Art That Sells students – last month and they beta-tested her new My Kid Book Pitch in an incredibly intensive week (the actual course stretches over four wonderful weeks, with twice-weekly Facebook Lives with Lilla). How did they get on? We caught up to find out.
Kelly Anne Dalton
Kelly Anne’s writing chair in her studio (middle) and her story boards from creating her kid book pitch (right).
Q: What was the residency like?
A: Kelly Anne says “Fast paced and intense, but a great creative incubator! It was so fun to be with such an amazing group of artists while we worked together on our stories. I can’t wait to see all of the wonderful picture books that come out this experience.”
Q: Was the course helpful to you in writing a children’s book pitch? Was there a particular worksheet that was particularly helpful and/or fun?
A: Kelly Anne says “Like all Make Art That Sells courses, the materials and instruction are so well laid out. Lilla has the perfect formula to coax a character and story right out of you before the dreaded artist’s/writer’s block even has a chance to set in.”
Q: What did you have by the end of the week?
A: Kelly Anne says “By the end of the week I had a full color cover, as well as my first rough draft of a dummy and manuscript.”
Q: Do you think this course will be beneficial to people wishing to write a picture book? How so?
A: Kelly Anne says “Absolutely! And it is perfect for people at any stage in the process, from beginner to advanced. My thoroughly left-brained husband (who claims he has no imagination, but wanted to help) was easily able to tap into Lilla’s course model and write a hilarious story of his own, complete with a full story arc and resolution. He is now ready to quit his day job and write children’s books all day!”
Art created by Kelly Anne for Illustrating Children’s Books, a wonderful companion to My Kid Book Pitch.
Katie Vernon
Q: What was the residency like?
A: Katie says “The Residency was a great immersive experience to share with Lilla, the other artists, and everyone else who came in during our Zooms. It was crazy-intense, but forced me to get things done and work through sticky spots.
Q: Was the course helpful to you in writing a children’s book pitch? Was there a particular worksheet that was particularly helpful and/or fun?
A: Katie says “The magic cards at the start really got the creative juices flowing and sparked some fun ideas for me. I also loved the blank story boarding: using Post-its allowed me to reimagine a few parts of my story to make it flow better.”
Illustrations by Katie Vernon for Storey Publishing.
Q: What was the most fun/engaging/interesting part of the course for you, whether it was something in the course or something you wrote?
A: Katie says “The most interesting part was that by the end, all six of us artists had very different, very unique-to-us stories. It didn’t feel like any of our stories would be competing for a particular spot in the market.”
Q: What did you have by the end of the week?
A: Katie says “An awesome story with a quirky character and a few final pieces. Since I didn’t have as many children’s book market finals from Illustrating Children’s Books, I felt that it was more important to get a few finals done rather than the whole dummy.”
Q: Do you think this course will be beneficial to people wishing to write a picture book? How so?
A: Katie says “The course makes it all feel doable. It takes a very daunting task and gives you the outline for what you need to get it done.”
Erica Root
Art by Erica for Illustrating Children’s Books, a wonderful companion to My Kid Book Pitch.
Q: Was the course helpful to you in writing a children’s book pitch? Was there a particular worksheet that was particularly helpful and/or fun?
A: Erica says: “The course helped to take an idea in my head and form it into something that I could really work with and develop further. I found the storyboard worksheet really helpful: by seeing everything laid out in front of me, it allowed me to see the parts of the story that weren’t really working. I then swapped some of the pages around, and the flow was immediately improved.”
Q: Did you feel that the course encouraged you to be your own unique self?
A: Erica says: “The course takes away a lot of the self doubt and intimidation that can come with trying something new and, instead, directs your focus on how to create compelling characters, a captivating story path, and illustrations that translate the story into a visually beautiful world for your characters which is all built off of your own unique idea.
Q: What was the most fun/engaging/interesting part of the course for you, whether it was something in the course or something you wrote?
A: Erica says: “It was so interesting to see how much thought and time can go into developing the characters in the story. I loved creating an entire world for them, from imagining their personalities (what makes them unique and quirky, what brings them joy, the things that make them feel vulnerable, what makes them happy) to the style of their homes, their curtains and wallpaper, how their hair and clothing can reflect their personalities, their hobbies, and so much more. That deep focus on who they are really allowed me to feel confident that each drawing would be authentic to my characters at every level.”
Q: What did you have by the end of the week?
A: Erica says: “I never imagined that in only one week I would have been able to write, edit, and modify the full text for my own children’s book and to also create an entire book dummy to show what illustrations will be on which page to accompany specific parts of the story. I was even able to get a couple of fully illustrated pages completed by the end of the week!”
(Please note that the full course will be spread over four weeks, with a week dedicated to coming up with a unique character, three weeks of writing, twice-weekly live sessions with Lilla and more!)
Q: Do you think this course will be beneficial to people wishing to write a picture book? How so?
A: Erica says: “I truly feel that if you even have so much as a tiny spark of an idea or an interest in creating stories for children, this course will guide you right through every step from idea to pitch. The robustness of the course materials and worksheets take all of the intimidation away to allow your focus and attention to be placed on the fun stuff: letting your imagination and creativity run wild.”
Art by Erica for Illustrating Children’s Books.
Mara Penny
Q: Was the course helpful to you in writing a children’s book pitch? Was there a particular worksheet that was particularly helpful and/or fun?
A: Mara says “This course was amazing! There is so much to learn! I enjoyed the first week’s worksheets that encourage you to do some self-exploration to really round out your character. Also, I had not considered perspective or tense when I wrote my first draft. It changed the tone of my story quite a bit. The magic cards were… magic!”
Q: Did you feel that the course encouraged you to be your own unique self?
A: Mara says “Yes, absolutely! This course encourages you to let your freak flag fly! We really dug in to find what makes us unique.”
Illustrations for Like A Girl, illustrated by Mara Penny.
Q: What was the most fun/engaging/interesting part of the course for you, whether it was something in the course or something you wrote?
A: Mara says “I would start the worksheets thinking I knew where it would lead but it always opened doors to another path I hadn’t considered which further transformed my story. I found that fascinating!”
Q: What did you have by the end of the week?
A: Mara says “By the end of the week, I had my story summary, first-draft manuscript, storyboards, two and a half spreads and the cover.”
Art by Mara for Illustrating Children’s Books, a wonderful companion to My Kid Book Pitch.
Q: Do you think this course will be beneficial to people wishing to write a picture book? How so?
A: Mara says “Yes! This course will be beneficial to people wanting to write a picture book. It encourages you to think about all aspects of the character, to really get a good handle on them before you start your text. It also offers you a glimpse into your own mind and what makes you tick.”
Book now and save 15%! Want in? We’re offering an early bird discount from now until Thursday, July 2 – hurry hurry, book your spot now (or get our Kid Book Double Scoop bundle and save 15% off BOTH My Kid Book Pitch and Illustrating Children’s Books!).
Lots of love
The Make Art That Sells team xxx
