Discover the secret sauce for coming up with your own unique picture book story idea!
There’s less than two weeks to go until the start of My Kid Book Pitch, art agent Lilla’s one-of-a-kind picture book writing course that’s specially designed for creative people just like you!
By the end of this incredible four week course, you could have your own children’s book pitch ready to send (along with suggestions on who to send it to), including:
- your special story idea
- an original and engaging character that editors will love
- a show-stopping opening line that will catch a reader’s attention and set the tone and mood for the whole book (this is what editors are looking for)
- a fun and authentic storyline with a narrative arc
- a compelling title
- a professional story-boarded dummy
… but how do you come up with your own special story idea?
Lilla’s Magic Cards in a nutshell – they’re her secret weapon to help you fire your imagination. Watch below.
Drum roll please for Lilla’s fabulous Magic Cards: her secret weapon for helping you to unlock your magic imagination and come up with unique characters and a dreamy story idea.
But how do they work? Here’s Lilla enjoying a playful live Zoom event with her My Year of Art School students, where they use a few Magic Cards picked at random to create fun characters and quirky storylines. Please note that these cards are from 2022 – Lilla has created a completely new set for 2023 (of course, if you took part in a previous year, you can combine your cards to make a mega-deck!).
“I teach artists how to be writers.” Play along as Lilla shares a few of her Magic Cards with her My Year of Art School students. Watch it below.
Want to play too? In My Kid Book Pitch, you’ll get a downloadable set of 28 kooky cards featuring oddities and curiosities handpicked from Lilla’s collections. Sign up here.
Don’t forget that Lilla’s Magic Cards are only the beginning! You’ll use them to create ideas and unlock your imagination, then spend weeks with Lilla honing your unique story idea, developing your character, creating a cracking opening line, and polishing your manuscript.
Some of Lilla’s picture book collection. In twice-weekly live Zoom classes, she’ll share her favorites, explaining what makes them so great, and help you craft your own unique, winning story.
If you want a little sneak peek, look out for next week’s blog and newsletter, when we’ll be giving you a sneak preview with your very own mini set of FOUR Magic Cards. Don’t miss it!
And if you want to enjoy a LIVE Zoom event with Lilla, don’t miss the fab free live Zoom event on Friday, May 26th at 12 noon ET/5 pm BST– Lilla will be joined by her artist Erica Root to discuss picture books. You could even win a FREE place in class! Lilla will be talking about the Magic Cards you’ll get next week, showing off some of her favorite picture books and explaining what makes them so great, and doing a giveaway.
Erica is a Make Art That Sells student who has been represented by Lilla Rogers Studio since 2019 after Lilla fell in love with her art in class. Her first book, A Year of Weeks: 52 Awesome Weeks of Trying New Things, a guided journal that offers prompts to help readers to enrich their lives , was published in 2021. She wrote her first picture book, Close to You from Far Away, while beta testing Lilla’s My Kid Book Pitch course, and the story was then picked up and published by Running Press Kids in April 2023. Lilla will be chatting to Erica about her process, where she gets her ideas, and her advice for anyone interested in writing and illustrating their very own picture book.
Don’t miss it – ask Siri to set a reminder now!
Want to join Lilla for four fantastic weeks, get your own set of Magic Cards, create your own ready-to-send picture book pitch, and make money from writing stories? Sign up now.
Mark your calendar:
- My Kid Book Pitch starts Monday, May 29th. Sign up here!
- The Children’s Book Bundle, which includes My Kid Book Pitch, Illustrating Children’s Books and Lilla’s Art Recipes: Drawing Faces with a huge 25% off is still available! Get it here.
- Join Lilla for a FREE live Zoom event on Friday, May 26th at 12 noon ET/5 pm BST and you could win a FREE place in My Kid Book Pitch (if you’ve already signed up, you can gift it to a friend).
- In next week’s newsletter: Get your FREE mini set of Lilla’s Magic Cards!
Lots of love
The Make Art That Sells team xxx
